I heard a story from a friend complaining about a woman in her department.
This woman, has been there for 10 years, and sucks at her job.
She has no skills, and no capabilities for the job at hand, but because she has a couple of key friends in the office, they protect her and keep her out of trouble by pretending that she’s being a key element in their projects, when in fact, she doesn’t do anything.
I mean, literally NOTHING.
She’s hiding in her cubicle for 8 hours a day, crouched down, pretending to work.
It must be exhausting to pretend to work.
Doing nothing interesting at work all day must really suck.
It’s gotten so bad that she ended up having a nervous breakdown after a project because she simply couldn’t do what was asked of her in the job.
But to this day, she is still employed because the client is rich, inefficient and the friends of hers are protecting her so that the director doesn’t know anything is amiss.
Right now, she seems extremely fragile.
It’s as though a cross word could send her over the edge.
What I find the most interesting about this, is not that she’s unable to admit that she doesn’t know how to do the job, but that if she just chooses a different job, she would be a lot happier.
It’s literally affecting her mind and health.
Even if it’s less money, she would be a better fit for a job where she actually does SOMETHING, and she could stop feeling so nervous that she’ll get called out again for another project that she can’t handle, or if her friends suddenly forget to protect her.. or if the manager somehow finds out.
She’s living her life in fear that one day, she will be discovered as inadequate for the job, and be fired.
Yet, if she’s proactive about the situation, she could have been a happier person years ago, if she just accepted that she doesn’t have the qualifications for the job, and to just do something else in another department she’s happier in.
I know for sure, I also cannot work as an engineer, or anything in the sciences. I’m just stupid in those areas. I don’t get it, it doesn’t click and I’d be a horrible, horrible engineer.
It’s not my thing.
Find something you CAN do, and ENJOY doing, so that you don’t end up feeling stressed out each time you have to go to work, to pretend like you’re a busy bee.
And I know some people do it for the money.. but that just isn’t worth your mental and physical health.
You spend a good 40 hours of your time awake, AT WORK, so make sure you’re happy with what you’re doing.
Do what you love!
With that woman, it’s like she’s paralyzed in that position.
Trapped like a mouse, scared, stressed, exhausted and mentally drained.
But for what? For a job. A JOB.
If she could just step back and realize that it’s not what she wants to do, she could end up being an amazing employee in another department.
People who love their jobs, have found their own personal secret to what makes them happiest at work.
Even if you have to earn less, then spend less.
You’ll be happier in the end, guaranteed.
And success always follows those who love their careers.
Money isn’t everything.
So I’m going to leave you with this insightful Post Secret.
- What I learned at my best job
- Finding a job that you love
- Why working for a company is the best
- Thanks, but I *have* a job.
- Great comments from the post about ‘Finding your Dream Job’
