Employer vs. Employee

My first job was working on a horse farm in NY State. They were friends of my dad, and I used to go up there on the weekends. I loved it up there, I still do, as I try to visit when I can.

My job was to help muck stalls. For those of you who are unfamiliar with what that is, you had about a weeks worth of horse poop, (etc.) to shovel out of the stall into a wheelbarrow or into a trailer, which then got spread on the field as fertilizer for next seasons hay. They had 12 stalls, approximately 10 mares for breeding, a couple of stallions and a bunch of baby foals. I worked very hard, I made sure the floors were swept, spread hay in the stalls and made sure the horses were watered/fed. That was hard work! I loved my work though. What was my salary? $5.00 ... for the whole 2 days. Granted the first day was the most work because that's when we would clean the stalls and the second day was more a day of hanging out with the horses and watching them get trained. I made $5.00 for the whole weekend.

There were no paid days off for sick or personal, no paid vacation, no health insurance, no dental, no nothing.

Yet, I remember this job as being the best job ever. My work description was clear, my co-workers were fun, we laughed while we worked, go the work done and got along pretty well. I was in my teen years and hadn't recognized the importance of health insurance or paid days off and the perks that come with jobs that we have when we're older.

Lets fast forward about 20 years. Through out the years I had some bad bosses, picked up some entitlement issues from those around me, got a bit disgruntled at times, maybe didn't put my best foot forward and in some cases probably didn't handle things as I could have (each in turn mind you). Looking back, I didn't know any other way to deal with these things.

So I have a few thoughts about what I feel people are entitled to in the work place. I began to realize as I began focusing on myself and my own personal work ethic. There are two sides to the coin to consider.

You are hired to do a particular job. You are not entitled to randomly serve the internet, email your friends all day long thereby diverting your attention from the job you were hired to do. You are not to abuse company policy by taking care of personal matters during work hours, unless it is an emergency, or you are on your lunch hour. You are there to perform a job. I wouldn't pay you to goof off. This is my business, this is something that I created that I would be asking you to contribute too. I wouldn't want an employee to take blatant advantage of my good nature. If I hadn't created this business and worked so hard as to be able to have it, you wouldn't have a job. I wouldn't want my business to suffer because my employee had a disregard for what I created or any entitlement issues.

I love a good work environment that is team oriented, where you get along with one another, support one another and not have to deal with the petty nonsense. I like humor in my environment where you understand that just because the work is stressful there are other ways to alleviate that stress. I have had positions like this where the staff was valued, we laughed during the day and the work got done. To me, it's about productivity and the overall environment.

In whatever position you have, you should be advised as to what your job description is, what is expected of you, and have a boss who is clear in their direction. If the boss is unavailable, you can ask one of the other members of the staff. If your duties are not clear, you will be confused and frustrated. This does not promote a good work ethic/environment because you don't understand what is expected of you.

There are many employers who may hire someone, not recognize that the individual performing the job has not been informed as to what is expected of them. Either that or the training the employee receives is so fast that the individual can't possibly do the work, because after the training is over, there is no one for them to go to. The employer needs to be available to the employee for additional questions as to procedure or what is expected. Sometimes the employee may just need validation that they are doing what is expected of them. If you give them that support, over time, as they become more comfortable in their position, you're not going to see them that often as they will be taking charge of their position from a place of strength and knowing what is expected of them.

If a position has resources for the employee to be able to refer to and use, so that they are not left in the dark, this would be ideal. Often times I have found that people tend to forget when they first started out, what they went through and now that they know what's expected, they assume everyone else should too. Which is highly unacceptable and only creates confusion and then resentment between the employee and employer.

What kind of teacher the employer provides is very important as well.
How are they teaching the employee what is expected of them?
How is the employee responding to this method of teaching?
Does this method work for the employee?
Is the employee left hanging to muddle through things thereby making mistakes that perhaps could have been avoided if there had been someone they could go to?
Are the expectations of the employer so high that they are annoyed whenever the employee comes to them with questions?
Are you micromanaging your employee instead of being available to them?
Do you give positive feedback when something is performed properly?
Do you ask them questions when they have come to YOU for an answer? (This can cause massive confusion for a person. If they KNEW the answer, they wouldn't have come to you with the question in the first place.)
If the employee shows initiative, and is trying to use resources available to them, do you support their efforts or do you grill them incessantly because it wasn't YOUR way.
Be open to their questions and be clear in your direction.
Be consistent in your direction. Sometimes employers ask for one thing, the employee hears this, follows direction only to be confronted with an employer who has changed his mind and asks for something else.
If your employee comes to you with something that is overly thorough understand that they are trying to learn what is expected of them. Also keep in mind that you may have grilled them a time or two before and they are trying to give you a more thorough response, based on your past behavior.


I think people forget that there are learning curves. Each individual learns differently and this needs to be taken into consideration when training someone.

As to the employer, they have to recognize that while they can save money hiring someone who may not have the experience for the job, they need to take into consideration that in order for an employee to learn about the position, the employer has to make resources or another individual available to the employee.

Employers try to make the best decision possible for their business and budgetary concerns, however if they are willing to train someone, they must consider the time frame and the effort that it will take to train them. Either that, or cough up the extra money for someone who is well versed in that profession.

Good fits, to me, come over time. They include communication, an appropriate time frame for getting accustomed to what is expected of them, how the company works and the ability to do the job. A lack of training in any area is not on the employee, it's on the employer.

It can take three to six months for a person to become familiar with all of the procedures of a position. I think, in the right environment and with support from the employer and other members of the staff, a person can do very well.

Without these important ingredients, it's setting both the employer and employee up for failure.

A good work environment is very important. It's up to the employer and employee to establish good communication with one another in order to promote a good work environment.