Let’s imagine that you find yourself in a toxic work situation. Maybe your coworkers are ridiculously difficult, or your department is managed by a certifiable jerk. Whatever the reason, your work life is miserable. Misery at work typically translates to misery at home because the job sucks all the brain energy from your head while thinking about all the bad things that are brewing back at the office. Your muscles and joints are tense most of the time as a result of the unending stress. Sunday afternoon and evenings are spent getting mentally prepared for Monday’s return to battle.
Why do you put up with this kind of non-sense? As my friend, Dr. Gary Namie, co-founder of the Workplace Bullying Institute, says, “work shouldn’t hurt.” Really, is that news to you? Work should not suck the life out of you. It should be a time when you provide a service and in return receive competitive compensation with maybe some fun and enjoyment periodically. Realizing no workplace will be perfect, the leadership should keep all the incivility to a minimum and expel the certifiable jerks and bossholes.
So why do you put up with this kind of environment? It’s because most Americans are tied down to one, two, three, or all seven of the following:
- A big house with a big mortgage
- Car payments on the three nice cars sitting in your driveway
- Utility payments to heat and cool that big house
- Hefty tuition payments for that expensive private education for your kids
- Daycare expenses so both marriage partners can be abused during the day at work
- Extravagant vacations where cell phones don’t work so you can get at least one week per year away from the rat race
- A cleaning service to maintain your home because you are never there to do it yourself since you work 70 hours/week
Your stuck in a bad job because you need a paycheck and your savings account cannot handle the possibility of employment readjustment without a steady income.Unfortunately, your bosshole probably knows this and uses it to his advantage.
In the whole scheme of life, does this make sense? You are working in a job that makes you sick, just to pay for temporary pleasures you cannot enjoy because your mind is parked at a toxic office. Do you need to make some changes?
