I received a call from a friend yesterday, seeking my opinion about her current job situation. In the last few years, I could see how stressful her job had been and always thank my lucky stars that I have no boss to report to.
No doubt she's highly paid, the kind of mental stress she goes through everyday is really uncalled for. Her boss and colleagues are scattered across different time zones, so she's expected to stay up late to attend mid-night conference calls, no matter how insignificant some of them are.
As if that is not enough, her boss will happily call her up when she's asleep at 3am, even it is not an emergency. If she doesn't pick up her mobile phone, he calls her home, waking the family up at ungodly hours. She calls him back to find him cussing over the phone like a madman.
She's practically enslaved to her job and shackled to her Blackberry. She wakes up early and stays up late to communicate with her colleagues. She even attends conference calls when she's on vacation!
As you can imagine, it's difficult to be happy if you have a demanding boss who doesn't give a damn about your life outside of work. Just because he's a workholic, he expects everyone working under him to live a life like him! Not only that, he doesn't treat his colleagues with respect.
So she has had enough of all this corporate shit. No surprise really, it is only a matter of time. In fact, I am amazed that she had tolerated for so long. She's afterall a very intelligent and successful high flier.
When she called for me for advice, I can only tell her this. "Yes, we all have to earn a living but we don't have to put up with such abuse. Life is more than work and money. You're smarter than I am, if I can make it, you can do much better. More importantly, once you're out of this toxic environment, you'll be happy and free."
Indeed, a happy person will see things in a different light. She'll be inspired to take on new challenges. And good things will happen to happy and positive people.
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11 comments:
Yes! Yr friend shld just chuck her job, but be4 doing so she had better do a financial and emotional balance sheet assessment. I'm a great believer in pursuing one's wish in earning a living but there are many others who define their well-being by how easily they can walk into a Coach boutique and buy buy buy without worry... and if they aren't born rich, then a top job in a big MNC is the answer.
me 2 cents worth.
in my experience (relating to the HR side), if your frd has more than 3 years of experience in her role with the same company + at least 5 years of total experience in the industry/job role with a good track record, she can easily exit for a better pasture.
if she has a strong network in the industry, her chances of being poached to her company's competitor's will be higher.
if she'd like to venture into another industry, she'd have to highlight in her CV of how her role enables her to marry her skills into it.
so the next step she can consider taking is tidy up her CV and call up her headhunter. =)
since she's a high-flyer, she may already knew all these and i is stating the obvious. heh.
lets hope she makes it to escape her scary boss for a better one. =)))
oh I'm sure the boss violates her employment rights by not letting her rest during non-office hours. The boss is risking a lawsuit, that is so insensible for a boss.
Uhhh...call me unambitious, but I also don't want to work in such a situation. :-(((( GOOD LUCK to your friend then in finding a better working prospect! :-D
AuntieLucia - The first thing I told her is to ensure she has a good amount of savings to last her for 6 months. That she has.
She's now after quality of life and family time. So she's on the right track!
Fry - Indeed, she is highly influential in the industry and will succeed either out on her own or will be grabbed by another company in no time at all!
MH - Her boss is insensitive with a capital I!
Amel - Work takes up a large part of our life, so I believe in a healthy working environment.
I can't understand either how your friend is putting up with such abuse...she should unplug her landline and switch off her mobile. If her boss complains she should calmly tell him that those are not her working hours and that he should respect that. Of course easier said than done especially when there is already a precedent and it's tough to go back in time.
Perhaps she should find a better job which perhaps would pay less but at least she would haver her own life back.
As you said, life is much more than only work though sometimes it can feel like that, it's not and it shouldn't be the case.
No matter how good the pay is, I wouldn't want to be a slave to my job like that. She should just quit.
A healthy working environment is a must - to keep us sane he he he...
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