(what follows is my response to an article found at; http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,27753,25373517-5012426,00.html I have asked them to publish my response, but I doubt if they will - obviously - so I've decided to do so myself. Sorry if there are any mistakes).
This article, and no doubt the book around which it is based, are nothing more than pseudo intellectual clap-trap and I’m tired of the self-help culture. Too much do I hear this kind of rubbish which, on the surface points out little more than obvious facts and then develops as much as fanciful ideas of climbing to a better life without much real guidance of how, but please, allow my argument to be completed writing me off as nothing but a pessimist.
Firstly, I have never come across an employer, or known of anyone else who has, that has blatantly said, “I love you, I love you.”
Secondly, how can the writer of the article first state that there is no such thing as a “normal person” and then to state a behaviour as “normal”? Poor proof reading as far as I can tell.
It is true that in a workplace, there is an expectation that the work is done and is done in the most efficient manner – which requires a level of positiveness. An employer would aim to retain trained staff as it is expensive to retrain, to advertise, to release packages etc. It is essential to a workplace that work is done. We are all expected to work for our given wages.
Of course we all ponder of a greater life – of having that ideal job, doing exciting things and seeing amazing places. However, if we all tried for that, the supermarkets wouldn’t function, the waste disposal network would break down; indeed many of the primary jobs would be left empty. We’d find ourselves in a world were there are a million tour guides, dancers, rockers, zoo assistances, etc etc etc and no cab drivers willing to take them home, drunk at 3am; the average rest room would be disgusting; there would be no food in the stores etc etc etc.
The reality is, we work to live, not live to work, as the old saying goes. The workplace isn’t reality. To have dreams, goals and aspirations is ‘normal’. Yet, like the school yard, work relies on your education and involvement. Emotions are required to be for the most restrained.
In my personal situation, I spent a decade in training within a supermarket position and outside of this, I decided to further my education, eventually gaining a degree in ecology. At first I thought the retail world could give me a career that would make me happy. Eventually I realised that I wanted more. And so that’s what I did.
Following the completion of this degree, I continued to work in the retail position for another year – while applying for anything that may lead to my ‘dream job’. I counted more than 150 applications within this time.
Eventually I settled for a step-up (and a side-step) and from here did the same again eight months on. In the former, it was a small family-run business which basically demanded loyalty. Guilt-plagued, I moved on when opportunity turned my way – as this position was again closer to my ‘dream job’. Again I find myself in a position where the employer and other employees make it clear that I am valuable and that they would hate for me to go. However, if a better opportunity is brought to my attention, I will apply for it – regardless of the guilt.
Now nearly 30 and in reality, only just beginning a professional career, I look back on my work life. It has been bumpy and sometimes painful. I have been subjected to various forms of harassment and I also dated a colleague for more than 5 years. Overcoming my dyslexia to complete a degree, working long hours and trying to be a father and a loving partner – I had a lot of stress. I often looked out the window and yearned for more – more time for my family and more fulfillment in my job to help me be a happier person.
I remember once talking to a potential employer on a Thursday – the day before Good Friday. It was a nice, quite office where everybody seemed relaxed and enjoyed themselves whilst working. Another employee came by and offered the two of us a chocolate egg.
Following this meeting, I went straight to my workplace at the time and worked a full day’s shift behind a register. From that seemingly peaceful work environment to hysterical last minute shoppers – for eight hours; this was an eye opener and incredibly depressing at the time.
Since then, however, I have come to work in a very similar work environment and come to see that many of the same games occur – both between the employer and employees and between peers. It is not the work environment so much, but the people that make the job workable and, from my experience, the employer is not of major concern in this.
As stated above, you are paid to work. You are not paid to be a friend or through some expectation that you owe your employer more than the given tasks. You provide your skills for a set amount of time and get paid for that. There is nothing more to it. Of course the employer would not like to lose you, unless their having you costs more money than they deem is viable. The employer, in most cases, is there to make money. This is your relationship with your employer.
The job itself may not be fulfilling. Well do as I did; study, improve yourself and develop into the type of person you want to be. You don’t get the panoramic view from the lookout without the hike. It requires personal strength and endurance – which will not come from a book.
The last point I would like to make is that the unpleasantness in the workplace may be the result of fellow employees. This is an entirely different situation. I have known various levels of harassment in the workplace. From my perspective, the workplace is a place of work – everyone should try to leave their personal lives at the officer doors, to be collected on the way out. If you have / make friends in the workplace, whilst on the payroll, the job must come first. If you have any personal problems that affect you work, seek out help. If you have problems with a fellow employee; in most cases you will have options to resolve the situation and if you don’t, you really must move on – for your own health and happiness.
I know that in the current climate, many people are in a position of fear – I myself am currently contracted for only a few more months, however your life is solely your own. You are the person that lives with the choices you choose. Here I agree for once with the subject article – you should listen to your inner voice and develop into the person you wish to be. That said, the subject article, and I suspect the noted book, provide little insight and guidance.
It is the employers’ obligation to create a comfortable workplace and try to retain stuff – as profits allow, but an employee is not obligated to sell their lives to the employer. The workplace is not reality. It is work. We do as much work as we ever did as a species but have many more benefits for the way we do work today. It is meant to allow for a more fulfilling life – but when one leaves the workplace and re-enters reality.
I really hope that one day, such writing and cheap ‘self-help’ advice is seen for the tacky, self-promoting rubbish that it is. It merely feeds someone else’s (the writer’s) ego while the ‘follower’ of the ‘teachings’ gains little more than and excuse to complain instead of any proactive initiatives.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
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