Torch, Summer 1986

• ~ I The Woes of Work: Career Discouragement by Dr. Martin E. Clark T he honeymoon is over! Many jobs, like marriages , involve phases. After courting (and/or being romanced by) an employer, and after reaching the agreement to "join up ," a honeymoon period begins . Everything is great. But eventually the honeymoon ends . The employee begins to bump into the nitty-gritty of the work - the parts not covered during the interviews . He finds that while he has escaped the frustrations of his previous job, he has encountered a new set of obstacles. Maybe he even discovers that he brought his problems with him. The employer also soon confronts reality. He may discover the new hire's greatest ability was self-selling . He may develop a new list of questions to ask in future interviews . Discouragement sets in. In work, as in marriage , the end of the honeymoon does not spell the end of the relationship or of its romance. It means that the initial , sometimes artificial, "specialness" of the relationship has worn off. Moving beyond the self-selling and the initial success at work can be trying and often results in discouragement. But the discouragement may come from more serious and threatening problems as well. Career discouragement can be devastating because most of us forge close ties between our work and our self-definition. We identify ourselves - to ourselves as well as to others - as teachers, artists, physicians, engineers, homemakers , etc. When we suffer voca– tional setbacks, we may begin to feel inferior, unworthy, threatened, angry , or any number of other negative emotions which lead to discouragement . The problems may come from many sources. SOURCES OF CAREER DISCOURAGEMENT Some discouragement may come during the early stages of a career, in the "settling in" period. One may discover that his daily routines have little similarity to the factors originally attracting him to the position. Or he may encounter those who have filled a similar position and have become cynical toward its value . Others may take a position on a temporary basis until what they really want is available. Other frustrations come later and can be more discouraging . Typical of these are: • feeling one's hard work and commitment have not paid off in appropriate advancements in responsi– bility and salary • tiring of specific tasks, co-workers, supervisors, or working conditions • seeing one's business or industry change and feeling those changes are leaving him behind • watching one' s industry die and knowing that skills developed over the past years will soon be unmar– ketable • sensing a change in one's life meaning and wonder– ing if his efforts are contributing anything of real value • carrying over problems one is having in marriage, parenting , or other life spheres so they affect his career also • losing one' s job , which represents a threat to his sense of worth as well as to his manner of living • retiring - a traumatic disengagement even if one has been eagerly anticipating it . Ending a career, for whatever reason, may produce a feeling of being divorced from a portion of himself. continued on page 10 7