Workplace Challenges
Addicted to workStella loved her job. The problem was she may have loved it too much. Working for two different major Canadian banks for over 20 years, she regularly worked 15 to 16 hours a day. ELLEN GOLDHAR |
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 [ 2005-03-16 ] |
Some people are obsessed by the pace of worklife, the praise, the money, or the opportunity to dedicate themselves to their employment. (Michael Peake, Sun file photo)
She was hooked up to the bank via telephone, pager, fax, e-mail and cellphone, which allowed her to be on call 24/7. Taking time out for lunch, or a 15-minute break, wasn't an option -- she thought it was a waste of time, so she didn't do it. And as a manager, she didn't allow her staff to do it much either. Stella was addicted to her job -- a workaholic.
After coming back from vacation she was called into her boss' office and told she was being let go. It was a complete shock to her system. She never saw it coming.
"I thought I was the best thing since sliced bread -- I got huge bonuses and lots of praise. It never occurred to me I could be let go. It was a complete blow to my at-the-time huge ego," recalls Stella, now the ex-senior director of credit card systems.
Stella's life went into a tailspin. She was 51 years old with no job, a bruised ego, and a lot of anger and self-pity.
"If a person's whole sense of self is wrapped up in the role they play at work then they're at risk for feeling greater impact if they lose their job," says Lorraine Clemes Treleaven, a career consultant for LMC international in Toronto.
CONFIDENCE
"If much of their sense of self-worth and self-esteem is derived from the praise and recognition they received from their job, when the job is gone, so is their confidence. They also become angry and resentful at the amount they had invested in their job and the sacrifices they made," says Treleaven, with 14 years of career counselling under her belt.
"It took me a year to find a reason to get up in the morning -- work used to be my reason," says Stella.
Stella is working for a bank again, but now she only works 30 hours per week, takes lunch regularly, is a much kinder boss and enjoys life a lot more.
"I never really enjoyed my job and I never got close to anyone, but that's completely changed. I have redefined my priorities in life and I have since found new interests outside of work, my relationships have improved and I no longer take things so personally -- even criticism doesn't faze me much," says Stella, now 56 years old.
Would you ever work for a social or charitable enterprise in the third sector?