Employees are burning me out

[CMI94]

We’ve never had as much of an issue keeping employees happy as we’re having now. It seems like every day someone is quitting, is mad about something, or threatening to leave. Our shop is about 50 guys. We’re paying more than all the shops in the area. Our insurance pay in is like 1/3rd the cost of other shops in our area. We gave up on night shift as we can’t find anyone to work it. We’re lenient on schedules (some guys want to work 12hr days and some don’t), but it seems like whatever we do some guys just aren’t happy.

We’ve given everyone substantial raises since covid. To the tune of probably 5-6 dollars an hour for everyone. We’ve given more vacation. Our insurance is going up 17% next year but no one cares because it’s not going into their pockets. Some older guys are complaining that the younger guys are “overpaid” because they’re within 5 dollars an hour of where they are and they “started out at minimum wage”. We can’t hire younger guys for minimum wage anymore, it doesn’t work but they don’t understand that. Most of our guys are in the upper 20s/hr with some in the lower 30s. We just had 2 guys quit for lower paying jobs because the stress of machining wasn’t with it anymore. We’re not losing a ton of guys but it just seems like everyone is in a foul mood all of the time and talking about quitting, complaining about other guys, etc. I don’t know how much more we can pay while still being able to update machines/etc and be competitive. I’m just frazzled with the way the world is right now. Anyone else having similar issues?

 

[DanASM]

Sounds like the way humans act everyday all over the world. Its tough with almost 50 people around as well. Its seems like too much to be "babysitting". Cant keep everyone happy all the time.

 

[Donkey Hotey]

Guys will talk here about oh, I turn my rapids down, oh a Haas is fast enough

No such thing as fast enough

I agree with everything you said except this one (which I posted very recently). I will run a cycle at 100% and again at 50%. If 50% rapid is less than a minute penalty, I run it that way. The savings is usually under 30 seconds. I don't need to beat up my machines to save 30 seconds. There are usually bigger savings in inefficient tool paths, unnecessary rapid moves (I try to start each operation where the previous left off), or places where an entire tool change can be saved.

All of that goes back to the idea of working smarter and keeping an employee who thinks that way. I have an idea for another thread regarding this subject but, I won't hijack this one with the details.

 

[Donkey Hotey]

30 seconds?
30 seconds is the world

30 seconds is everything

You went through a lot of steps to get to where the rapids were all that remained. If I were running the same part day in and day out, yes, I'd run at 100% rapid.

 

[Freedommachine]

Employees gentlemen... c'mon stay focused.

 

[Radar987]

We’re not losing a ton of guys but it just seems like everyone is in a foul mood all of the time and talking about quitting, complaining about other guys

You have a toxic work atmosphere, and it sounds like these people spend more time complaining than working.

A mass layoff is in order. Pull an Elon Musk and axe 80% of the crew. Have the remaining 20% pick up the entire load and give them 30% raises. You'd be surprised at how much people can accomplish when they focus on their own work rather than someone else's. I seriously doubt your shop needs anywhere near 50 people. Get rid of the dead weight and clean house all at once, not gradually, so the remaining folks feel the shock and fall in line.

 

[CarbideBob]

Pay and bennies are just a starting point.
An old mentor told me "If your people are happy and feel worthwhile they will eat cardboard for a living"
Why are the employees unhappy?
Now you get into people, personalities and what makes them feel good about their work life.
Not easy....This is why you get paid the big bucks.

 

[DouglasJRizzo]

To me, it sounds like there is a "leader" who is stirring up trouble.
It also sounds like perhaps, a flush or bloodletting is necessary for two reasons:
1) People will not take their jobs for granted knowing they can be sacked at any minute. Especially as you're the highest paying place around.
2) Unless you've got 75 CNCs and seven figures of work going out every month, 50 people sounds a bit crowded.

Just my 2c.

 

[Karl_T]

I suggest you get serious about exit interviews.

You likely have a personnel problem with someone in supervision.

 

[IWUP]

"To me, it sounds like there is a "leader" who is stirring up trouble."

This.

 

[DanielG]

Where are you? That matters a lot

People don't quit jobs, they quit managers. If one employee is unhappy, it's probably the employee. If everyone is unhappy, it's probably the company. I concur with Karl that you probably have a supervisor problem. Find out what the root cause is and fix that. The question of whether or not you need 50 employees is an entirely separate matter.

Assuming that it is a management issue:

Canning a bunch of unhappy people isn't going to solve your problem if the root cause of your problem still exists. Getting rid of 25 of them isn't going to magically make the top 24 happy. Now they get to deal with a bad supervisor and have more work to do. Douglas is correct that the remaining 24 won't take their jobs for granted. Left unsaid is that they will probably start looking at new jobs. "The company I work for has terrible morale. Instead of fixing the problem, the owner kept the problem and canned half the company to make us "feel the shock and fall in line". Do I want to stay on with this mess, or look elsewhere?"

 

[broke]

Depending on the kind off work you do and where you are located high 20s low 30s isn't enough. If people are leaving because of the stress I would guess the work is pretty demanding.

If you started giving your more senior employees a few buck more in exchange for them keeping an eye on your younger guys who are leaving due to stress?

Can you automate your way to a better group of core employees? I'm going to be spending some serious cash on pallet pools to get around having more employees. If you currently have 50 you could probably get by with 40 or less if they're the right ones. Take some of the insurance savings and give everyone a raise.

Moral starts at the top. Show appreciation for the work of the good employees and cut out the bad ones. Bad moral and pot stirrers are a cancer to a work force.

 

[Rob F.]

If you dig into the OP's profile it shows:
Job Title: Estimator
State / Province: Nevada

 

[standardparts]

We’ve never had as much of an issue keeping employees happy as we’re having now. It seems like every day someone is quitting, is mad about something, or threatening to leave. Our shop is about 50 guys. We’re paying more than all the shops in the area. Our insurance pay in is like 1/3rd the cost of other shops in our area. We gave up on night shift as we can’t find anyone to work it. We’re lenient on schedules (some guys want to work 12hr days and some don’t), but it seems like whatever we do some guys just aren’t happy.

We’ve given everyone substantial raises since covid. To the tune of probably 5-6 dollars an hour for everyone. We’ve given more vacation. Our insurance is going up 17% next year but no one cares because it’s not going into their pockets. Some older guys are complaining that the younger guys are “overpaid” because they’re within 5 dollars an hour of where they are and they “started out at minimum wage”. We can’t hire younger guys for minimum wage anymore, it doesn’t work but they don’t understand that. Most of our guys are in the upper 20s/hr with some in the lower 30s. We just had 2 guys quit for lower paying jobs because the stress of machining wasn’t with it anymore. We’re not losing a ton of guys but it just seems like everyone is in a foul mood all of the time and talking about quitting, complaining about other guys, etc. I don’t know how much more we can pay while still being able to update machines/etc and be competitive. I’m just frazzled with the way the world is right now. Anyone else having similar issues?

Set aside some time, maybe a week(?) or so, think thngs over, maybe seek advice of some trusted people who have been in approximately the same business, write a rough business plan "where we are at...and where we want to end up" and maybe you will come up with a solution.
Have two close friend who pretty much were in the same situation. One, 22-25 employees, fav and machining, spent $550K, and soon to be a total of close to a $million to automate away bottlenecks and reliance on human captiol.
The other, 10-15 employees, job shop with long run clients....one year plan to liquidate which has been accomplished.
At some point you have to make a decision for your own good.

 

[Mr. Atoz]

If you dig into the OP's profile it shows:
Job Title: Estimator
State / Province: Nevada

Shit, no wonder people aren't happy. Who the hell would want to live in Nevada?

 

[cnctoolcat]

A 50-person shop is a pretty good-sized operation...

For a shop like that, I would expect modern equipment, air conditioning, mist control, good lighting, epoxy floors, good running machine work...

And if you are that kind of shop, there's no excuse for bad attitudes. Unless it's a few bad apples that have to go, or management that has to be reset.

ToolCat

 

[Rob F.]

For a shop like that, I would expect modern equipment, air conditioning, mist control, good lighting, epoxy floors, good running machine work...

He is in the Nevada desert, I dont think you mentioned enough air conditioning.
Should be something more like:
For a shop like that, I would expect Air conditioning, modern equipment, air conditioning, mist control, air conditioning, good lighting, air conditioning, epoxy floors, air conditioning, good running machine work, and more air conditioning...

 

[Radar987]

MFers are going to brothels right after work. Probably seeing their coworkers there.

 

[Houdini]

A 50-person shop is a pretty good-sized operation...

For a shop like that, I would expect modern equipment, air conditioning, mist control, good lighting, epoxy floors, good running machine work...

And if you are that kind of shop, there's no excuse for bad attitudes. Unless it's a few bad apples that have to go, or management that has to be reset.

ToolCat

100%, I started my own shop with just 2 of us, I obviously insisted to myself all these amenities, and have them.

 

[ttrager]

This is an almost impossible task to give advice on without an in-person visit and review of your shop. But I see some good feedback in this thread, so I'll just drop out some distinct thoughts, in no particular order in case it has some kind of worth:

Pay rate is important, to a point. However, "Train people well enough they can leave, but treat them well enough they don't want to." -(I forget who said that).

I'm not suggesting you are treating people poorly. But I've been places where people were miserable because they got away with bad behavior and/or management wasn't doing their job and letting that go on long enough it takes on a life of it's own.

You've identified the problem, by saying people are just in a foul mood all the time and complaining about others. Raises and better benefits won't fix that. It's a band-aid that entices people to stick around longer, all the while still being unhappy. But it's not the fix.

"If you want to change people's attitudes, change the environment." cnctoolcat makes a good point, and I've seen this first hand in two different industries now. To the extent possible, and within reasonable budget over time, consider reworking the environment Machinists are wading in next to their co-workers every minute of day. Air Conditioning? Lighting? Good workbenches and workspace? Beat to crap tools vs new or at least well kept? Good work benches or chewed up hand me downs? Lunchroom? You can't fix your problem by just painting the floors and buying new micrometers mind you, but it IS one area that contributes to people liking where they work.

Vacation time increases based on years worked? The longer your tenure the more vacation you get as an olive-branch to your old-timers?

In the end the unfortunate answer is, this is a Leadership issue + economy issue (that's out of your control). Not knowing any better I'd say try to address the PEOPLE ISSUES at the people issue level if at all possible. Maybe you've done this, I don't know.

Here's an example straight out of the last place I worked: "Leadership" never addressed the actual process and people issues causing people to devolve into blame mongering and repeating issues. They threw MONEY at a couple of people (raises), gave them the responsibility to "go fix this stuff" without actually having any authority to make the necessary changes, went about doing what they had been doing, and them simply demoted or fired the people that were supposed to fix things.

Leadership was passing the buck, not paying attention. Nothing got fixed, it got worse.

Leaders lead. They set the tone, watchdog the environment, pay attention to morale, interpersonal conflicts vs who cooperates well with who and why is that?.

Maybe start a list of distinct complaints for yourself that people are having. Something you can sit down with and think about and build on. Don't just leave it in your head. Investigate (politely and non-adversarial) what people are complaining about and grow the list. You've got a start on that with knowing some of the old timers resent what the more junior people are making.