Better Than The Alternative…

Imagine that you’re in my shoes for a moment. Your job requires you to work at one of the company’s conferences. It’s a four-day-long event that wholly consumes a weekend, during which you’ll be working about 15 hours a day. On top of that, you’re expected to work a normal week both before and after. How do you feel about it?

Okay, hold that thought. Now imagine that these conferences are all “part of the deal” of being employed, and that those who choose to complain and/or not go have historically been fired. Notably, a predecessor in your department is one of them. Remember how you felt a second ago? How have your feelings changed?

Welcome to my world. I’m not really complaining; in fact, I’m quite fond of my job and hope to keep it for some time. I just thought I’d share the leap in attitude that a bit of employment uncertainty can bring.

Granted, I’m not at all enthusiastic about the conference. It’s going to be a lot of work and time away from my family for no additional pay or time off. However, I won’t be making a fuss. Considering my participation has been attached to my continued employment, however implicitly, I accept it as a regretable fact of life and will do my duty without complaint.

The situation makes me wonder about proper incentivism, though. Isn’t it much better for morale to offer a better incentive than, “You get to keep your job”? Sure, that’s a powerful motivator for most people, but it has a tendency to breed resentment. My company doesn’t use it in any other context, thankfully, but I can’t imagine it’s a good business practice to use to any degree. After all, especially in a larger company, malcontent can be the silent killer of your bottom line.

Whatever the case, the conference itself is still a few weeks off, so I don’t need to lament it just yet. Besides, I have a good supervisor, good pay, a bit of creative freedom, and job responsibilities that are both challenging and educating, all things that aren’t easy to come by. More importantly, everyone who knows me knows how much I hate job hunting. All things considered, going to the conference is definitely better than the alternative.

What do you think? How far would you be willing to go to keep a good job?