So if you’re feeling antsy or discouraged at work, and you're looking around at co-workers and wondering, “Gosh, is it just me?”
No.
And get this. Not only are two out of three people feeling miserable just like you, one out of four employees are actively undermining what their co-workers are accomplishing. So that b*tch over in marketing you suspect had sandbagged and sabotaged all the sh*t you were working on? Chances are she probably did.
Think about that. In a global economy where only one in ten people feel engaged by the work they do, is it any wonder why nothing gets done?
So three weeks ago, I quit my steady corporate job with full benefits. And here's why.
There's a lot of buzz right now about how downsizing corporations are finding a way to replace your job with an iPad and a call-center based out of Mumbai. Most of you have seen a round of layoffs at your company during the recession. Most of you presume you've survived the storm.
You may be right. You might have a job for the next five years. Maybe even the next fifteen. But here's the problem. You're going to be working for a**holes.
Don't get me wrong. It's not that the a**holes that you'll be working for were literally born from a lineage of rectal chasms. Ten years ago, they might even have (barely) passed as extremely anal yet still vaguely human senior managers. But during the recession, CEOs cut a ton of jobs and replaced them with technology, temporary staffing, or "reorganized workflows." What all that jargon means is your boss now has to do the same amount of work but with fewer people. And that has turned him (or her) into an a**hole.You've see this happen. People were terminated. Although you were hired to do a particular job, now you have to take on the responsibilities of another job. And next year, someone's going to retire, but your company isn't going to rehire for that position. And you're going to get a "promotion-by-title," with no raise. And then you're going to do three jobs.
And your boss doesn't understand how to do your job. Or the job of the guy who got laid off last year. Or the guy who just retired. The only thing your boss knows is that your division is responsible for doing X,Y, and Z. But since you're now the only remaining employee in your division, your a**hole boss chews you out for not doing your job, gives you a negative performance review and orders you to work on Saturday and Sunday to finish all the work.
But is your boss just a monster? No. The same pattern of compounding responsibility is happening to him. And what I’ve found in
this Digital Age economy is that the higher up in the corporation you get, the exponentially
more work you’ll be responsible for doing. And so goes the old Robert Frost adage, “By faithfully
working eight hours a day you may eventually get to be boss and work
twelve hours a day.”And that's what happens. Middle and senior managers do 65-75% of the company’s work. And they're micromanaging the f*ck out of everything. These are the people who are married to their jobs, who cling to their Blackberries and answer emails while on vacation. I bet some of you expect that when you get in on Monday morning, you'll open up your email to seven new assignments that were sent to you at 10 o'clock on Sunday night.
Meanwhile, the lower-level employees (doing 25-35% of the work) are keeping really quiet. Because they don't want to do more work. They also don't want to get laid off. So they hoard their work and stay in their silo. They know the CEO isn't going to come down and inspect how they sort mail or load carts. So instead of looking for ways to improve the organization, they guard their jobs so they can mindlessly autopilot the same thing, day in and day out for $50k a year, thinking that their 19% benefits package is worth occasionally getting pushed around because “Hey, I’m entitled to four days off at Christmas. A ski trip every year with my buddies. And a lease on an 3-series BMW. Because hey, that’s success.”
Recently, I went to see a performance of the Oscar Wilde play Salome, which takes place in the court of King Herod during the Roman occupation of Judea. I recall the character of the slave who pours wine for the royal court. She wore clothes and jewels and had no fear of starvation or persecution. But if the King said jump, she had to jump. And when the King said pour the wine, by God, she had to pour.
I had a corporate job that paid more than I'd ever been paid. And I had a benefits package that was better than most of my peers. I owned my home. I had a decent car, nice clothes, and I even got to vacation abroad for my honeymoon.
But I had a boss who reminded me constantly that I lacked the experience to make independent decisions. I was required to copy my boss on every email. My boss needed to approve every invoice and spreadsheet before I was allowed to pass it along. I was treated like a child. Every day I lived a narrative that sounded pretty much like this: "Hey. You don't understand this company because you haven't been here twenty years. Your ideas are sh*t. You suck. Oh, and here's your paycheck and your 2.9% raise. Enjoy your four days off at Christmas. Be here sharply on the first Monday of the year. And remember, you suck.”
Yet a thousand people work at my company. And, I mean, sure, they show up at 8:20, or 8:45, and leave at 4:50, itching for Friday and complaining
nonstop about the traffic or the cafeteria or the fact that they stopped offering monthly ice-cream socials, but nonetheless still continue showing up, day after day, year after year.And that's when I realized. They’re bitter.
Nearly everyone in my company is over 45. That $50k a year plus a 2.9% raise compounded over a decade has now become $70k a year. And they’re still making copies, coffee, and managing a spreadsheet because they’re the only one who knows how it works. They have no illusions of advancement. And they're bitter. But they have four days off at Christmas. And that entry-level BMW. And with a mortgage or a child to support, they have no alternative. They’re unable to build anything with their lives. And they’re hoping in another twenty years, at age 65, they can retire and finally be “free” to pursue their dreams... I mean, if they don’t die from some unexpected stress-related cancer.
Most of my friends are in their late 20s or 30s. Many have been working for the man for over ten years. Some of us make $100k a year. Hell, some of us make $200k. At my alma mater, we were taught to pursue what makes us come alive. And at some point, perhaps, we suspected this was the worst advice in the world, because it made us chase our lofty dream of being an actor or missionary or rock star while our parents paid our rent and railed on us for being wash-outs. But now we’re not wash-outs. Now, our parents are proud of the fact that we can pay our rent and have health insurance. Because somehow that makes us upstanding members of a free society.
But think about it. Are any of us really free? I read an article by a successful entrepreneur that said, “Tomorrow, you and I have the same 24 hours as anyone else in the world." It sounded encouraging, but then I realized, no buddy, we don’t have the same 24 hours. Because eight of my hours belong to sleep and when you add up the commute and the time to shower and dress, twelve of my hours belong to my job. If you get home at six or seven o'clock, and if you work out or play with your kids, you actually only have about two hours before you have to go back to sleep. That's the same amount of recreation time as inmates get in federal prison.Well, this is America. And your loved ones assure you that if you’re unhappy with your job, you can stick it out, look around a bit and eventually get another one. But let me tell you something. You can’t. Ask anyone who's unemployed or looking for another job. I'm speaking as a former hiring manager. Think you can get another job? Unless you know somebody? Go ahead. Try to apply for one on LinkedIn.
But say you have a friend at another big corporation, and through the connection you land that job, make a fresh start and say, hey, this might be a good fit. But you’re thirty. After putting in another three or four years here, what if you discover this job sucks just as much as your old one? What's life gonna look like at forty? I landed a second interview at a major downtown firm by pitching just how passionate I would be if I got that new corporate job. But did I really want to bust my hump as a peon while lengthening my commute and being told that I sucked again just to get an average salary and benefits?
While thinking about that, I began counting up what that salary would pay for: my mortgage, car, gas, utilities, groceries, taxes and savings -- which happened to be the 90% of expenses that didn't make me happier. Meanwhile, the other 10% -- the gym membership, the clothes, restaurants, vacations -- that was supposed to make me happier -- didn't do it for me, either. Why? Because I'd still have fewer hours of recreation time than inmates in federal prison. And I realized that if I wasn't passionate about a job, no amount of salary would be worth handing over my freedom.
So I quit. I went into business for myself. And in the three weeks I've been an entrepreneur, I'm more excited about the future than I have been since I was twenty. I'm now building a team at Aflac to help the demographic of the population in need of guidance with the growing uncertainties of health care reform. (Let me explain more about that HERE.)
I may not make the same money for a while. But I love what I do. I help and grow people every day. And that makes it worth it to me.
Now the only question that remains is: Would it be worth it to you?
Connect with me if you'd like to learn more about a part-time or full-time position with Aflac! Email your resume to russell_nakamura (at) us (dot) aflac (dot) com
Russell
Aflac Calabasas Region
