How did you catch on that you were in a set up that turned out to be a cult, or
a front for a cult?
Substitute "abusive" if you feel that the term "cult" does not quite apply.
Here is an article that gives signs of a potentially bad employment situation.
Quotations are brief excerpts. The entire article is well worth a peek.
Ten Unmistakable Signs Of A Bad Place To Work[
www3.forbes.com]
The authors of "Ten Unmistakable Signs of a Bad Place to Work" do not refer to cults. However, much of this advice can be extrapolated to assist us in recognizing whether a church or human potential or good cause organization is potentially cultic.
The Forbes article gives a list of clues indicating control freak behavior on the part of a potential employer.
If it is a bad place to earn a living, it is a bad place in which to meditate, pray, do yoga or work for world peace.
Refusal to Give Interviewees the Employee Handbook
You need this document to learn what you need to make an informed decision.
Information is power. Refusal to give you a copy of the employee handbook or a copy of the liability waiver form to read and examine at home prior to participation in an event or workshop denies you information you need and deserve to have.
If a guru, human potential leader, retreat leader refuse to give you a copy of the waiver/release of liability form so that you can go home and examine it at leisure --beware.
[
forum.culteducation.com]
If a guru or human potential group requires its members to keep its methods secret and states that newbies never be told what is done at retreats and seminars, beware. You cannot make a fully informed decision if you are not told what will be done to you.
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An employee handbook is a window to the corporate soul. Reading the employee handbook will give you enormous clues to the company’s culture. If they won’t give you a handbook, run away then and there!
You need a copy of that employee handbook so you can learn what you are getting into before you sign on the dotted line. Here is what you can learn from reading
a copy of that handbook. Such as:
No-Moonlighting Policy.
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A No-Moonlighting policy is a rule that says that if you work for this company, you can’t have another, part-time job. Why would that be any of their business, if you’re showing up to work and getting your work done?
No-References Policy
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You won’t find this policy in the employee handbook, so it is important that you ask your interviewer about it. Ask them whether the company’s managers are allowed to provide references for their former employees. In many large organizations, they are not.....only fearful leaders put No-Reference Policies in place. They couldn’t care less whether the No-Reference Policy makes it harder for their former teammates to get a new job. No-Reference Policies are unethical and should be illegal but they’re not, so proceed with caution!
Progressive Discipline
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If the handbook talks about Progressive Discipline, get out of Dodge immediately! You are an adult. You are not a wayward third-grader who needs to worry about getting sent to the principal’s office. Progressive Discipline policies that line out the punishments employees will receive for a first infraction, second infraction, etc. are holdovers from the Industrial Revolution and have no place in the Knowledge Economy we are working in now.
Payroll Deductions
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Some old-school companies will take money out of your paycheck for stupid things. You will see these policies written out in the employee handbook if they have them in place........
Any company that wants to take money out of your paycheck (for a piece of equipment that breaks while you’re using it, e.g.) is not a place you want to work for.
Dictated Hours
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I collect employee handbooks. At least 30% of the 100 or so employee handbooks on my hard drive specify the number of hours the company expects you to work — and I’m talking about salaried employees who do not get paid a penny for overtime.......
Managers Control Internal Transfers
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In good companies, employees bid on internal jobs they are interested in. If they get the job, then their new manager and their old manager will talk about a transition plan to get the employee into their new position without leaving the former manager in the lurch.
In bad companies, managers control their employees’ internal transfer and promotion opportunities.....
Companies that don’t understand the difference between machines that can be controlled by humans, and talented employees who can’t be controlled, don’t deserve your talents.
Formal Performance Management
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Performance Management is the name of a popular HR hoax and scam that turns any job into a series of tasks and goals that you’ll be held accountable for on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. No job worth doing breaks down into tiny, measurable parts.
No Casual Time
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When you read a potential employer’s employee handbook, pay special attention to the section of the handbook that focuses on paid time off. Good companies understand that in addition to scheduled vacation time and unscheduled sick time, normal adults need occasional days off to deal with real life.
You might have to take your cat to the vet one day or be called into a meeting at your kids’ school without notice. Good companies have personal time or casual time you can use for those real-life situations.......
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Pay Grades Make the Man (or Woman)
Also pay close attention to the discussion of pay grades in the employee handbook you are reading, and listen on your job interviews when people talk about pay grades and levels. ...
In some organizations you hear people say “Don’t call him — he’s an E5, and he won’t answer your call because you’re only an E3.” They say these things without irony. They think it’s normal to rank and evaluate people based on their title and pay grade....
Interview Process
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Last on our list of bad-company giveaways is the interviewing process itself. If people return your calls and email messages, treat you kindly during the interview process and generally seem to value your time and talents, that’s a great thing.
If they leave you waiting for weeks between each contact, give you endless tests and assignments and behave as though they are members of the royal family and you are a piece of dirt under their feet, don’t stick around!
*(Corboy note: by contrast, many cults treat you like royalty when trying to rope you in -especially if they suspect you have money or prestige. Keep your eyes and ears open and watch how they treat underlings. Are you ever able to have private chats with the people who clean the ashram, look after the guru's swimming pool? See how they are treated. If you are never able to meet the underlings -- avoid this set up. If kept a member of the guru's entourage, you are in a bubble and will be kept ignorant. Worse, you may turn into as abusive a person as your new buddy the guru. Humans are shaped by their social surroundings. No one is immune. Choose your social environment carefully -- and diversify it. )
