Ever loved your job but hated work?
Loved the people you work with but hate the people you work for?
Loved what you do but hate where you do it?
This is the paradox I faced back in my corporate career.
I should have been alarmed but at the time I was just confused.
You see, I was in a little gang of great people doing really good and interesting work. I even got to do some international travel. The balance of my work was really good.
But the organisation was utterly toxic and run by complete bastards (I found out later they were even nastier than I thought).
I reckoned I could put up with the environment as long as I was doing good work with good people. In my mind, they sort of equalled out.
However, my calculation was flawed. I didn’t recognise the degree to which I was being damaged. I, along with every one else, was being abused on a daily basis. It chipped away at my confidence, my spirit and my health.
Over time, the pressure got worse. The gang broke up, the work got very stressful, the fun disappeared.
I was the apocryphal frog, sitting in the pot whilst the water slowly got hotter and hotter.
It’s never worth staying in a toxic environment. Eventually, it harms everyone in it.
Even the bastards who create it.