From time to time I’m discussing with my wife issues connected with her workplace. To make long story short she’s not happy with a way things are organized there and she feels like she was a bit cheated during the recruitment by her current director.
My answer for her rants is usually the same.
“You have three choices:
1. You either change things in your firm (using harsher and harsher methods).
2. Or you look for another company where things are different.
3. Or you stop complaining.”
When you don’t like the place where you work, try to change it. Don’t complaint it is hard. Easy things are for janitors, as my former boss used to say. I was able to fuel the transition of the company from place where I had bosses who (mostly) hadn’t understand me, subordinates who didn’t share my vision and quite a lot of conflicts with salesmen to one where on the top of the management there’s only one vision shared amongst all people, team which would be envied by the most of the managers and literally zero significant internal conflicts in a whole firm.
Yes, it took a lot of time, and even more of health, but was worth it. When I look at most of my past jobs, there were usually organizational things I’d change if I had a chance. Over the years I came to belief I can change them. Yes, I know, that’s easy to say being a COO, but I’ve done that stuff earlier with much less formal authority behind my back.
Next time you start complaining ask yourself first what have you done to change things and what more can be still done. Usually there are options to change things successfully.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
True. It makes me remember an entry in Stefan Sagmeister’s list: “Complaining is silly. Either act or forget.”
Two thumbs up!
Just one small but important note, I think. When you dislike something at your work you usually load yourself with negative emotions. You should try to release yourself from those emotions and make your decision with “cold blood”.
No matter if you decide to fight for a change or to leave for a better place, you should leave the anger and the insult behind. Otherwise they will lead you to another mistake.
Toji, I think you’ve just rephrased the whole post in seven words.
Mike, In a perfect world we should be cold-blooded when undertaking our actions. But it would be just the perfect world. In our reality our emotions usually drives us to do something, instead of sitting and waiting for a change which never comes. Serious decisions should be made when you’re calm but personally I use my emotions as a catalyst to act. After day or two you can forget how much you hate the place (or whatever your reasons are). On the other hand, when you keep yourself doing preparing to do something with the situation you can take the decision with no emotions, yet it will be much easier (as you’ll have been prepared already).