While out for a walk the other day, I found myself thinking about a phenomenon I often see as a therapist working with employees, managers and leaders in corporate America. While too commonly identified simply as burnout, this “anomaly” seems not only so much deeper than that, but also far more ordinary. With ties to awareness of neglectful institutions, psychological functioning and interpersonal relationships, more employees are recognizing the cultural patterns accompanying dysfunction in the workplace and wrestling with the choice to depart. Such toxic work environments can leave employees mentally and physically worn down.
According to Forbes and LinkedIn, a lot more people are starting businesses later in life than what we typically expect, individuals in their mid-30’s to early 40’s on average are leaving corporate to begin a more autonomous journey of alignment and focus on contentment. Why is this the case? Where are all these business newbies coming from? And just why are we so unhappy?
Corporate Abuse
Corporate abuse has all the makings of a corporate hangover and is experienced by many in their careers.
Signs that you may be in a toxic work environment include:
- Gaslighting (manipulation and emotional abuse designed to make you question your own reality, memories, or perceptions)
- Fighting for time off
- Fear-led management/leadership
- Favoritism
- High employee turnover
- Lack of boundaries and transparency
- An over-focus on goals; especially constantly changing goals
- Unrealistic workloads
- Employee worth/value tied to productivity/profit
The lie about college
A child plays quietly with their toys, a parent inquires about what they’re doing. The toy, representing a miniature version of an adult tool or appliance, leads the parent to ask them what they want to be when they grow up. From a very young age we are geared to live in the future, to not be present; thus, creating a deep-seated insatiable need to improve and progress. Moreover, this question is designed to prepare us for our role in the workforce, the expectation to take our place in the capitalistic hierarchy as our culturally ingrained norm dictates.
This line of questioning continues to take place over the next several years of this child’s life. No focus on being in the present, sitting with emotion nor connecting to others; instead a voracious drive to be better and do more. By the time that child enters high school, perhaps even middle school, they are prepping for their college careers or failing at their attempts to meet this unquenchable cultural need.
The problem is that very few humans possess the ability to know what they want to be when they grow up at this stage of development. Even the most confident in their choice who go on to achieve their career, face the fact that they don’t have the brain development to truly know themselves at that age; a process that is widely known not to reach completion until late 20’s to early 30’s. Those too, who know from a young age what they want to be when they grow up can go on to suffer from a corporate hangover. While it is well understood that our brain changes several times throughout our life, we don’t consider how what we think, feel and believe, even our personalities, will also change.
Moreover, higher education is an institution that makes money— a lot of money. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), in 2020-21, 4 year institutions of higher education showed a $962 billion revenue. We are not only being geared for capitalism but are normalizing and even requiring it. The truth is that college isn’t for everyone nor is it necessary to do many jobs. As a result, nationally we have acquired substantial unplayable student debt and a massive deficit in tradework which is often more suited for many brains who need external stimulation and activity.
Career Lifespan in Corporate America
In the United States we have exceptionally low moral and job satisfaction compared to many of our counterparts across the world. With no paternity leave, short maternity leave, expectation for character over fit, low wage and scrutinized paid time off, we continue to struggle with career dissatisfaction.
Moreover, this life-long constant reminder of the importance of employment as the equivalent to self-worth makes it difficult to overcome the fear associated with leaving an unhealthy job. Often forced into choosing a career long before most humans even know who they are, we never learn boundaries or healthy self-worth and contentment; the foundations for many issues faced in adulthood from depression, anxiety, and burnout to a multitude of physical health problems.
Other symptoms of a corporate hangover include:
- Relationship issues
- Life dissatisfaction
- Lack of meaning/searching for meaning
- Excessive meetings
- Low motivation/productivity
- Inability to focus
- Guilt
- Emotional fatigue
- Perfectionism
- Dysthymia (low grade, lasting depression)
So what happens when you’ve accomplished all the benchmarks to which you set out? What drives the next stage in the lifecycle of an American worker? Eventually humans become understimulated and disillusioned by the jobs they hold, working exclusively to ready themselves for retirement. The system tells us to keep holding out, the next thing we deserve is waiting just around the corner. What occurs next is where the Corporate Hangover gets its name. There is no next, retirement is not a goal, it is a death sentence to our creativity and true motivation to learn and grow.
Retirement is sold as achievable, expected and desirable; the thing that is going to save you from your disillusionment. Yet, according to Investopedia, the research shows that most Americans don’t even have enough money saved to retire, with the estimated nest egg needing to be around $1 million. And we are reminded of this frequently; whether by commercials about wealth management, parents and peers questioning their retirement plan or their lack of savings.
The answer
Recognizing that we were all brought up in this same culture, questioning things that don’t make sense and seeking resources to help understand a corporate hangover are all ways that you can begin to dismantle these societal norms and become more satisfied with your life. At Inner Body Works, we have therapists who will help you process emotions, understand resources available to you and unlearn toxic traits that for so many have led to career trauma. Returning to curiosity and creativity are one way to begin this new journey toward self and away from someone else’s bottom line.
References:
Investopedia https://www.investopedia.com/how-many-people-really-achieve-usd1-million-in-retirement-savings-11947173
