Posted on Jan 1, 2016
How do you handle the cultural shock of transitioning from military service to civilian employment?
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http://www.bizpacreview.com/2015/12/31/more-than-100-muslim-employees-fired-after-walkout-in-demand-of-prayer-time-289752
What these Muslim employees attempted to do isn't so very different from what I've seen former military members do when they enter the civilian workforce. The same issue that got these Muslims fired can get you fired: Culture Shock.
I well remember the young men who served in my commands dreaming wistfully about what they were going to do when they got back to "the real world". Sadly, their expectations were sorely out of whack with reality. The civilian world has uniforms, SOP's, routines, and a hierarchy just as does the military. However, they're all different, very different, and former military members would do well to lie low and scope out the situation before they plunge in and try to change it.
How do they try to change it? Funny but they typically try to reinvent their civilian workplace into a verisimilitude of the military one they just left (in many cases the very same one they were recently complaining about). Again, can you see the similarities with what these Muslims attempted to do?
What these Muslim employees attempted to do isn't so very different from what I've seen former military members do when they enter the civilian workforce. The same issue that got these Muslims fired can get you fired: Culture Shock.
I well remember the young men who served in my commands dreaming wistfully about what they were going to do when they got back to "the real world". Sadly, their expectations were sorely out of whack with reality. The civilian world has uniforms, SOP's, routines, and a hierarchy just as does the military. However, they're all different, very different, and former military members would do well to lie low and scope out the situation before they plunge in and try to change it.
How do they try to change it? Funny but they typically try to reinvent their civilian workplace into a verisimilitude of the military one they just left (in many cases the very same one they were recently complaining about). Again, can you see the similarities with what these Muslims attempted to do?
Transition
Civilians
Culture
Posted 10 y ago
Responses: 13
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Just going by what the article describes, it sounds like the employer was not very smart about this. I wonder why after all this time they made the change to the enforcement of the policy? Could it be pressure from anti Muslim people who don't think it's right to allow someone any sort of religious accomodation at work?(unless it's for Christians) I mean, after all, the company even had a prayer room set up. If it's about a 5 minute break, I wonder if they are going to stop smokers from taking smoke breaks throughout the day? I've worked places where smokers can't make it to their scheduled breaks without a cigarrette, so they all go outside to the smoking area and puff away for 5-10 minutes several times a day. Yet no one seems to complain about that accomodation.
I think there must be something else to this story than the article indicates. But in general, in the civilian world, employers do things to accomodate employees often. Ever read about all the things Google does for its emloyees? How about the whole concept of flextime to accomodate people with kids? If the company has hundreds of Somali workers doens't it make sense to accomodate them? So I suspect there was something else driving this change than just the fact that they need prayer time.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Processing plants like this typically pay very low wages, and are staffed with immigrants who can't find higher paying jobs. I wonder if there will be lots of people flocking to fill those 200 positions? It reminds me of the plant in either Alabama or Georgia, I'm not sure which, that couldn't staff it's plant after the state made stricter laws about undocumented immigrants. Many of the workers left, and no Americans were willing to do such hard work for such little money.
I think there must be something else to this story than the article indicates. But in general, in the civilian world, employers do things to accomodate employees often. Ever read about all the things Google does for its emloyees? How about the whole concept of flextime to accomodate people with kids? If the company has hundreds of Somali workers doens't it make sense to accomodate them? So I suspect there was something else driving this change than just the fact that they need prayer time.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Processing plants like this typically pay very low wages, and are staffed with immigrants who can't find higher paying jobs. I wonder if there will be lots of people flocking to fill those 200 positions? It reminds me of the plant in either Alabama or Georgia, I'm not sure which, that couldn't staff it's plant after the state made stricter laws about undocumented immigrants. Many of the workers left, and no Americans were willing to do such hard work for such little money.
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I think I had time to prepare. Many years before I retired I had one of civilian employees make a comment that "most prior military have problems on the outside because they think thy can still act like they did in the military." It took me years and a lot of thinking and observation to see what she had been talking about.
When I was preparing to retire I had to go into a civilian job search knowing that regardless of my experiences and education that I was less knowledgeable about life in the civilian work force. It makes you a hybrid "entry-level" to some regard. I had to educate myself on that and found some excellent mentorship away from the military machine. This was the building blocks from which I prepared for retirement.
I chose to avoid the civil service work force, even though I looked at job openings. I sought a life away from the military and military base after I hung up the uniform. I had proven myself successful in the military and wanted to do so away from it - as far as possible. It wasn't that I resented it in any way, but that I wanted to prove the growing number of people who believe that Veterans cannot make it on the outside wrong.
While it has been different, I had some good mentorship from many great people and a wife who is a Veteran as well. While there have been highs and lows, it's all in what you want. I chose and have embraced the life I wanted - and now have. It's a great thing.
When I was preparing to retire I had to go into a civilian job search knowing that regardless of my experiences and education that I was less knowledgeable about life in the civilian work force. It makes you a hybrid "entry-level" to some regard. I had to educate myself on that and found some excellent mentorship away from the military machine. This was the building blocks from which I prepared for retirement.
I chose to avoid the civil service work force, even though I looked at job openings. I sought a life away from the military and military base after I hung up the uniform. I had proven myself successful in the military and wanted to do so away from it - as far as possible. It wasn't that I resented it in any way, but that I wanted to prove the growing number of people who believe that Veterans cannot make it on the outside wrong.
While it has been different, I had some good mentorship from many great people and a wife who is a Veteran as well. While there have been highs and lows, it's all in what you want. I chose and have embraced the life I wanted - and now have. It's a great thing.
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Unions are like that. You shouldn't make threats you are not willing to carry out and then live with the consequences. I cannot imagine veterans pulling a stunt like that.
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