But this post is not about me.
This is a post about the people I noticed on the streets of Philadelphia on Sunday. The ones who were noticeably drunk or high. And the ones who are probably hungover at work this Monday morning. In previous job-lives I've witnessed employees who go to the bank on Friday, cash their paychecks and drop a lot of it at the bar all weekend. Their reason is because their jobs drive them to it and this will make their lives better. Yet on Monday, they always seemed more miserable, sometimes hungover and virtually broke.
So I ask, do employees drink their wages all weekend because they're miserable at work, or are they miserable at work because they drink their wages all weekend?
Related Reading: Drunk At Interview at AliveHR
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3 Comments:
Oooh, this is a tough one. However, I think that people are miserable first, hence the drinking.
There is no right answer. There are some people who would be miserable even if they won the lotto, married royalty, were awarded a Nobel Prize, found the cure for cancer, and walked into the hottest restaurant in town and got the chef's table just before the crowd came in. I think, however, most folks I know start out with dreams, talent, and ambition, but are slowly diminished by inequity, poor management, and a million other tiny little blows to the professional soul before they realize they have become miserable. They certainly don't all start down the slippery slope to chemical dependency as a result, but we do lose a good bit of the creativity and productivity they would be willingly sharing had we, as corporate America, done a better job of encouraging talent rather than quietly discouraging it. Sometimes I think finding the cure for cancer is less elusive than finding the cure for professional-soul-sucking. I only hope that I can help a little to treat the wounded through mentoring, working (even though progress is slooooooooow) to improve my workplace environment/policies/norms, and attempting to set a good example myself. I think I've made a difference for a few people in my little corner of the corporate universe, and that's a start.
I love this "Sometimes I think finding the cure for cancer is less elusive than finding the cure for professional-soul-sucking".
I know some people that have no professional soul left to suck. Ok that didnt come out right but you get my point. It's one of those things that I just dont get. If you are that miserable and unhappy, find something else. I know the job market is rough right now but make plans, start looking. Dont drink yourself into the poor house, no job is worth that much misery.
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