Why are You Killing Yourself for a Job that will Replace You in a Week?

“Why are you killing yourself for a job that will replace you in a week if you died?  Take care of yourself!” ~ Unknown

Lately, I have been seeing more and more people posting this quote on social media and as a work-life balance leadership coach; I should probably address my thoughts on this quote.

Throughout my work life journeys and coaching experiences, I have come to the realization that maybe this quote may absolutely be true.  However, my goal is to change this through my coaching.

It is important to work hard and be a diligent loyal employee but thinking about work 24/7 is not good for you mentally or physically.  Everyone needs to take vacations and get away to rest and relax.

Why are employees feeling this way? 

From what I hear, people are working themselves into overwhelm and burn-out.  Some employees care way too much about their jobs to the point of making themselves physically sick.  While others do the bare minimum not to get fired and appear to be the happiest.

Why is that?

I hear this scenario repeatedly that the people who do the least amount of work get promoted while the dedicated doers get passed over time and time again. The Doers are conscientious about their job duties day in and day out, work late, and get the job done with little to no praise or acknowledgment and are slowly killing themselves in the process. They have high anxiety, stress, diabetes, heart disease, no work-life balance strategies, no work boundaries, and so on. While the lazy worker is smiling, laughing, playing on their cell phone all day, and content with collecting their paycheck, while everyone else is covering their job, stressed-out and resentful.

Why do leaders let this happen?

Leaders need to spend time with their employees and know them instead of locking themselves in their offices. Don’t they want to know what is going on? Someone once told me, because the Leader doesn’t care. Reviewing staff’s workload and time management is vital to assist with eliminating overload and overwhelm. Coaching the lazy worker to do their share of the workload is essential for the supervisor. The Doers need to feel comfortable to honestly state to their manager they are overwhelmed and need assistance and the ability to say no to more tasks when they have too much to handle.

Why doesn’t the Leader care?  

When loyal, hard-working employees leave by either transferring to another department for the same or less salary or go to the competition or just leave as a Leader, you should be asking this question! Why are they leaving? 

Losing good employees hurts the business and the bottom line. Yes, they may make a high salary, but the cost of training new staff and their expertise is now gone, and this alone is very detrimental to a company.

A good leader finds out what is going on within their company. They don’t just sit in their office with the door closed; they ask questions and want the truth, not lip service. They know who is doing the work and who isn’t. They care about the staff and want them to succeed. When hiring internally, the excellent leader recognizes the right person to promote since they know their quality of work, interpersonal skills, and the right fit for the job.  

What are some solutions to change this concept?

• Find the strengths of the complacent worker and give them those projects.
• Coach the complacent employee on doing their work tasks and pulling their share of the workload.
• Meet with them daily on their progress for 10 to 15 minutes, getting updates on where they are with their work assignments.
• Have them set up daily goals on their work tasks and review their progress.

Is this concept a forgotten principle?

Would love to see your thoughts, comments and your experiences on this subject. ~ Patti

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