Any managers/bosses discussing PO

FoxV · Posted: Thu May 26, 2005 1:04 pm Post subject: Any managers/bosses discussing PO

We've all read several instances here about how people have tried bring up the topic with their bosses and have been shot down. I know my own "testing the waters" with my boss went absolutely nowhere.

I have heard of one poster that has discussed it successfully with his supervisor, but discussions with subordinates was stirring up panic and had to stop.

so, are there any managers or supervisors on this forum that do discuss the PO issue with their subordinates, and if so, how did things go? Or is such a dire message coming from an authority figure make the subject too heavy to mention
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Angry yet?

RonMN · Posted: Thu May 26, 2005 1:57 pm Post subject:

I've discussed PO with only 1 coworker. She understands PO (but wont take any actions in her own personal life) she mentioned it to another who started to panic...i asked her to stop mentioning it to other people at work & she did stop.

Our company is in a unique position to allow alot of the work force to work at home...but this is not the case very often. I've considered bringing it up to my boss (to allow many more people to work from home or atleast setting them up to have the capability)...after pondering, i thought better about bringing up the subject.

People can react extremely poorly to PO and mixing that possibility with work is just not a good mix.

sdcoyote · Tar Sands Joined: May 24, 2005 Posts: 56

I am the Chair of the Department at a University. I speak to members of my faculty often concerning peak oil. There is a difference here tho....

We are all already in agreement about the probability of its occurance.

The only differences we have are on the timeline and the impacts.

There is one doomer...but he is a doomer about nearly everything. There are a couple of "technology will save us" folks. Then there are the rest of us who think that the lifestyle of the nation is not only negotiable, but on the verge abrupt change. That, by the way, in most of our minds, is not necessarily a bad thing.

Vexed · Heavy Crude Joined: Aug 13, 2004 Posts: 460

I am a boss.

I drop hints about the housing market when I listen to my staff talk about further equity loans or upgrading because they can afford more.

I wince when staff tell me about investing their retirement funds in public stocks. But I don't say anything.

In terms of Peak Oil, I mostly ask questions. I would never directly espouse PO rhetoric. You can lead a horse to water but...

If they mention high gasoline prices, I ask them what they think are causing them. If they mention Iraq, I ask them why they think we are there. If they mention the economy, I ask them what they think is going on.

For every one of my questions they answer, I ask another question. Those that care enough to think about my questions tend to see the forest for the trees after a while.

I offer questions only to those seeking answers.

rockdoc123 · Light Sweet Crude Joined: May 16, 2005 Posts: 1632

I work for a company whose CEO was famous for saying a number of times in public a few years ago that if you gave each person in China a moped that oil would be at $100/bbl in no time at all. He also recently was quoted in several papers as saying that the days of cheap oil are dead and supply will not be able to keep pace with demand. smart man.

ubercrap · Heavy Crude Joined: Apr 27, 2005 Posts: 318

I've talked a bit about it at work, they were a little disturbed, and most were hoping for technology to "fix it" or hoping they would be old and maybe dead before things got bad. My boss has made semi-joking statements about turning his property into a fortress of some sort. Of three of my friends I have discussed it with, they all pretty much accepted the idea, and it didn't really seem to surprise them. One of my friends already knew about it via the whole rapture/biblical end times scenario. D'oh, now I've got to listen about "god's plan for me." Embarassed