Broken promises from day one in the interview. Pay isn't as high as promised, upward potential in the company isn't as promised. Hard work is not rewarded here. It's a very dissatisfying place to work so it is best to try to shut your brain off and wait two weeks for your cheque to come in.
One of the big disappointments of working here (in Toronto, in the horrible Transportation Dept.) is that it is managed by people who are completely incompetent, and are clearly without any education in management whatsoever. This incompetence is on full display every single day, particularly when it comes to addressing employee safety related issues. Management at CN talk about safety all the time, but it has become clear over the years that Safety here has its conditions. Here's the motto : "Safety is number 1! (But only when convenient or inexpensive! )" And guess what, when understaffed front line management are completely pounded into the ground by their overwhelming 14 hour work days, immediate action on safety is NEVER convenient.
Poisonous interactions with supervisors are commonplace, and if you step out of line, you are targeted by management. When this happens, there is nothing you can do, no amount of hard work can spare you. 'Love the job, hate the company', is a motto I've heard many times. People don't quit jobs, they quit bosses, and this place has many bosses worth quitting over.
CN has no regard for the environment whatsoever. Oil spills, contaminants coming out of rail cars... No need to clean it up, it'll rain eventually. I'm shocked at what I see sometimes, and the fact that Transport Canada doesn't demand more of our national railways is tragic, esp after Lac Megantic.
