Complete beginner - pros and cons of driving, educate me

albion:

Juddian:
If you are lucky enough to land such a job, for God’s sake look after it, don’t do what so many do ie take the ■■■■ out of the sick pay, do your best to make sure the company becomes market leader or help get it there or stay there, cos if you don’t then sooner or later the directors will wash their hands of transport, as so many have done, and put the job out to tender to the usual logistics hyenas, and what was once a good job becomes another ruined in the race to the bottom.

You and I, as said before, agree on that point very much.

However, there seems to be a different feel in the air. My main customer - has been for 20 years - is changing it seems. I’ve had the self same conversation just now with the dispatch manager who is proper old skool. I was on site last week and I’ve never noticed so much of a divide between the youngsters coming into jobs like HR ( the frilly bits of work) and those that actually do the R&D ( it’s a high tech product) and the manufacturing which is still a skilled engineers job. Of course being haulage we are totally irrelevant to the new gods of business strategy :unamused: . It makes me think long term that somewhere along the line we’ll be turfed out in favour of DHL etc.

Don’t know if you read much Juddian, if you do, think you’d enjoy this book

amazon.co.uk/White-Working- … in+america

It’s about the class divide in the states and the role it played in Trump’s appointment; it also has obvious parallels with the Brexit voted and I can relate it in micro fashion to my customer’s staff and the way they split themselves.

It’s not a long book and despite the title, an easy read.

Sorry OP, wandered off topic :blush:

You only wander off topic rarely Albion, unlike the majority of us here. :blush:
Do you and Juddian and others think that the attitude displayed in companies is related to their size?
Hasnt that always been the case? A company or department, with up to, about, 20/30 employees is going to function as a team, but much bigger and it will self divide and youll have infighting? Sometimes older vs younger, sometimes management vs workers? And back in the day didnt Murfitts drivers divide between artics and wagonndrags? Im suggesting that, but not sure I really believe it?
There does seem to be a trend within some big companies for various departments to become too large. As the head of HR wants to justify their request for a salary increase they ask for more staff, they try interfering in other departments, and generally take resources that should be going to “the sharp end”. Those people (says the common thought) that work in the bits where they wear white lab coats, are less concerned with office politics and allow this to continue, and so the company can be loaded with too much dead-wood.
There is a clear place for good administration workers everywhere, but don`t some places go too far.