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January 23, 2009

IBM Absent from Top 100 List, Perhaps Sam Should Take Note of Google's Spa-Like Atmosphere

Apparently, cows are not the only happy mammals that come from California. Workers at IT companies Google, Cisco Systems, and Qualcomm--all headquartered in California cities--gave their employees enough of a thumbs up to rank them in the top 10 of Fortune magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work For 2008 list. Google took No. 1, Cisco No. 6, and Qualcomm No. 8.

Incidentally, this is the second year that Google took the No. 1 spot. (Hmmm. Maybe free cafeteria food, onsite haircuts and oil changes, massages, and fitness facilities do make a difference! Sounds more like a spa stay to me. Where can I sign up?)

And who is conspicuously absent from the list? IBM! Of course, not every company has an equal opportunity to make the list. First, someone at the company has to give the okay for its employees to take a 57-question survey distributed by the Great Place to Work Institute. Fortune says that of the 1,500 firms it contacted to offer the survey, 407 participated.

So perhaps IBM didn't even give its employees a chance to speak their minds. Which wouldn't surprise me. For a public company, IBM sure is secretive about, well, everything except tooting its own horn!

Even with stellar 2008 financial results, though, the prospects of major layoffs can't make employees too happy.

But I still think it would behoove Mr. Palmisano to check out what Google is doing!

Anyway, rounding out the top 10 best companies to work for in 2008 (and the number of U.S. employees at each):

  1. Google--8,134
  2. Quicken Loans--4,920
  3. Wegmans Food Markets--35,302
  4. Edward Jones--31,451
  5. Genentech--10,842
  6. Cisco Systems--32,160
  7. Starbucks--134,013
  8. Qualcomm--10,095
  9. Goldman Sachs--13,764
  10. Methodist Hospital System--10,481

I've always wanted to own my own coffee and ice cream shop/bookstore. Perhaps I need to start with a stint at Starbucks to learn the ropes!

But I do love working from home right now--thanks Penton! What about you? What perks or benefits does your IBM i, i5/OS, System i, AS/400-loving company offer that make you give it a thumbs up?

--Rita-Lyn Sanders, senior industry editor

Posted by rsanders at January 23, 2009 8:31 AM

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Comments

IBM was one of the best places to work and once prided itself for that. It is no longer a best place, but has become one of the worst - the US equivalent of a Chinese sweatshop.

IBM has had a 15 year slide downhill, but the last 3 years have been nothing short of hellish in the US due to ridulous cost cutting and unrelenting offshoring of US jobs.

You work much longer days, harder, far more often and with more stress than ever before. Overtime used to be an occasional thing when a rush project needed to be done, but now you're expected to do whatever it takes all the time - and you don't get paid for it.

Your compensation is steadily losing ground versus inflation because you don't get COLAs or raises every year. In fact, you haven't seen a raise in three years and the last was a measly 2.0%. But you're lucky, since others got a pay cut and some lost their jobs.

You fear losing your job, it could happen at virtually any time without any reason. You're also expected to train your Indian or Chinese replacement without any complaint, knowing that your job will be gone.

IBM claims you have 30 days to find another job within, but there's always a company-wide hiring freeze during that time so there aren't jobs to be found. IBM never announces layoffs unless there is need to pander to Wall Street.

The most devastating part of this is the utter contempt and lack of respect that the executive class has toward IBM's employees, which leads to abusive, sweatshop like practices. As a Dilbert cartoon noted recently, we're treated like livestock.

I'm not mad, only exhausted and disheartened. We just had 800 more coworkers layed off in Rochester.

Do not under any circumstances work for IBM.

Posted by: anonymous at January 27, 2009 8:17 PM

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