Disengagement: we get emails saying how profitable we are, the directors drive super-nice cars ... but we get cost-of-living pay increases, no bonuses. Why should we be 'engaged'? Feels like we're getting ripped off.
Maybe buzzwords like that wouldn't be needed in the first place if your employees were simply happy to do their jobs; now this faux-philosophical mumbo jumbo has to be inserted and the job needs to mean something. No, screw employees being enthusiastic and committed to work because it benefits their lives outside of work... we need them to be enthusiastic and committed to work for the sake of it so we can pay them less. (is what it comes down to)
A.: Provide services in return for financial compensation.
Q.: Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?
A.: Providing services in return for financial compensation.
People should, ideally, have a level of passion for what they do. Employers looking for employees with passion can swing too far the other way. We shouldn't kid ourselves that money is almost always almost everything, and many of us would have entirely different occupations without financial dependence.
If you are led to believe it is different, you are most likely being misled, for example in order to pay you less (as you pointed out before).
I actually find this sort of "company culture" that demands your whole being to be creepy bordering on totalitarian.
It’s not enough that you’re damn good at your job, you have to be “passionate”!
Dear employers, most of your stuff is mundane and boring. But that’s perfectly fine! If you pay us we will do our jobs very well. However, if you want us to be passionate about integrating the n+1-th tracking library into a website, or writing that ETL script, then be prepared to be lied to.
Apparently if it's important someone will come ask if I got the email within 5 minutes anyways