Dear Dr. B,
I'm miserable. I am working 60 plus hours a week, stressing out over every email, project, and conversation. My most direct boss is one of my biggest fans but there is some political nightmare going on in the organization and I'm being targeted. Every day I come to work, waiting for the ax to fall and for me to lose my job. I feel no reward for all of the hard work I'm putting in. My boss says he's powerless to do anything given the way that our organization is structured with the multiple reporting relationships and panic that seems to have taken over our company, with lawsuits looming and reorganizations a clear threat. What do I do?
~ Panic at the Desk-O
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Dear Panic at the Desk-O,
I wish this was uncommon, but, unfortunately for a whole segment of our population, it’s not. Work can’t pay us enough to offset its taxation on our well-being. I found your question very telling, since the answer is right there in the text.
You’re miserable.
To quote Jim Rohn, “If you don’t like how things are, change it. You’re not a tree.”
Why on Earth are you still in that job? Do they treat you well? Do they treat other people well? Are they playing fair?
Bottom line: Do you TRUST them?
If the answer to that is “no” (which I can predict it is), get out. Quit. Go. Find a place that deserves your unique talents, work ethic, attitude, and leadership acumen. You are not this job. You need it far less than you think you do. When you think that this is the last job on the planet, you hand over all of your power. Take a drive into an industrial park and look at all of the offices. Those all have jobs that maybe you could do. Think about that. There are a ton of businesses who would feel fortunate to have you. Stop being miserable. Stop being treated like a commodity. Show some self-respect or no one is going to treat you with much.
You must endure what you tolerate, my friend. Stop it. Just stop it.
In the (short, I hope) meantime, if they fire you (or give you the option to resign), call an attorney to make sure your rights are protected, then THANK them. Thank them for doing for you what you refused to do for yourself: Getting you out of that hellhole.
Bless and release.
NEXT!
Peace,
Dr. B