I'm aware that increasingly I sound a bit narky when it comes to the media. Admittedly I suppose that the role of a journalist is to come up with news stories that might appeal to a certain audience but when it comes to stories that relate to recruitment and job hunting, there is so much inaccurate reporting or rather reporting without real insight or evidence of an actual fact, that I find myself rolling my eyes just at the headlines.
Recently, I came across an article on 'Resenteeism'. I Googled it afterwards and couldn't find any other references so I guess this journalist hoped that they were starting something. The idea was ultimately that lots of people stay in a job, even though they hate it. This could be for any number of reasons (both the staying there and the reasons for hating it).
Again, I had to put things into context. Anything that I write about is obviously relevant to the creative, advertising and marketing world. Predominantly agency side. We're really lucky that for a lot of individuals in our sector - the job gives them a huge amount of satisfaction. No, it's not as well paid as say Barristers or Management Consultants, nor does it come with the holiday allowance and pension provision of teaching, however, if you can truly say that you enjoy the job that you do, in the sector that you work in, then I think you are winning at life.
I imagine that doing a job that you loathe and feeling that it is impossible to leave is a very difficult place to be. We're again fortunate in our sector that for those individuals who perhaps love the industry but not the job, are able to find an alternative role (as in job function) or a different business where they will be much happier.
I was on a client call today with 10 other recruiters. The client was spending time with the recruiters to ensure we had an up to date view of the agency, their successes, the reasons that people would want to work there. The client asked us whether people were sitting tight at the moment due to the economic climate. Their theory was that employees thought they had to stay put because they wouldn't find another job. I think all the recruiters agreed that this isn't true. In fact, the opposite is true that more people are starting to look for a new role precisely because they need more money with the current cost of living increases...and an existing employer is unable or unwilling to pay them a higher salary. At the moment there are jobs out there in our sector and they're not hard to find. Anyone who is truly unhappy in a job-role for any reason should be able to identify a new role and hopefully put right that wrong.
A job is a bit like a mattress (bear with me). We spend (proportionately) a lot of time in bed....and in our jobs. So it's worth getting those two 'things' right. Occasionally I do talk to candidates who realise they are in the wrong industry and I try to guide them so that they can identify what they would like to do and what it would take to get there. We lose people to all kinds of other careers - nursing, teaching, policing etc. Increasingly my mantra is that life can be short so we owe it to ourselves (if we can) to ensure that we enjoy it.
One point that is perhaps true is that sometimes if an individual has spent a long time in a certain business, they lack the confidence to feel that they could be of value to another employer. This could be for many reasons - it might be that they feel ground down by life, or that their self esteem has dropped - and in fact, one might lead to the other and then it's a vicious circle. Securing a new role does take confidence and it does take a bit of effort. But that effort, particularly if you are unhappy in your job, is richly rewarded - that doesn't have to be about money (although it mostly is) - it can be about working with new colleagues, not being treated as part of the furniture, better working conditions, more flexibility etc.
In summary, I don't think 'resenteeism' is rife in this sector. But I do think that occasionally people stay too long in a job because it is simpler to do that than to make the effort to move. And in doing so, they often become a little institutionalised and without realising it become quite negative about how they see their employer, themselves and their role. The easiest fix to this is to find a new role. It might feel like a huge thing to do but it's worth visualising what life might be like if you woke up on a Monday with a spring in your step. There's no final salary pension scheme in this sector so what are you waiting for?
I know I woulds say this but it's always worth having a chat with a recruiter (ideally me, but it doesn't have to be). Having a chat doesn't sign your life away but it might make you aware of your options. We all have options! I'm on 07976 125963.