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Into the light – or would you rather stay where you are?
Photo: gremlin/Getty Images
Professionally dissatisfied, but why exactly?
Anyone who thinks about this question today often finds it difficult to find an answer.
Salary and working conditions are usually not bad, even if one could, for example, do without the supposedly »communicative«, but above all overcrowded, restless open-plan office.
There are usually too many tasks, but you can also »organize yourself«.
The supervisor demands a lot and sometimes criticizes, but always "appreciatively".
The company is emphatically »mindful«, offering courses against stress, for example.
So where does the frequent feeling of being constantly overwhelmed, directed by others and exposed to insoluble conflicts of interest come from?
Absences from work due to depression, anxiety and stress disorders have been increasing for years, at the AOK by 56 percent since 2010. They have long been the second most common reason for sick leave.
At 30 days per case, they also last more than twice as long as the 14-day average.
In coaching practice, it is particularly noticeable how many working people are already completely exhausted under the age of 40, although they basically have a fairly unspectacular office job during normal working hours and have one or two children.
In many cases, those affected first look to themselves for the reasons: Am I not organized well enough, am I setting the wrong priorities, can I »just not say no«?
The following simple self-analysis can be enlightening: Throughout the working day, record in 15-minute steps what you are currently working on and who has commissioned you to do it.
At least a week, preferably over a month.
This often shows that the overload is not due to a lack of self-organization or motivation.
Rather: The volume of work is objectively too high.
This realization is surprisingly rare, but it leads to the crucial next question: why did you somehow feel it for a long time, but never saw it so clearly and acted accordingly?
The reason is that employers are now using more and more sophisticated methods from coaching, psychology and spirituality to steer their employees in their interest.
This can be motivating, but often obscures true intentions and motives, subtly shifting responsibilities and perceived opportunities.
It is important for employees to be aware of these methods in order to be able to decide which are acceptable to them and which prompt them to change jobs or become self-employed.
Advance world rescue
The appeal to goodwill is the simplest trick: »We're all in the same boat«, »We have to stick together now«.
Most employees want to help when they hear about an emergency in the company (e.g. a slump in profits) and believe that giving up is for a good cause.
However, the CEO with a salary in the tens of millions may be speaking to a workforce in which many do not even earn standard wages.
The equality is only feigned, the interests differ.
The recommendation: With all idealistic speeches and demonstrative equality (Duzen for everyone, boss with a hoodie), pay attention to your interests, such as appropriate payment.
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Attila Albert
I just want to do my job
Publisher: REDLINE
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: REDLINE
Number of pages: 224
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Other employers argue with a higher mission.
Anyone who proclaims high-flying, preferably world-changing ambitions (»save the earth«) today often feels entitled to no longer let the wishes of others hold them back.
Legitimate self-interests of employees, such as the desire for a reasonable salary and the agreed working hours, suddenly seem like petty egoism.
You defend yourself against this by negotiating for yourself, unperturbed.
In addition, the best plan for the alleged improvement of the world is implausible if it fails when it comes to those who are first affected - namely those who are supposed to put it into practice.
Responsibility but without resources
Another trick is to give employees responsibility for something, but without the necessary skills and resources (e.g. enough colleagues, time, budget).
Young professionals often only realize when they have almost failed that they have been given an unsolvable task.
Here they are flattered with an alleged "chance" and watched as they exhaust themselves completely.
You fight back by identifying the real need to get the job done (like how many people it really takes to do it).
Sometimes superiors then allow themselves to be negotiated.
If not, you should not continue to wear yourself out, but change internally or leave completely.
When it's convenient, bosses nowadays constantly cite "the science" that they would only use as a guide.
For example, in work organization (for example, allegedly better open-plan offices) or personnel management (for example, constant self-assessments and external evaluations for allegedly better results).
The argumentative trick here is to refer to higher authorities against whom no one is supposed to be able to compete.
It is of course advisable to consider new theories and concepts, but always to compare them with practice in the workplace and one's own experiences.
What may have worked in the experimental setup of a university or consulting firm can fail completely in the company.
Sometimes all the disadvantages are reinterpreted as advantages in the job advertisement.
Lots of work (»demanding environment«), understaffed team (»flat hierarchies«), annual contract with six months probationary period (»long-term perspectives«).
A little sarcastically, one could say that the employer uses it to test how far applicants can be taken for fools.
For example, whether they can't do arithmetic and seriously believe that "free drinks and fruit" make up for the lack of standard wages.
A little whitewashing is part of the job for both sides.
But you should always keep an eye on the realities and negotiate - so that in the end the interests are balanced for both.
