Working Wounded: Employed But Unhappy

D E A R   R E A D E R S:

The media does a pretty good job of covering what it is like trying to survive when you are unemployed. And this serves an important role of reminding us how tough it can be out there. But we seldom spend much time looking at people who have jobs but are still miserable. The e-mail below clearly describes what it means to be Working Wounded.

D E A R   W O U N D E D:

I know your readers don't want to hear about someone working in a seemingly good job with good pay who is still unhappy. I am and I'm not alone.

In the current economy employers can force anything onto any employee, take benefits away or otherwise abuse the employee. Where is the employee going to go? There are hundreds of people that are lined up ready to take my position. Even worse is the fact that our jobs are all going overseas where you can literally have six people in India for the cost of a single salary in the U.S. My company uses this and the threat of termination so much that it is part of the corporate culture: "The offshore people work 15 hours a day and all weekend," implying that we should all do the same.

In less than two years they have quadrupled healthcare co-payments, taken away most of our vacation time, forced us into a much longer commute and told us we aren't working hard enough. Some would say, if you don't like it, well then leave. But realistically where can you go? How many of your readers are surfing the job boards every day to no avail?

Remember the days, not so long ago, that you called a recruiter and they found you a job? Try to get a recruiter to call you back these days. Most of them are searching the job boards and posting positions that they weren't hired to recruit for in the hope that they will get a commission out of it. And, when you do talk to a recruiter, their suggestion is "have you tried the job boards?" It is so frustrating. I know there are SO MANY people MUCH worse off than me, but what about all of the people like me?

There have been so many times that I just wanted to quit, but I can't. I have a wife and kids and a mortgage and my working wife's income alone can't sustain us. I work for a manager who is arrogant and stupid; how do you reason with someone like that? He wants no negative input and only wants to hear "yes". How can corporate America afford "Yes Men/Women"? Even worse, how can they afford to have someone running multiple departments leaving a path of destruction in their wake?

There are many of us out here employed and I believe more miserable and stressed out than some people who are unemployed. And what is going to happen to companies who abuse their work force like this when the economy does get better?

— Working but Unhappy

W O U N D E D:

Can "Working but Unhappy" be written off as a whiner, or is he illustrating a growing trend? I'll give an autographed copy of "Working Wounded: Advice that adds insight to injury" (Warner, 2000) to the best submission. Send your entry, name & address via: http://workingwounded.com or via e-mail: bob@workingwounded.com. Entries must be received by Wednesday, Oct. 13.

Online Ballot and Contest

Here are the results from a recent workingwounded.com/ABCNEWS.com online ballot: How would you describe your workplace?

  Downright rude, 12.2 percent

  Downright civil, 32.9 percent

  Depends on the person and day, 54.7 percent

Winning Strategy

Our winning strategy for dealing with the lack of civility in many workplaces comes from RA in Bremerton, Wash.:

"The key to creating a more civil workplace. Take a look in the mirror. Each of us contributes to an uncivil workplace and therefore each of us can start the process of turning it around. Watch people's backs, look for chances to pitch in and help and do whatever you can to build a stronger community. I'm not making this up, I've done this in every job I've had and it does make a difference."

List of the Week

Boss for the day…If you were the boss, what would you do?

Fire my boss, 3 percent

Muzzle my talkative co-workers, 11 percent

Hire more people, 13 percent

Change nothing, everything is fine as is, 20 percent

Give everyone the day off, 25 percent

Give myself a raise or promotion, 28 percent

Source: DDI

Bob Rosner is a best-selling author, speaker and internationally syndicated columnist. His newest best seller, GRAY MATTERS: The Workplace Survival Guide (Wiley, 2004), is a business comic book that trades cynicism for solutions. Ask Bob a question: bob@workingwounded.com or http://graymattersbook.com

ABCNEWS.com publishes a new Working Wounded column every Friday.