Constant management shuffling that embarks on tearing down previous management's accomplishments, then begins on their own initiatives that will likely fall prey to the same fate at the hands of the next hastily assembled regime. This is extremely costly, and it is not done in a respectful manner towards the remaining employees who are held accountable for the previous management's directives.
Conflicting philosophies of outsourcing vs. factory modernization which steal resources from each other. Outsourcing as a sole solution will leave the company's quality vulnerable and is an old business model that many best in class companies are recognizing and beginning to reverse.
Mutual loathing between management and unions with no efforts on either side to improve relations.
Forced ranking of salaried employees and clearing out of the low 10% is killing moral, because in many cases hard working and talented individuals lose their jobs simply for being in a small group and "They had to pick somebody". Conversely the inability and unwillingness of HR to pursue the same model on non performing "entitled" union employees (which there are many) fearing legal repercussions, not to say that there are not great union employees, there are.
There is a complete lack of inspirational leadership in the company, not saying that they couldn't be inspirational without some effort. Wall Street mentality now reigns, where profit margins are bolstered by diminishing the quality of life of the employees. HR slogans and campaigns stating that "people are our greatest asset" are known to be a joke, and do not reflect the realities in the workplace. Key HR individuals are attorneys, which at first glance sounds reasonable, it is logical to want smart and detail oriented individuals in this position. More likely though, it is a necessity when a company charts an HR course deep into the grey areas of employment law. It would be better to mitigate risk by ensuring superior treatment and compensation of employees, leaving only frivolous grievances that are easily dealt with.
Attempts to innovate are met with resistance on many fronts, often derailing progress and wasting time.
