Do You Have a Bad Attitude, or Does Your Job Really Stink?

By Kevin M

Now might not seem like a good time to open up a discussion that might lead to quitting a job, but given that many employees are currently being squeezed by shrinking staffs and increased workloads, now is as good a time as any to blow off a little steam, would you agree?

The reality of the current economy is that even if you have no intention of leaving your job, your job could very well leave you! Am I advocating that you quit your job, in the middle of this economy? No, certainly not. However, bad news be damned, now is a good time to be intentional about preparing for something new, especially if you find yourself sitting in a job that’s wearing you out and taking the spark out of your life.

Talk with people who have recently lost their jobs, and next to the obvious anxiety they’re dealing with as a result of being unemployed, there’s also often an unexpected emotion—a sense of relief. Many people have been separated from jobs that were wearing them out, a pattern that continued for many years until it’s unhappy ending.

Many employers treat their employees well, but a disturbing number employ various methods of sucking the life’s blood out of their people, and often just below the point of visibility.

The Cheapest Form of Compensation

The cheapest form of compensation for an employer is a promise. It motivates you and costs the company nothing. You will work extra hard thinking you’ll be compensated with raises, bonuses and promotions, that often end up being either cosmetic (promotion in title & responsibility but no raise) or entirely non-existent–’Yes we know we ‘talked about’ a bonus, but we had a bad quarter and there’s no money in the budget, but next quarter…’

It’s happened to me and to others enough to establish that it’s become a pattern, a management style that’s at work in many businesses. Ask others who have been through the same thing and you can gain a wealth of perspective. An unfulfilled promise is one of the primary reasons for worker dissatisfaction.

The Non-reciprocal Co-worker Cover Game

Ever find yourself constantly covering for coworkers who are either bogged down or out sick more than occasionally? We should all expect to cover for our coworkers, as they should for us, but if the situation becomes a one way street, as well as a regular part of your job, you may have become a fall guy. Because firing employees has become a legal landmine, many employers carry deficient workers for months and even years. They work around this by dumping the slackers work on more productive members of the staff.

If you find yourself being one of those routinely asked to carrying the load, and you don’t mind doing it, fine. But just know this: it won’t change. You have been made a designated enabler in your employer’s unofficial policy for Defense Against Lawsuits From Disgruntled and Terminated Employees.

Should you decide you’re not going to carry the extra responsibilities any more, your employer may decide that you have an attitude problem or that you’re not a team player because of your sudden unwillingness to shoulder 150 or 200 per cent of your job. Only they won’t be hesitant to fire you or to force your resignation, because they know that productive workers don’t bring lawsuits; they quietly go on to the next job where they can be productive.

The Promotion Pass Over

You’ve been on your job for several years, you’ve been the eager beaver, doing all that you’ve been asked and more, you’ve accepted the broken compensation promises with a smile, and you’ve tirelessly played you’re part in the Non-reciprocal Co-worker Cover Game. A promotion opportunity develops that you’d be likely to get according to all objective factors. But…you don’t get it.

As much as we’d like to believe that promotion rests primarily on merit, if you’ve been in the workforce for at least a few years, you know that isn’t always the case; in fact, it may not even usually be the case!

For a variety of reasons, the person who gets the promotion often isn’t the one who’s the most qualified. One may be that workers often advance due to closer connections with higher management; some people are better at office politics than others. They’re good at getting close to the decision makers, and like it or not, that does figure into promotion decisions.

Another possibility is that someone else “fits the suit”, that is he or she may look, act or project “Management” as a matter of style. He or she may look the part management is seeking to project. None of us ever wants to believe that one person might be promoted over another because of appearance, but it is a factor.

Consider that one study after another confirms that tall men earn more money than short or average height men; the reality is that size conveys a certain element of power that isn’t overlooked when leadership qualities are sought. Consider also that some companies undergo “youth movements”, shake ups in which younger workers are brought in so that the organization can project a higher energy image.

Still another possibility is almost a paradox: you’re so good at what you do that management wants you right where you are because promoting you may leave a void which cannot be easily filled.

I Can’t Stay Another Day, But I Can’t Afford To Quit!

With many jobs, the situations described above never get better with time. Some companies just have a negative culture that doesn’t change even when the staff changes.

So what to do? If you’re dealing with some or all of the above should you just up and quit your job? Answer: for most people, given the state of the economy, you should not quit a job unless the job is jeopardizing your health or safety, causing you to do something which is illegal, or if you have a better opportunity elsewhere.

It’s that last point I want to zero in on, finding a better opportunity. Yes, the job market is tough right now, but there are opportunities out there, they’re just harder to find. Point is, don’t stop looking just because the headlines are flashing bad news or because you haven’t had any luck so far. Keep on looking! If you’re in a bad job situation, looking for the next opportunity may be the link to sanity—that hope for a better tomorrow—that you need to get you through today.

If not much is doing in your field right now, but you can manage the time, find a part time job, or start a sideline business, doing work you genuinely enjoy, and see what that leads to. Take courses in preparation for something new. Join network groups in the career of your choice to see what connections you can make. Do something!

The key is forward motion, to constantly advance yourself in the direction of a new job or a new career, if only a little at a time. The fact that you’re doing something gives you at least some sense of control over your own destiny.

Perhaps equally important is that as some point in the future, the job market will improve, either in the general economy, in your industry or location, or just for you personally—that better situation will come along. Bad job market or not, that’s the moment you can be preparing yourself for even now.

OK, this is a touchy subject, especially with the economy in a funk; but what are your thoughts? If you’re in a job you truly can’t stand, what can you do to help your situation, short of quitting with no place else to go?