Zone Trooper Posted December 1, 2013 Hello! To elaborate, survival/success at our place of work demands me playing the "gray man." After the 2008 economic crisis, upper management are very task-oriented and have terminated those in lower management who disagree. This has made for some unfortunate ripples through the rest of the organization and for those of us on the shop floor. There seems to be a pronounced predator-prey mindset. My peers are are a great bunch of people that you could describe as "good old boys." I do my best to blend in. Flannel, old pickups, talking NASCAR, fishing, dogs and so forth. Probably 90% are unaware of my involvement in Chi Kung or the martial arts. This forum seems like a good place for ideas. Needing to be somebody else for 40-60 hours per week is heck of a drain on my system. Chi Kung does a lot to relax me, but it seems like it takes about 48-72 hours to get back to normal before the next workweek. My family deserves better. I'm getting good sleep, food, avoiding excesses of alcohol and caffeine, not using tobacco. The only thing I can attribute the drain to is the corporate culture. Any ideas for resisting the drain or "recharging my batteries" quicker, for lack of a better metaphor? Any suggestions will be considered. Thanks in advance, -ZT Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brian Posted December 2, 2013 (edited) First step is to talk with your spouse. Verbalize your feelings, worries, concerns and options. Next step is to start looking for a new job. What you describe is an unhealthy company and if this has been developing over a period of several years then the death spiral is probably too advanced to overcome the momentum. A healthy organization doesn't behave this way except VERY rarely & briefly (there's a marked difference between strategic business decisions and cannibalism...) My next recommendation may seem odd but I suggest Machiavelli's treatise, The Prince. This off-misunderstood book was intended as a guide for new leaders and may be valuable to YOU as a way to understand the misguided behavior of the imbeciles running the place where you work -- using strategic counter-examples to help put unhealthy behavior in contrast. My final recommendation is to slowly back off the "good old boy" act. Chances are that you aren't fooling anyone with a triple-digit IQ anyhow. That's not to say that you should intentionally and unnecessarily make yourself stand out but you can probably be true to yourself without dressing or acting in a way inappropriate for your position and your environment. It is important, though, to not internalize your "uniform" and to also not overplay the role. Just my two cents... Edited December 2, 2013 by Brian Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
i am Posted December 2, 2013 Depends on where you are in the country, maybe, but the more I hang out with ranchers and cowboys, the more I see that even though they're good old boys, many of them are surprisingly open minded. In fact I don't even use good old boy as an insult... Having said that...I refuse to work a job I don't feel good about. With people I can't stand. But I don't have a family...so quitting a job and being poor affects no on but me. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
