Not sure how this one got past me, but I listened to the 8th Habit yesterday by Stephen Covey. Before scouting/shopping for boho stuff to add to my Etsy site I went to the library to find a play-away to listen to when I ran across the 8th Habit. It was written 10 years ago, but is relevant today.
Covey talked about moving from the Industrial Age to the Knowledge Age and how 
Knowledge Age workers will not be satisfied with the old ways they were “managed” – like things. Knowledge workers would be looking for “meaning and purpose”.
The main idea was that people would need to “find their voice” and help others to find their voice. Wow, that concept resonated with me.
I was most intrigued about the PAIN that he said Knowledge Workers would start to face. It is the PAIN that I read about everyday in the “Just Quit” survey. Some days the entries are worse than others. It seems that June 16th was a particularly bad day. Below are the entries that came in:
| I’m not a good fit for corporate culture, I’m not in position to truly impact change, and I’m tired of the politics game (I just don’t play it well). I want to do something that means something more than impact the bottom line or make my boss happy. | Tuesday, Jun 16th 10:33PM |
| its making me miserable.. | Tuesday, Jun 16th 6:07PM |
| I get treated horribly, hurt, Be littled, treated like crap, work all the time, go unheard, be harassed,paid little, stressed to the max, unhappy and suicidal | Tuesday, Jun 16th 12:32PM |
| I am tired and fed up. I feel like working here is draining me physically, as well as creatively and this is extremely important to me. It is sucking the life out of me. | Tuesday, Jun 16th 8:19AM |
| A high level of unhappiness | Tuesday, Jun 16th 7:40AM |
| I’m suicidal. | Tuesday, Jun 16th 2:38AM |
Workers are fed-up all over the world. More than fed-up – suicidal. Something is dreadfully wrong.
When I listened to Covey’s 8th Habit it was like a siren going off. Over the past year after blogging the book I’ve been contemplating what to do NEXT about this issue and WHY I can’t find anyone trying to solve this problem. Now, today, I realize that maybe MY voice is to GIVE voice to the PAIN that is happening all over the world.
In all honestly I’ve been hoping, wishing and praying that SOMEONE would do something, but it’s been TWELVE YEARS since I Just Quit and FOUR YEARS of blogging about it and still I don’t see much help out there for folks. I see a bunch of coaches, self-help books, seminars, retreats and stuff for companies BUT I don’t think those approaches are working for the everyday person struggling to make it through this.
So, my next project is to give it voice, my voice. It’s not like people who find my blog and fill out the survey can tell anyone that they are in so much pain…pain, even to the point of suicide. Which is part of the pain…the loneliness…the suffering in silence…the “no one understands what I’m going through” feeling. BUT…there is a community of people who do understand. Almost 6,000 people have felt the need to complete the survey. 6,000 people from 106 countries.
If you’ve read this far and you are suicidal about your job, just know that you will make it through this madness. You will survive this. You will not kill yourself because of how you’re being treated at work or how much you hate your job. I don’t type that lightly because I know how serious this is BUT there is hope. You are not a victim. You have the power of choice. You are strong enough to get through this and find your voice or your place in this world. You are. Have Hope. Have Faith. Believe. Even if you have to go day-by-day; hour-by-hour; or minute-by-minute to survive then that is what you need to do.
DO NOT GIVE UP.
P.S.
There is no time like the present. It’s now 7 p.m. and after going to buy a microphone from Best Buy and finding the software I needed I created my first podcast so I can give VOICE to the issue of chronic job stress for today’s workers. In addition to blogging I’ll start sharing some of the weekly survey entries. Join me on Sunday afternoons. Don’t worry I hope to get better as time goes on and I hope to help those who find my site. Cheers! Ridea
