I used to work for [Video Game Retail Chain] and have a bunch of unethical stories but the one that comes to mind right now concerns the release of 'The Legend of Zelda - The Wind Waker' on Gamecube back in 2003.
You may remember how the first print copies came with a bonus disc that had Ocarina of Time and Master Quest on it and this was sold here for $99.95 RRP. They had long sold out for pre-orders and stores were informed to tell customers that there were no more available. When the delivery of the brand new copies of WW arrived in store a couple of days before the release date, there was another large box that had 'Pre-Owned' copies of The Wind Waker with a sale price of $99.95 and 'Pre-Owned' copies of the OoT/MQ disc for $49.95. What they had done is take brand new copies of The Wind Waker, opened them up and split them into two separate SKUs with individual custom cases and sold them at a premium to desperate customers who had missed out on the pre-order for the brand new Zelda game bundle.
That always stuck out in my mind as pretty gross.
I used to do reworks and inspections of parts for a large vehicle manufacturer at another plant. It was owned by a local college and inspected once every so often by the major manufacturer.
This was my year off between high school and college, and my Dad got me the job.
- They started me off working on absorbers. Think of these as plastic bumpers, which are black. We would drill them, cut them (with saws), sand them and then stack them. I did all of those jobs.
1) They'd only give us surgeons' masks, and the plastic bits would get inside while sanding. My friend did the job daily, and he would go home and blow little black bits out of his nose.
2) The surgeons' masks didn't protect us from fumes. With my OCD, it bugged me, and I would go home lightheaded. One day, I was cutting (essentially melting) the plastic with a saw, which was on a track. Its track was cut out of metal and I'd just move it along it (two drills, two spots) then give it to the next person.
Well, I was looking away since the fumes were so bad, while pushing the drill through its routine. I couldn't screw up. However, one of the ties came loose and the wire fell in. I cut through it and everyone made fun of me.
After that, I was moved to the front of the warehouse, where they did reworks and inspections of other parts. They had us counting bolts, rotating truck doors with someone on the other side holding a flashlight to look for holes, and the like.
1) There were windows, but they were never open. The fans were hardly ever used.
2) They had two forklifts going through all the time. Workstations were on the perimeter of the large room, and parts were in the middle. They would get the parts from the middle, with the back end of the forklifts facing us, shooting propane at us constantly. It was awful.
I think I got carbon monoxide poisoning from the place, but when I went to the doctor it was too late for them to do the tests (1 month).
3) They wouldn't even know if you stayed home sick. And if there was no work, they'd just make you sweep the factory for four hours.
4) We were once told to grind metal on a grinder, with just a surgeon's mask and maybe some safety glasses on. I said I was scared after a bit, just to get away from it, and asked to be moved. The supervisor said, "Yeah, I don't know why they put you young guys on that." He moved me.
This place was checked for safety by the large automotive manufacturer! Third shift would do e, then check sunroofs for defects. We'd have to re-do their work the next day.
Later on, I got on as a temp full-time student at the large automotive factory. They would ask me to sit at a picnic table while they asked people if they could go home, or would, so that I could work. If noone agreed, and nobody was off, I had to go home. This happened half the time. I didn't get paid for waiting or for travelling in. Also, when I didn't see pay for one shift on my cheque, I submitted a form but never got the $200.
Eh.... if I am late even 1 minute past 8 AM, I will get my salary docked one day.
However if you get home 3 hours past the home hour (the rule in here is 5 PM), you would get absolutely nothing in return. And going home late is very definitely the norm.
No inside joke.No joke. They think doing the right thing is fleeting idealism, apparently. May be "yes men" as well.
Hhmm... How about frequently delaying your salary even up to 10 days just to keep the company's bottomline whatsoever green? I have been frequently getting my salary on the 10th of the next month instead of the usual end of the month due to "reasons". Oh and if that 10th of the month is a weekend, tough luck for you as you'll be getting it later.
This regularly fucks me up since I don't know when will they pay me. Which would be not so bad if I'm not paying my tuition with my salary. Oh and overtimes are aplently, must say they are almost like the norm.
OP would be a whistleblower I think. I'd hold out on them being dumb again and during him so he can then sue.That's some pretty scary stuff. I'd be tempted to report the management to the appropriate health authority and quit, but then you've got to find a new job and it's very likely that they'll replace you with someone clueless and things will get even worse. Of course it wouldn't be your fault if someone got hurt or sick, but still...
The company I work for has asked employees and their families to give its apps five-star reviews to artificially inflate their scores. One guy questioned the ethics of it, and our manager gave him a bollocking for questioning him.
Eh.... if I am late even 1 minute past 8 AM, I will get my salary docked one day.
What happens if you miss a day? Because that sounds like a recipe for just turning around and going home the instant you realize you're going to be late.
Unpaid internships. All the time, everywhere. Where the work the intern is doing is very clearly and obviously 'work' that contributes to the company's bottom line.
Maybe his salary is docked whether he goes in or not
So not going in means losing yesterday's pay + losing today's pay
Going in means only losing yesterday's pay
I'm still an undergrad, and this is the best paying company to work for in my country (Philippines). Finding a job while having no college degree here will mean low paying, dead end, contractual jobs that are only a little bit above the minimum wage. I have a good standing on our company, so I can have unlimited leave without someone gossiping over my back, and have health / medical insurance plus they automatically file my taxes. They are just basically waiting for my diploma to make me a regular or if you want things to turn dark, fire me. Shame about the delayed salary part because this could have been the best to work for as an undergrad.Why are you still there? The minute a company screws with my pay I'd leave. That's the one thing you work for
That's not unethical. You're just a bad person.
my research methods class just used arrow to score and peer review papers, i have to say i agree. the level of technical and professional writing is really really low.This has turned into a general thread, that's why I pitched in like this.
I felt bad. But some of the stuff the students were writing were truly and perhaps sadly, hilarious.
3rd year university courses and students.
My last job, a larger electronic store, used to try to force "accessories bundles" with their gaming systems (literally rubber-banding them together) during the holidays.
1. The sets were not discounted at all.
2. Worse, said bundles weren't with the customers needs in mind, rather than trying to get rid of extra junk (for example, instead of an extra controller, nunchuck, and charger for a Wii, they would try to attach two/three useless accessories, like 2 stand-alone Motion plus adapters). Unsuspecting shoppers had NO idea what they were buying...
My local mom and pop videogame shop did this during the PS4 launch, was total bullshit. All PS4s were bundled with a game and a second controller, no discount and no exceptions
My Job will Move around hours if you work more than 40 a week, if you worked 45 they will list you as 40 for this week and shuffle 5 more onto next week (Yearly hours average to 24 a week)
I work at Wal-mart. Where does one begin? We're under-staffed and the entire store's workers are being exploited. You have typically three workers in charge of half the store (pet's fish area, hardware, fabrics and crafts, sporting goods, automotive, pushing carts, unloading the frozen and trucks, and anything else the managers might ask). Just last night the area manager said as she was walking away; "Anytime I need help from those guys, they always run toward the break room and take their breaks". This is only one example of how just three are treated, it's needless to say that this is scratching the surface of the reality of having to work in my store.
It's well documented at this point that Walmart routinely adjusts the specific hours employees work to avoid paying them overtime. I worked a few 12 hour shifts and none of it was ever reflected on my paycheck. I later changed positions within the company and had access to the clock systems and management applications. I worked software maintenance for a store in an extremely rural area where few people could even spell the word "engineer" so I was surprisingly well paid compared to the other less fortunate employees. Upon closer inspection into the backend employee punchcard system was I able to see that the administrators regularly (once a week from what I could see the 4 times I checked) re-positioned shift start/end times to different days.
Apart from the blatant hour fixing (which is hardly rare in this economy) and noted under-staffing, there didn't seem to be any other majorly shady business going on at the employee level.
I think this the only thread where I've read every post for 3 pages.