The Bond Among Employees

My son started his new job today - his first job out of college! The workplace is not only a place to make money to support yourself and your family, but it can be a place to form great friendships and lasting memories.

The other day I was going through some old papers and found some memos I wrote when I was an HR supervisor for Samsung. One memo to the employees recounted the closing of the TV plant and the opening of the service division. Reading it made me think of the friends I made there and the good times we had together. It's even more interesting when you consider that I left Samsung 27 years ago! Of course, no place is perfect and my memory probably is biased to the good times, but I don't think my memory is that bad.

Enjoy the people you work with and love them as in "love your neighbor as yourself." We spend 8 - 10 hours a day with our fellow employees. Try to enjoy these times of your life.

Here's an excerpt from the memo to give you a little insight into my time there.

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April 1, 1992 Poor Mike's Almanac (An SEA - Ledgewood Publication)

After over seven years of operation, Samsung International, Inc., announced on October 11, 1991 that it was closing down operations. Most layoffs occurred on November 27, the lines were disassembled during December, and on February 29, no more employees were left on SII's payroll. Although I did not know the SII employees for very long, I felt close to them and seeing them leave was a very sad occasion. I have some real good memories though. One incident in particular brings a smile to my face whenever I think about it. Production targets had been set for SII and up until two days before the shutdown everything was going well. However, a truck carrying our final shipment of CRTs [cathode ray tubes] got stuck in a snowstorm, and would not arrive until late Tuesday. It looked like SII would not meet it's final production goals. However, after some discussion, SII employees agreed to go home early and return later that evening after the truck had arrived to finish the final sets. At 6:30pm the truck arrived, the line was fired up, and everyone got to work. Joanne Forgey and I tried to make coffee for everyone, but after failing miserably at that task, [the line supervisor] suggested I pick up a screw gun and help out on the line. I did, and although we were two days from closing, people were laughing and having a good time. By 8:30pm, SII was back on the production schedule.

"Two days from closing" was two days before Thanksgiving. Given the situation, it would be expected that employees would be angry and bitter, but for the most part, everyone chipped in and helped until the last day. Good people.

I'll never forget my time at Samsung and the friends I made. There are friends for you to make as well!