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I've noticed a trend throughout my life recently. The HARDER I've actually had to work, the LESS money I've made. For example, when I was in college, I had a minimum-wage job at a trucking company. It wasn't glamorous and it was really hard work. There was little recognition, and if I went 'above and beyond' there was not a word mentioned about it. I was in a college town during the early 90's (the last big economic downturn) and at the time, felt lucky to land THAT job. It wasn't fun.
Each job I've had after that has been an increase in money, and a decrease in physical labor. The only common denominator about the low-pay jobs is that they all sucked the soul from me.
When you work on an hourly basis, like many lower-end blue-collar jobs, the boss' job is to get as much work out of you as humanly possible while paying you the least amount possible. This raises the store's profits and makes upper management happy. It doesn't sound fair, but it's the way the majority of retail businesses work (especially Wal-Mart, according to a myriad of employee's stories).
What happens to the employees? Why do they put up with mistreatment like that?? Personally, I don't know. I can understand how someone gets into the trap though.
How the Soul Sucking Works
Going to work for many blue-collar low-pay positions generally means a lot of physical work. Not to put down people in these positions, but they aren't necessarily the highest skilled individuals. Many people take these jobs out of necessity, but then don't seem to go anywhere afterwards. I've thought about it a lot and I believe I have come up with some reasons.
Tired - Yes, tired. When you get off of working 8-10 or more hours of backbreaking work, you aren't interested in looking around for something better, going to night school to improve your skills, or anything more than a hot shower and a comfy bed. You do this enough, and years have passed you by.
Financial Lock-in - Many took the original job because of need, but low-paying jobs usually keep you within arm's distance of that same need. It's nearly impossible to get out of a bad situation when you're making near minimum wage. Too many workers are just getting by, and they're scared to risk what they have for something that they only MIGHT GET (a higher paying job). It turns out to be the devil you know, vs. the devil you don't.
Lack of Skills - Let's face it, if you could perform brain surgery, you'd get paid a lot more. Commodity labor demands commodity prices. If there are lots of people out there that have the same skills you do, you won't be able to demand a high price. Along with the 'tired' above, this locks a lot of blue-collar workers into their jobs.
Low Self Esteem - This one scares me, from a society point of view. I've known lots of people in low paying positions that feel they 'don't deserve' to go any further. Unfortunately, this is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you have no confidence in yourself, others will have no confidence in you either.
How to Stop the Soul Sucking
I believe that the VERY first step, is to get it out of your head that you have to stay where you are now. There are opportunities everywhere for people that put forth a little effort.
- Look around for jobs a little more advanced than what you're doing now. Leverage your existing experience.
- Get training in another field, specialty, or skill. Night school or trade school is available, along with on-line degree programs. With the invention of the Internet, it's easier than ever to learn new things.
- Change your career to something more in demand. The way to make money is to do things other's can't or won't. The less people competing for the same position, the higher the salary/pay will be.
- If you want to stay where you are, talk to your boss about assuming more responsibility. More responsibility means more pay. (I DON'T mean more WORK necessarily. You can perform more work and not get recognized for it. Taking on more RESPONSIBILITY is a visible indicator of better skills. An ox that plows an extra two acres isn't rewarded the same way an employee that moves into a management position is.)
Staying where you are and waiting for something to happen is a recipe for disappointment. You always have to take control of your life, because there's no one out there that will look after you better than yourself.
Do you have any ideas on how to get out of a Soul Sucking job?? Share with us and maybe some readers will be able to make a change for the better. Please leave us a comment.
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January 24th, 2008 at 9:06 am
Well talk about a post that I can relate to. Hubby works a backbreaking labor intensive job. He has the education and skills not to but he does anyway. He started it as an in-between job when we moved but that was almost 2 years ago and he hasn't switched jobs. For a lot of the reasons you listed. He's too drained at the end of the day to put any effort into it. Low self-esteem. And the positives that have kept him where he is are the great hours and all the family time he gets and the free golf. Anyway, it was a great post and spot on.
January 24th, 2008 at 10:46 am
Thanks for the good vote. I hope the hubby decides to make a change one of these days. It sounds like it's draining him something horribly.
January 24th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
My current job isn't soul sucking, but your "motivational" pic (I've really enjoyed those) really spoke to my day at work. My boss has a bad memory and often tells me the same thing multiple times. Sometimes she even gives me the same long informational speech. So I remind myself--I'm just getting paid for the hours I spend here doing what she wants me to do. And right now she wants me to listen.
I'm also looking for nice ways to tell her she already told me this, but it's very hard to do. She's a slow speaker and seems to only be able to handle thinking about one thing at a time. Multitasking completely throws her off--and it's painful to watch.
January 25th, 2008 at 12:27 am
Getting round the tiredness aspect is probably the most difficult. Most people are pretty resistant to acting on things, if you're tired, that's got to be even worse.
If that is the case, then your best bet may well be trying to acquire additional responsibility where you are - it's by far the easiest of the options, and might give you breathing room to do something else.
February 4th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
I've found that the physical tiredness associated with manual labor wears off within a few weeks as one gets in shape. Conversely, I've had a harder time broadening my skills doing brain-work because the mind is exhausted when I get home from work. Another thing about physical labor is that one usually doesn't bring them home. When the job is done, it's done and it does not travel with you on holidays or to the dinner table or anything.
March 18th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Soul sucking does not necessarily equal minimum wage. Many white collars workers find their jobs to be soul sucking. I find mine is soul sucking right now, due to management issues and organizational culture. But it pays pretty good.
March 18th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
I totally identify. I was just saying that minimum wage jobs seem to leave you so exhausted you can't find a better job. I've had a couple of high-paying soul-sucking jobs before.