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Originally Posted by OldDutch
I just struggle with the culture of O&G. The highs and lows and TBH the seemingly laggard culture when it comes to technology, women in leadership, work/life balance, and other social issues.
I thought my last company was pretty good on this in O&G and then moved out and realized they weren't as great outside the sector. Seemed a bit old boys club comparatively.
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Depends on perspective I suppose. From my end, O&G is one of the most innovative and technologically advanced industries. The advances in drilling over the past 10 years have been astounding and it's due in large to technology advances. And the use of analytics is just beginning.
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Originally Posted by RichieRich
If you're asking whether the O&G has "improved"?? From my perspective - absolutely not. The old boys club of die hard boisterous bullies is still pervasive where people get promoted above their level of incompetency, don't get held responsible for their decisions (the underlings take the heat, the blame, and the layoffs), meanwhile the poor service providers get leaned on harder and harder with progressively more unrealistic expectations by those with less and less knowledge.
There haven't been many "highs" since 2014 and the lows are becoming low-blows. Some folks seem to get doing ok however I've noticed they toe the line and don't make any fuss and typically don't stand for anything (ie defending their team), and just try to blend into the background.
I'm hoping I can make it another 5-7 years in O&G but then after that who knows. If need be I'll take on a "subsistence" job in order to let my investment capital do it's work whilst making enough to pay my basics of living. Or, who knows, maybe actually try something different just because.
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Fully agree Richie. The service side has always been tough but it's been the most stressful time of my life since 2014 when things really crashed (and have not recovered in Canada). I'm too far along to change direction now so am also hoping I can get 7-8 more years and be able to retire.
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Originally Posted by boogerz
I was lured back to one of the majors two years ago and find the exact same thing. There's still no compressed work week option, management is still almost exclusively old and white, change management is still an afterthought, the org is as tall/bureaucratic/hierarchical as its ever been, etc. The "progressive" branding that they're trying to do really isn't very progressive compared to what's happening outside O&G.
Should be an interesting few years to see if oil does experience any legitimate hiring difficulties.
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True on both counts. Some places and professions do offer a compressed week but others it is not practical. Hard to schedule someone to a 4 day week when their job requires 24/7 attention and never stops.
Every time their is a crash is has been harder to recruit again when it recovers. Particularly in the service side. Some people just have had enough of the unsteadiness and uncertainty and want something more reliable and predictable. Another significant thing is we are losing one of our main and traditional supply of workers and (rural males) as our population becomes more urban (and diverse). The appeal of working a rig or driving a truck during the winter (when you cannot farm anyway) is not there anymore.