Your On-the-Job Demeanor

Your On-the-Job Demeanor Invades Your Personal Life
By Rennie Sloan From Worthwhile Magazine
As I was working in New York in the late 90s, a vice president of my former company walked into my office clutching a brown paper bag, which she breathed into frantically trying to relieve intense job stress. How pathetic, I thought, as I watched the bag inflate and contract, all the while secretly plotting my own escape to a job where employees were happier.
These scenarios of workers driven over the edge were plentiful near the end of the dot-com era. Indeed, people began to bail in droves from fast-track jobs in both startups and big companies to find work more conducive to passionate living. Despite huge bonuses and perks such as massage therapists on site, employees finally said, "it's no longer about money, I want to have a life," says Christina Maslach, a University of California at Berkeley psychology professor who specializes in job burnout and stress.
Which, of course, leads to the core question: Is it possible to have a happy life if you hate your job -- or the work is dull enough to sleepwalk through?
The answer is one that psychologists continue to debate and research as job trends and lifestyles change. Experts say some individuals are capable of finding happiness by strictly walling off their work from family, friends, hobbies and the like. But, increasingly, a corporate lifestyle affected by such factors as 24/7 technology and global timetables puts so much pressure on employees that job stress and unhappiness eventually creeps into other areas of life.
The result: The creative work force has started seeking more rewarding jobs.
One example is David Vannort, who found a path to passionate work, a happier life, and to his surprise, profitability. Vannort was a former senior manager with Arthur Andersen in Atlanta, on the fast track to partnership in a new litigation practice area, and traveling up to six months at a time.
"One year I worked over 700 hours of overtime." His reward? "Attaboys and bonuses" from the big bosses. The cost? Anxiety attacks, and little sympathy from his friends, who had long since kissed his companionship goodbye. "Your friends stop calling after a while. They know you're not there."
When an 18-month corporate loan program at Andersen gave Vannort a chance to help poor communities develop business and leadership skills, he found the work more fulfilling and the schedule more humane.
"When it was time to go back, I just said I can't do this anymore." Vannort then quit his Andersen job to get a real-estate license and work on his own, admittedly nervous to change careers and take a huge financial risk. "It probably took me two years to replace income from Arthur Andersen, and now I make substantially more. I think it's because I like what I do. And the funny thing is, I probably work harder and more hours doing real estate."
Now his social life includes spending off-time with his clients, whom he takes pride in assisting with their critical life decisions. The anxiety attacks are gone.
Vannort could afford to make economic sacrifices to launch a more satisfying and ultimately more financially rewarding career. But some people fear the risks and financial sacrifices are too great to give up jobs that pay the bills. If they continue to plod along in a daily grind of an unfulfilling job, will this strip away their souls and rob them of happiness?
Some psychologists believe job satisfaction and happiness can be tied to overall goals and priorities, such as family or community. In fact, recalibrating those priorities can be critical. Arthur Brief, a psychology professor at Tulane University, lectured to executives and M.B.A. students for many years, often beginning the class by asking students what percentage of happiness they thought came from their jobs.
When students, many of whom were married, responded 70% to 80%, he then asked, "What happens if I go home and tell your husband that 80% of your passion in your life comes from your job?"
Still, the career realities can be harsh, and even dangerous, as in the case of Terri Longfellow Fuller.
Fuller worked for three years as a creative director for Turner Entertainment, a job that initially allowed her to stretch her artistic muscles. When the company began merger discussions with AOL, her department's morale plummeted, a tone that only worsened during restructuring and layoffs.
"There was tons of infighting. It was really yucky." When Fuller went to the doctor with heart palpitations, he gave her some tests but they concluded the symptoms were due to job stress. "I was extremely unhappy, I was extremely frustrated. I worried about it all the time."
Fuller was laid off one Monday as part of the restructuring, and her fiancé noticed a difference within days. "By Friday night, he just looked at me and laughed, and said, 'You look so relaxed.' He saw it right away."
For the past two years, Fuller has enjoyed similar work as an independent contractor, staying busy full time with more creativity and flexibility on client work due to less bureacracy. The heart palpitations are gone, and weekend depression has been replaced with spending quality time with her husband, doing volunteer work, and tending to her adopted greyhound Hailey.
This shift in work environment, as opposed to career, can be the change needed to create job happiness, according to Dr. Maslach, who notes the trend of employees such as Vannort and Fuller taking control to find or create jobs in sync with individual values.
"It's not that [organizations] go out and design some workplace to drive people crazy, but there are human considerations not being met," she says. "If the workplace doesn't adjust to the human being, you can injure the human being."
According to Dr. Maslach, some people can compartmentalize jobs they dislike, and find enough passion in other areas such as friends, family, faith and hobbies. However, she notes that compartmentalization "can have negative effects on personal relationships, shutting people out. It causes strain on relationship or individuals because you can't talk about it."
Not talking about work, a place where you may spend more time than anywhere else, can create a disconnect with spouses and others. And, often, self-worth and identity is connected to employment, and many people are too proud to broadcast job dissatisfaction. This silent suffering can add more stress to the burden of the job.
Some psychologists say more research is needed to examine the correlation of recent job trends and overall happiness. Dr. Maslach believes potential "erosion of the soul" from job misery creeping into your life can vary from person to person and is influenced by priorities and stage in life.
In general, however, it's clear that work plays an important role in happiness. "People would rather have a job they feel good about," Maslach says.

-- This article is provided by Worthwhile Magazine. Copyright 2004.