Managers are reason for disengaged workers.
I
was sitting in one of my evening finance classes awhile ago, and one of
the other adult students walked in late. He apologized to the instructor
for his tardiness, and the instructor politely asked if he was ok, as he
seemed highly agitated. The student acknowledged his disheveled
appearance, and stated he was being required to work over 60 hours per
week at his job. He was extremely tired, and he had become very
dissatisfied with this job.
Absolutely miserable.
I had talked to this student before about work. He worked in a professional office, had a respected position, sold
the company's financial products to wealthy clients, and made an excellent salary.
Anyone would have agreed he had a great job. However, he was absolutely miserable.
At that point he didn't care about salary, position, or lifestyle. In
his mind the demands of his job were no longer in line with the
benefits. The hours were bad enough, but it was the bosses that were the
worst. They offered little support or gratitude, weren't interested in
his ideas, and had no problem requiring more work with no further
incentive. Now, all he wanted to do was leave.
Workers in Bad Jobs Have Worse
Wellbeing Than Jobless
If you have a similar story, you are not alone. The March 30, 2011
Gallup article "Workers in Bad Jobs
Have Worse Wellbeing Than Jobless" is a very telling story. This article
demonstrated that employees who are managed poorly tend to become
disengaged from work and report regular negative occurrences such as
daily worry, sadness, stress, anger, and physical pain.
In fact, this group of working people rate their overall well-being more
poorly than unemployed people! On the other hand the article also reported that those
employees who felt engaged at work said they were learning something
interesting, experiencing enjoyment / smiling / laughter, being treated
with respect, and they felt well-rested.
How you feel about the work you do has
a direct impact on your overall well-being.
Your well-being has a direct influence on your ability to be creative
and effective in managing your own personal circumstances and quality of
life. Just like problems at home can creep into your workplace, problems
at work can spill over into your personal life. If you are becoming
apathetic or overly tired you are going to let your guard down when it
comes to proactively fending off life's assaults on your finances. That
is typically the first domino that falls, and only makes your situation
worse. Assess your own work situation, and evaluate the demands,
benefits, and your own happiness and think about actions you can take on
your own to make things better.