The Usual Things - April 7, 2006
We all have parts of our job that we dislike. For me, this week has been a succession of re-installing Windows on crashed computers. As I write, the 5th machine is on the tech bench here in my office, slowly re-gathering its software brains. While I would much rather be helping my clients make the most of their computers, the computers have to be functioning first. So I sit and stare at slowly moving thermometer bars, waiting to insert the next disk. All this tedium does serve one purpose, though. It reminds me to look for ways to relieve the boredom that such work brings. Otherwise, a job, and more importantly a career, can turn into an endless march of drudgery from one day to the next. [Continue Reading]
Link: Discuss this column and podcast in the Friends in Tech Forums!
Technorati Tags: career, job, jobs, work, workplace, podcast, podcasting, technology, high-tech
posted by Douglas @ 10:20 PM
2 comments
links to this post
2 Comments:
I read your column weekly because you give realistic views of the workplace. If I could change the last paragraph of your "Usual Things", I would write: "Throughout your career or job, WHATEVER you decide to do, every day you will face ONLY work that is less than enthralling. You will slog through each day, week-after-week, month-after-month, year-after-year, doing your best to keep moving, or at least stay in place, OR not fall behind too far". End of paragraph.
How do people alleve this? I don't know how to do it myself, other than quit the job (since I've done it many times, and it WORKED). I've seen co-workers, who actually STAY at any jobs, alleve THEIR drudgery in the following ways:
Co-workers who like to gossip about, torture, or use rank to control others: this is very common, and seems to carry them through the day with enthusiasm and mocking laughter. Humans are animals and constantly re-inforcing rank or position feeds the "survival" instinct and makes them FEEL GOOD.
Co-workers who have a "manic" mental illness, OR take stimulating drugs, both of which bio-chemically make ANY work "exciting" for them. Corporations LOVE this kind of worker, IF they can keep the lid on extremes.
I've found, for myself, that quitting jobs and avoiding co-workers make things tolerable for me. Occasionally, watching a news story about a well-planned workplace shooting, in which ONLY the guilty pay, can make me feel better about work.
Hmm...my first inclination was to to say that you need to find another line of work, but I think that would do little good, as you seem to have come to the breaking point in your work life. Despite some bad experiences in my own career, I still believe (perhaps hopefully) that there are co-workers out there who won't drive you crazy. That said, I am sure for some, I was the co-worker driving them crazy. Relationships, whether personal or work-related are a 2 way street and I know that there have been times when I have not kept up my end of the bargain. We all have to look at ourselves and our own actions as much as we observe those of our co-workers. Sometimes we carry our own problems with us.
This was one major impetus in starting to work on my own. I regularly joke that I can't imagine managing anyone else, as I have a difficult enough time managing myself.
If the environment doesn't work, make a bigger change than just your job. Look into alternate careers, working for yourself or even moving to a different part of the country or world. You need to find a place where you can do the work you want to do in the environment you want to do it in. At this point, I would love to move to rural Arizona, near the Sedona area and get out of Los Angeles. At this time I have other issues that prevent me from doing it, but I know that I am a different kind of person there. Peeling off just a bit of the stress is enough to let me find a better place within myself.
It sounds a bit like you have given up on people entirely...and I must admit, those feeling strike me sometimes, too, but it is then that I retreat to my true friends, the good people we collect around us, who put the lie to the whole apocalyptic world view that some people like to spread.
Life is in the company of friends and family, a well-made glass of wine, a simple, yet well-cooked meal. In many cases, we must find fulfillment outside of our work, but it is only you who can find that fulfillment for yourself. No one can do it for you.
A tough road? Of course, but certainly one worth pursuing.
Douglas
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home