Working today is just not what it used to be. Take a look at some of the things that happen to destroy motivation and cause people to give up.

  • Four months after attaining your first job you are laid off
  • When it comes to raises your boss receives a budget which must include his raise - guess what the workers get
  • For several years you work extensive overtime at nights and Saturdays. By accident you find that all Saturday OT is paid at time and a half in other company departments , but not your group. You confront the boss seeking compensation. He refuses retroactive adjustments.
  • You look for a new job, even have a promising interview, but when you return to work the next day, you find your current boss received a call from the person who interviewed you and your boss told him not to hire you
  • You are promised a promotion (twice), but then nepotism creeps up and the job goes to the bosses friend
  • A friend of your (new) boss is failing in his job in the same company so the boss agrees to bring him into his department, gives him a title reflecting the work you do and gives him your office.
  • You find that your boss and two associates on your level are friends outside the office, frequently socialize, the couples take long weekends together while you are excluded and expected to "hold down the fort"
  • When new senior management arrives you get the opportunity to suggest new ideas. That doesn't sit well with your peers who favor "we've always done it that way" and who seek to undermine you at every opportunity.
  • A disgruntled employee files charges against you alleging you misappropriated trust fund money and that a vendor bought you a car. You go through weeks of hell as the charges are investigated and disproved.

Is any or all of the above (and many other similar events) justification for getting out, giving up, throwing in the towel? In 2021 I'm guessing the answer is damn right, what fool would put up with that?

That fool would be me. All those events actually occurred between 1961 and 1998. But you see, I put up with it because I had more important goals in mind. I liked my work, felt I was helping people and as the years went by my ability to affect change greatly increased.

As a result, I went from mail boy to Vice President. I went from being the lowest paid person in the corporation to the twentieth highest paid and along the way accumulated a pension based on nearly fifty years of service. Sure it took nearly half a century, but as my father used to say, "find a good job and stay with it."

Giving up is never an option … in my opinion.

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