In recent conversations, I've been exploring the interplay among cultural myth, personal expectations and vocational decision-making.
Let's start with the cultural myths. Do you have an understanding that our nation's workers used to hold steady jobs with one company for 40 years, before retiring at 65?
That they were promoted steadily or, at least, were given consistent raises? That promotions were based on merit and not on personal connections?
Do you believe that companies used to care about their employees as people and put their interests in the forefront of corporate decision-making?
Do you have the impression that women rarely worked for money until the 1960s or later? Or that the income they earned went for household extras?
Do you think that layoffs are a recent phenomenon?
Think critically about the history you can trace in the vocational paths taken by you, your friends and your family members. In particular, think about those who were working in the 1920s, '30s, '40s and '50s.
Did the women in your circle work for money during these decades? If so, did their families rely upon their incomes? In my family, the women did work, up to and after marriage. In addition to structured jobs outside the home, they made things to sell, watched other people's children and did extra work on the side when given the opportunity. And the money was not going to new curtains.
Next, think of six men in your family who were working in those decades. Did any have the 40-year career? Without layoffs? Were they promoted steadily, based on merit, or did they get passed over in favor of people who "played the game"?
If you can name people who followed this vocational path, ask yourself: Were they doing the work they wanted to do? Or were they doing the work they had to do in order to keep the job?
When you've finished comparing the ideology to your knowledge of actual people, ask yourself: Did you find a gap between the myth and the reality? If so, does it matter?
I can tell you from conversations I've had with job-seekers that the gap does exist, and it does matter. The main problem is that when people absorb these ideas as facts, they elevate them into ideals and set out to achieve them.
If you believe that companies used to care about their employees as people, won't you want to find such a company now? And if you don't find one, won't you feel cheated, as if your job is not ideal without this ingredient?
This may sound like pessimism, but it's really just a lack of romanticism. Companies exist to make money, and even companies that are employee-owned will make their decisions based on profit.
Even when individual managers or CEOs value employees more than profit, the ultimate decisions still will not be made on that basis.
All of this is not to say that companies are evil or that good times from the past were all lies. It's only a reminder that assumptions have to be checked and that decisions have to be made on something more solid than cultural ideals. When we plan from reality instead of myth, we shed the burden of unrealistic expectations; that's when we can enjoy our work for what it is, not what it "should" be.
- Amy Lindgren owns Prototype Career Service, a career consulting firm in St. Paul, Minn. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice.com or at 1071 W. Seventh St., St. Paul, MN 55102.