We have all felt shackled to our job at one point or another whether we were physically handcuffed to a desk or just compelled to answer those texts or emails from the boss at 2am. No matter how you define your “Fifty Shades Of Grey,” being bound to your job like a hostage negotiating your way out of captivity is not the way you should embrace your career aspirations under any circumstances.
There are times in everyone’s career where you have felt the tight ropes of bondage take hold no matter how much you say you love what you are doing and you are “satisfied.” You could be suffering from “job abuse” the way some may experience “battered wife syndrome” and you may not know how to get out from under your own captivity. Your job is not meant to be a prison sentence but for some the abuse you may experience has become as common as the same route you take to work. Just because you feel bound to a job that crushes you does not mean you can’t get out at anytime. You may not feel like there are choices and options available to you but no amount of bondage is worth the sacrifice of a paycheck.
Job bondage may come in many forms from the boss who has no boundaries and expects you to be his or her shrink, confidante, house keeper, baby-sitter, pet walker and general go-to person from the person who decides to have an all staff meeting just as you are sitting down for Sunday dinner with the family. You may feel like you have no options but to comply but setting clear boundaries when it’s imposing on your personal time should not only be a priority but a requirement of your working conditions.
You may think well that might work for some but not for me since I’m in a leadership role and must answer to a higher power. Well if you don’t lead by example, even your bosses won’t know where to draw the line! You can easily become your own prison guard if even you don’t know when to say, “No!” Knowing when enough is enough should not force you to quit your job but instead to set clear and direct expectations when it comes to what you are willing to do or not do when it comes to your working relationships.
We all want to please and when we work for someone who is in a higher position of power we feel like there are no other options but to do as one is told. You may not have the luxury of a self-directed work schedule or self-employment but when it comes to setting reasonable expectations you are the master of your own destiny no matter how many bosses you have. Not being taken advantage of even in your work environment does not mean you lack work ethic or integrity, it just means you have your own best interests at heart and know when someone is crossing the line in expecting you to work against the odds. So the next time your boss makes an unreasonable request or assumption, take a breath, smile and politely decline. There is nothing like the feeling of escape from job bondage and being able to hold your head up high and to regain your personal life freedom.
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