Re:Recognize those things you cannot change.... (Score 1)

I feel the pain of many of the sentiments expressed in this thread, and I can say from experience it isn't always whining and lack of effort that keeps things from changing. I am currently employed by a fortune 500 (fourth one I have worked for), and the red-tape is as thick now as at any of the other three. The companies I have worked for are varied; transportation, telco, healthcare, and a major routing/switching equipment manufacturer. I don't believe in a defeatest attitute, and I do try to change things but it is overwhelming at times. At the telco I was very frustrated with internal ordering processes for Cisco equipment, so I decided to fix it against the warnings of my co-workers. When I finally achieved resolution several months later, I felt little joy becuase of the pain required to get through the process. It all comes down to how much passion you have and how long can you maintain it for any given issue. As much as it pains me, after seeing how difficult it is to fix problems in a large enterprise I can see why so many become apathetic. Quiting truly doesn't fix anything, but it does make it better for a while. It is like a person told me who left a while back, he said... All companies are disfunctional, and it will grate on you after 2-3 years. You know that the next company you move to will also be disfunctional, but it will be in a different way and it will take a while for it to bother you. Work hard not to get involved in the disfunctional problems, isolate yourself from them and don't dwell on them. That will prolong the length of time it takes until you have to make the next move. I work in information security which presents a whole new set of obstacles to overcome working with other departments, but I work hard to build credibility, teamwork and trust. The environment is one of fear and blame though, which makes it extremely difficult to resolve problems. Everyone is afraid of the problem being pinned to them, so lots of ongoing problems are just ignored and everyone claims their piece of the puzzle is working properly. I take on what I feel strongly about, but I have to choose which battles to fight. Mangement doesn't want to hear about problems, and honest efforts to improve things are frequently ignored. They simply don't feel the pain, so it isn't a problem. Fixing problems takes a lot of work, and often involves some degree of risk. Most people in management are not willing to take risk, especially when they personally have little to gain and they are personally feeling none of the pain. I have a great job, in the field I want to be in and am well compensated. But the red-tape and lack of cooperation renders the majority of my efforts a big waste of time. We have most of the problems people are describing, and I simply can't fix them without the acknowledgment and support of upper management (yes, I have tried). On top of the thickness of broken proceses, my senior managment seems proud that we have aquired new facilities and greatly expanded the number of applications used, while decreasing or maintaining head count over the past few years. All of this is stressing people to the limit. I know that if I move to another company it will only be a matter of time before I am faced with similar challenges. So what is a person to do? I am seriously considering a consulting job. Yes I will be in the mist of bad environments with similar problems, but they would be other people's problems to work through. I will be forced to let the employees cut through the red tape while I do what they are paying consultant rates for. I won't have to live day to day in any one environment, and should be able to avoid most of the inevitable frustrations. Maybe this will get me by until I can achieve my ultimate no-stress employment goal of being a Wal-Mart greeter.