(comic) Concerned about mental health

I worked at a company where senior management would routinely blast out fundamental, company changing directives that were to take effect immediately with absolutely no prior notice.

The directives always included the phrases "failure to comply will result in disciplinary action, including possible termination", and "if you have any questions, refer to your immediate supervisor for clarification".

The immediate supervisors had of course also been taken unawares, were just as confused, and had no answers, so they'd just say "do what you can".

So people complied with the new rules, and as a result ship dates were missed, development stalled, commitments were not made, and customers became livid.

Managers would then try to put employees on PIPs. The PIPs invariably included requiring the employee disobey the directive, so they'd refer it to HR. HR would be horrified, and tell management that their proposed PIP violated employment law, and the employees would be able to sue.

When HR informed management that they could neither reprimand employees for following corporate policy nor require them to violate it, management actually objected, saying that "If employees have to follow the rules, they won't be able to make our customer commitments".

Maybe, just maybe, the problem isn't with the employees.