Recent research shows us that many experienced employees are choosing death as the pathway out of their pain. Evidence of this is research that pinpoints Monday mornings as the time of the week when most people have heart attacks. It may be unconscious, but for many people death or disability is a preferred alternative to another day at the office.
Interestingly, my typical client doesn't believe they have any choice around work. Those who have little formal education see their options as limited to unglamorous pink or blue collar jobs. Those with lots of formal education see themselves as restricted to the profession they qualified for -- and often this profession or discipline was selected to keep a parent or favorite teacher happy.
Little experience is perceived as restricting opportunities, and certainly closing doors to higher level positions. Lots of experience is seen as a straightjacket which ties them to a well known path. Having a family means they have to play it safe because people are depending on them. Being single means they have to play it safe because there is no one to rely on if things don't go as planned.And these stories (or nightmares) keep churning 'round and 'round because they think, based on years of personal evidence, that they can't change anything.
Like many of us, John learned young in life that his needs and wishes weren't important. In fact, they got him into a lot of trouble with the authority figures (parents) in his life. As he grew and went to school, that belief was reinforced. What John's teachers thought was important and was what counted. Once John hit the work force, these lessons were further driven home. It was his boss's needs that always came first. What John thought or needed was only relevant if it matched or furthered the way his boss looked at things.
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