When you are a small fish in a big pond
Once I saw a video of a small girl innocently releasing her pet goldfish in a neighbourhood pond; the narrator mentioned that this act of empathy would be disastrous for the ecosystem because the species did not belong in those waters……Stop for a moment and ponder. There are millions of us, who have knowingly dropped ourselves in waters that are emotionally and at times physically dangerous to our well-being that invariably harms the surrounding atmosphere as well; we call it JOBS, Jobs that we hate but decide to stick around because there aren't other choices on the horizon. Its a daily feeling of foreboding that we carry to these dungeons of doom, this is no life, we weren't dropped to this planet to sulk.
We have a tendency of getting stuck at the wrong job and even after having an option to escape decide to stick around because of the comfort zone syndrome
Two stories to begin with
Psychopathic Narcissist: A multimillion dollar business owner, madly in love with himself, gargantuan infatuation with every step he takes; invites a delegation out for lunch. Three people go to the fanciest eatery in town and this self-possessed nut orders enough food to eradicate hunger from the third world for years to come, just to impress his guests; this isn't the story. The story is that he shares the photo of this EVENT in the company’s Whatsapp group and what ensued is a thing of legends. Immediately key members of the management trip upon each other to kissup to him; boss you shine like a star, boss I swear you are the best one can imagine as a leader in any organization and so on. The business-man danced with joy with what he had achieved leaving so many among us dumbfounded with the display.
The Comedian: Seven people attending a meeting during my days at Siemens. I sat next to my boss and then there was the owner dude of our distribution company with four of his top dogs. The owner guy had a habit of regularly launching humourless jokes and his guys would explode in a shriek of laughter like injured hyenas. I would sit there with a straight face however my boss would crack a little smile. This thing would repeat the act at least ten times during a forty-five-minute meeting and his team would be heard repeating the jokes even while we would be at the door. I felt sorry for these individuals who had to go through this routine with their boss but for them there had been no escape.
The Philosopher: Boss brings a bowl of water and drops a rock, then asks four people in the room a thought-provoking question; why did the rock sink to the bottom? He gave them ten minutes to think, and they better come up with something smart as this was a lesson in management. First one conceded that he had no bloody idea about it, maybe the rock should have taken instructions properly, he was duly asked to shut up, the second said that the rock went away from him and near to the boss so that might be the reason, he also found his place soon, the third said that it was gravity that's it so lets not complicate the issue to which the boss looked the usual kiss upper; what this guy said made the boss’s day, he said that the one you drop would only sink, the success in any organization especially ours depends on you holding on to us.
These are true stories, nothing made up, the bosses, the big guys are the entrepreneurs, the big fish in the pond. They have achieved the financial freedom that they had desired and now its a matter of collecting additional zeros in their bank accounts. It takes grit, perseverance and patience to reach financial independence and once youré there, the rest are just niceties. In case you missed, I have mentioned three stories rather than two, just to see if you are still awake. The big fish swim in their individual ponds and explore whatever they want as they have the freedom and time to do so. But, the small fish, the employees, in small or big organizations that are sulking under the pressures of daily expenses, how about them?
What if you are the small fish
You are stuck in a rut, daily expenses are mounting and its killing your peace, your personal life is in shambles and you are desperately looking for an escape but there's nothing that's coming your way. You feel stuck and act like a fish out of water after a low tide. But wait, you have to ask a question before blaming the circumstances or global warming or your boss’s tantrums. Maybe its you who is here to be blamed rather than anyone else; there might be a chance where you are not willing to change your lifestyle or to work hard. In all honesty, if this is the case and you are good with what life has thrown at you then there's nothing wrong with relaxing and calming your mind. Remember:
1: Not everyone is born to be an entrepreneur, heck, its tough to be one; takes a lot of patience and frustration to achieve financial independence AND there is nothing wrong at all to live your life as an employee. If the whole world becomes an entrepreneur then where would the workers come from.
2: Try doing your work the best you can, I know for a fact that a lot of companies have created “Bullshit Jobs” to make sure that they utilize their budgets. If you are a designated Bullshitter in your company then see if you can spend the hours constructively, however, if you have a proper job then focus on the task at hand. Most desk jobs do not have more than a few hours of work at best and it would be great if you learn any new skill at work rather than watching cute dogs on Facebook for the rest of the day.
3: Boredom is a killer, especially in an office but it also gets you the paycheck. 90% of working individuals are employees, they have defined tasks and responsibilities. It can be anything from working in a brick kiln to sitting at a desk in a fancy office, whatever the case, its our responsibility to make your time worthwhile. Jobs aren’t designed to make us happy, forget all the jargon with happiness and its offshoots. Our happiness resides elsewhere, with our families, or hobbies but not work. We work to ensure that we have the means to garner happiness. Do not fell in the trap of management consultats selling the snake oil of happiness.
Change the job if you are uncomfortable, you are not furniture
There is a relentless rheteroic on becoming an entrepreneur, everyone is being doused with the Kool Aid of riches, convincing them to jump ship and start their own business. This creates mega frustration within individuals who don't see any avenue for doing so. What organizations need is to listen to their teams and establish the levels of toxicity in their environments. Try to eradicate the hurdles to ensure that the individuals are gliding through the eight hours in peace. As for entrepreneurs, it becomes an obsession to squeeze out the last drop of juice from their team members because for them they are the microscope to monitor everything. Single owner organizations are usually a killer for employees as micromanagement defines the order for the day.
If your boss is destroying your morale and you are finding it impossible to operate normally then simply leave, this is easier said than done. I know of Blue Chip Asian organizations that treat their employees like cattle but the salary is higher than any of their competitors. Once employees get in here, they find it next to impossible to find an alternate that pays as well. What people then do is to hang their heads and bear all the insults for years and years before they are discarded.
In short, my message is to new graduates deciding to get into jobs, be careful what you choose as a profession, the company and the boss. Change quickly in case you find that this has been the wrong place for you.
Email me at masomo@eim.ae
