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Chilly.....how long ago was this?

I retired December 31st, 2015 so it was probably in 2014 or 2015

If they did it in an interview they were certainly going to do it at their desk while they were supposed to be concentrating on case files and in the court system, errors in case processing were not looked on kindly by the judges and court administration

I bet I had more pissed off people grieve hiring decisions the last 2-3 years than the 8-9 years proceeding

The state changed their retirement tiers in the late 2000s and my hiring pools for entry level positions went from 75-100 applicants per job to 20-25 per job and the quality of applicants went to hell

The benefits were gutted and no pension plan was offered, just an opportunity for a 401k type plane as well as medical so it was just not as appealing as it was prior to the tier change

After the change I had LOTS of women with prior state service in tier 1 and tier 2 apply to get back into state service to get their high 3 for retirement and many of them had almost zero computer skills as they left state service before that was a thing

It got harder and harder towards the end to find qualified people who had the skills and actually wanted to work, not just show up for a paycheck
 
It boggles my mind how anyone can think answering a text is okay during an interview. I guess folks lack common sense. The fact is that the phone shouldn't ha've even been turned on.
 
and so it goes.......planet Earth....203?......the end.......LOL
 
and so it goes.......planet Earth....203?......the end.......LOL

Reminds me of the old Zager & Evans song, "In the Year 2525" where they progress through time into a dystopian future
 
It boggles my mind how anyone can think answering a text is okay during an interview. I guess folks lack common sense. The fact is that the phone shouldn't ha've even been turned on.

I tried instituting a no phones at your desk policy and collected all phones first thing in the morning

That lasted about 15 minutes

I got in trouble for that one after all the whiners contacted HR

It amazed me the last couple of years how HR got so soft and so wishy washy about stuff like this, they simply didn't want to deal with disgruntled employees and possible backlash so productivity plummeted and the divide between the actual workers and the "there for a check" people grew wider and wider

About six months before I retired the court announced some drastic changes for 2016 due to the huge shortfall in the state budget and a lot of people who were qualified to retire but were hanging on for a few more years just said F it and retired at about the same time I did

The court never recovered from the huge loss of knowledge and dedicated work force and my friends who were left behind haven't stopped complaining to this day about how terrible the morale and productivity is
 
It amazed me the last couple of years how HR got so soft and so wishy washy about stuff like this, they simply didn't want to deal with disgruntled employees and possible backlash so productivity plummeted and the divide between the actual workers and the "there for a check" people grew wider and wider


The court never recovered from the huge loss of knowledge and dedicated work force and my friends who were left behind haven't stopped complaining to this day about how terrible the morale and productivity is

If you changed "Court" to "Department," and you are pretty close to what I was experiencing. With us, it was personnel shortage, stemming from a 'hostile.' turned 'toxic,' turned "LETHAL" working conditions. Employees who "fled" from the Chief and his den of snakes (like-minded administration) had spread the word about the working conditions. that and the fact that the Chief like to "weed out" anyone who he felt was "Less than PERFECT" (in his opinion), left us with a "pool" of candidates (pool = less than 5 per recruitment drive) that were ALL of course, less than perfect in the Chief's eyes, so NO ONE would get hired. *IF* by chance, someone would get hired, they never lasted long, as a direct result of the above mentioned conditions.
 
If you changed "Court" to "Department," and you are pretty close to what I was experiencing. With us, it was personnel shortage, stemming from a 'hostile.' turned 'toxic,' turned "LETHAL" working conditions. Employees who "fled" from the Chief and his den of snakes (like-minded administration) had spread the word about the working conditions. that and the fact that the Chief like to "weed out" anyone who he felt was "Less than PERFECT" (in his opinion), left us with a "pool" of candidates (pool = less than 5 per recruitment drive) that were ALL of course, less than perfect in the Chief's eyes, so NO ONE would get hired. *IF* by chance, someone would get hired, they never lasted long, as a direct result of the above mentioned conditions.

For me that handwriting was on the wall the day that HR called all department heads over for an unscheduled meeting

It was all hush hush and we were clueless and waiting for the worst

The topic was the court's new policy on marijuana legalization and marijuana use in the workplace

I ended up having to go back to my division, gather everyone around me, and tell them that while they couldn't possess or smoke pot in the workplace, the court would condone its use before work and at lunch, as long as you didn't come to work under the influence

That was about the last straw for me, telling my people it was OK to do something that I spent my entire adult life completely avoiding and that was a crime a week before
 
You can point the finger at different generations as to who is more lazy.

Before I left my last position in July (same employer still), our #1 overtime person was around 700 hours of overtime for the calendar year and is under the age of 25. Maybe he’s the exception, idk.

I also just saw a news report that around 48% of 18-29 year old adults are living with their parents. So that’s probably part of the way people are able to avoid working.

Covid changed things for sure. No clue how the people that choose not to work are getting by, my guess is that some are selling stolen goods as retail theft has exploded over the last couple years. Then add in the PPP loan scams that happened all over the place.


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My dad said “I pity the next generation”

I say the same thing but it’s pretty much a knee jerk reaction to everything going on around us

I’m not sure anything is different now than it was 100 years ago or will be in the future

I’m not talking about politics, although you look at any ancient civilization and their political system and the power, corruption, and mayhem is still there, just adjusted for time and space

I’m referring to human nature

We have been murderers and saints and everything in between for millennia

There has been lazy and industrious in every generation

We want to try and simplify it by blaming a particular generation but it’s just not that simple

We see all the slacker millennials and gen Xers simply because they make themselves visible by virtue of social media

We are so fixated on them it’s easy to miss the 20 something’s that are out there that were raised right and that I would be proud to work beside and call a friend

The only problem with the young go getters was they excelled and moved up and on into higher range positions so it was a constant conveyor belt of hiring and training

Honestly at the court I found some gems in my hiring that were early to mid 20s and I turned away a lot of older people who had prior state service and were just coming back to try and get a higher “high 3” to calculate their pensions from

The youngsters at least were computer literate and many of the “verge of retirement” applicants didn’t even use email and couldn’t hack the test in Microsoft core products


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…the court would condone its use before work and at lunch, as long as you didn't come to work under the influence…
Well, how in the heck does that work? OK to hang out with Spicoli at lunch but you best straighten up 30 minutes later?
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My dad said “I pity the next generation”

I say the same thing but it’s pretty much a knee jerk reaction to everything going on around us

I’m not sure anything is different now than it was 100 years ago or will be in the future

I’m not talking about politics, although you look at any ancient civilization and their political system and the power, corruption, and mayhem is still there, just adjusted for time and space

I’m referring to human nature

We have been murderers and saints and everything in between for millennia

There has been lazy and industrious in every generation

We want to try and simplify it by blaming a particular generation but it’s just not that simple

We see all the slacker millennials and gen Xers simply because they make themselves visible by virtue of social media

We are so fixated on them it’s easy to miss the 20 something’s that are out there that were raised right and that I would be proud to work beside and call a friend

The only problem with the young go getters was they excelled and moved up and on into higher range positions so it was a constant conveyor belt of hiring and training

Honestly at the court I found some gems in my hiring that were early to mid 20s and I turned away a lot of older people who had prior state service and were just coming back to try and get a higher “high 3” to calculate their pensions from

The youngsters at least were computer literate and many of the “verge of retirement” applicants didn’t even use email and couldn’t hack the test in Microsoft core products


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A good friend of mine, his son was 18 when he joined the Coast Guard. He had saved up for his car and bought it cash when he was 16. He then saved over $10,000.00. He's a straight arrow.

Policies over vaccinations saw him return home to Huntington Beach where he awaits his next endeavor.

The kid is a huge inspiration, even to me at my age.

I'm amazed that my friend was able to lead his family through the ideological wasteland of socal. He is also a force of nature.
 
Well, how in the heck does that work? OK to hang out with Spicoli at lunch but you best straighten up 30 minutes later?
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Sorry bruh, ya talkin ta me
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Well, how in the heck does that work? OK to hang out with Spicoli at lunch but you best straighten up 30 minutes later?
c45fac79568d77cc2ad0850031af698a.jpg



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In all seriousness, I asked the exact same thing during the meeting

Loudly, and multiple times

I was told it’s no different than having a drink with lunch

I said when the hell did THAT become ok

Apparently judges and court attorneys and admin people do it all the time

The caveat is don’t come back inebriated

I raised thirty kinds of hell at this meeting and simply wasted my breath

I went so far as to say that all data entry into the court’s proprietary system was time stamped and down the road when you get in the middle of a trial and the info you have is garbage and it was done after lunch while Cheech was half asleep dreaming of Doritos don’t come crying to me

Poor downtrodden stoners have rights ya know
 
Sorry bruh, ya talkin ta me
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Phone's ringing, Dude.

Thank you, Donny...................:laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing:


HAS to be one of my top 5 movies EVER
 
If it ain't happening already it will......20 somethin goes into a job interview and in the middle of it, says to the future employer.
"Wait.....I gotta watch this TikTok video....all the while laughing as they watch it......

What would probably happen is he'd whip out his phone and do a Tik Tok of the interview.
 
In all seriousness, I asked the exact same thing during the meeting

Loudly, and multiple times

I was told it’s no different than having a drink with lunch

I said when the hell did THAT become ok

Apparently judges and court attorneys and admin people do it all the time

The caveat is don’t come back inebriated

I raised thirty kinds of hell at this meeting and simply wasted my breath

I went so far as to say that all data entry into the court’s proprietary system was time stamped and down the road when you get in the middle of a trial and the info you have is garbage and it was done after lunch while Cheech was half asleep dreaming of Doritos don’t come crying to me

Poor downtrodden stoners have rights ya know

They want everyone doped up and on Netflix so you won't see what's coming.
Thanks for sharing your story. I feel better now lol
 
They want everyone doped up and on Netflix so you won't see what's coming.
Thanks for sharing your story. I feel better now lol

Despite my wife telling me repeatedly to retire at 60 I had planned on working until 67 as up until the last year or so I truly loved my job and looked forward to going to work

But when this ridiculous marijuana farce happened and the state budget crumbled I could see the writing on the wall

The reduction in hours that was instituted the year after I left screwed a lot of people over who were close but couldn’t retire yet due to age or whatever because it drastically reduced what could have or should have been their high 3 or high 5 years depending on their tier

I’m lucky I got out before it all came tumbling down

I felt guilty as hell for several years but several of my judges that I have kept up with have told me I did the right thing at the right time

I think I would have lost my mind if I had stayed and had to watch it all burn down around me


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Despite my wife telling me repeatedly to retire at 60 I had planned on working until 67 as up until the last year or so I truly loved my job and looked forward to going to work

But when this ridiculous marijuana farce happened and the state budget crumbled I could see the writing on the wall

The reduction in hours that was instituted the year after I left screwed a lot of people over who were close but couldn’t retire yet due to age or whatever because it drastically reduced what could have or should have been their high 3 or high 5 years depending on their tier

I’m lucky I got out before it all came tumbling down

I felt guilty as hell for several years but several of my judges that I have kept up with have told me I did the right thing at the right time

I think I would have lost my mind if I had stayed and had to watch it all burn down around me


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Were you a DA?

I smoked pot for a long time. Once it started becoming legal everywhere I quit. I smoked a joint with a friend in California a couple of years ago and thought I was going to die. The stuff out now is dangerous imo
 
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