Prisoners. That’s term of art for
those stuck in a job they hate but can’t seem to leave, according to a survey
based on data from 500,000 workers. It seems about 8% of the global workforce
have no interest in their jobs and no motivation to quit them. Thus did these inert,
unhappy workers earn their name, a slightly aggressive term for gainfully
employed people suffering from ennui? Having no motivation at work does make it
a slog, and that seeps into the rest of your life. If you’re that disengaged
and you feel that stuck, what kind of spouse, or partner, or friend, or life do
you have outside of work? It’s not a great place to be. so why don’t they do
something about it? Why don’t they try to change their circumstances,
especially given the improving labour market? One reason: They’re shackled to their
desks by an elegant pair of golden handcuffs. Prisoners, by researcher’s
definition, aren’t people who can’t find work. They’re the people who don’t even
want to look. And that’s because they’re often overpaid. Research found that
more than 60% of prisoners make above market wages, compared to around 48% of
non-prisoners. They are getting paid higher than they could maybe find
externally out in the market. Then you get this feedback loop, because they’re
not getting performance management. The inertia sets in. The longer you stay
with a company, the likelier you are to feel stuck in that job, the research
found. You have people that have been with the company longer and feel like
they’ve been through a lot with the company. The burden of achieving happiness (or
“engagement”) shouldn’t fall entirely on the employee. Engagement is something that
organization owes to employees. Of course, as prisoners know all too well, many
companies just aren’t going to provide it. In that case, the imprisoned can
act. There is a choice in this matter. We would suggest people are more
empowered than perhaps they think. And if that doesn’t work, now’s a pretty
good time to start looking for a new job.
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