Why I (We) Feel Dead in the Workplace

Zombies, zombies, everywhere.

I don’t blame you for floating around aimlessly, pal (or gal).

It happens from time to time.

It should not be all the time. If so, stop reading this article and find another job. Or start a 1-person business. Or go dig for money online.

Let me get back to the process of zombification.

I have seen zombies passing by my office corridor. There are many different types.

Some walk with their eyes closed. Others doom-scroll. Many play pretend.

I am an occasional zombie as well. I can relate.

And it begets this question.

Why?

The Generic Answers That Barely Scratches the Surface

Oh, there are many.

In fact, too many

Google is flooded with such answers. I distilled it down into 3 broad categories.

• Motivation — You are just not motivated, dude!
• The wrong person for the job — Joe does not have the right attitude or aptitude to handle this job.
• Below sea-level wages — Jane sulks because she cannot find a job that pays higher than this one.

Yes, these answers can be correct.

But no, these answers cannot be correct.

This is because,

• There will always be that motivated kid sitting beside the zombie.
• There are too many wrong people hired for the job. But they do excel, too.
• People stay in their low-income jobs because they get time benefits. Or better benefits.

So, you see, generic answers aren’t accurate.

We must go deeper.

We must read the minds of our bosses, colleagues, clients, prospects, and vendors.

Motivation is Not the Answer. Control Is.

I don’t mean control in the entrepreneurial sense.

I refer to our task senses.

Many people I know are salaried workers. They get into a job, put in their hours, and genuinely and honestly work to clear their emails, in-trays, and client complaints.

They do. I have no doubts.

And they are the happiest when they get to work on the tasks and respond to them with their best effort, without an albatross around their necks.

All that freedom, confidence, happiness, and autonomy evaporates when the insecure, heavy-ass boss drops by for a weekly status update.

• Why are you doing things this way?
• No, no, no, it will never work. You must handle customer complaints like this!
• You are doing a great job. But you have to hit your targets. You better, or you will be let go.

At this point, we have crossed 70% of the zombification process.

We are near dead. Only one thing remains.

Our Sabretooth teeth are waiting to be exposed.

And it is easy to get to that point. Just wait until you are assigned a project where you have to work extended hours for 9 months.

I guarantee you will complete your zombification process at breakneck record speed. It is a matter of time.

Some of these zombies remain zombies in the workplace forever.

Others stumble upon a serum, have it injected into their arms, revert back to half-humans, tender their resignation, and flee for their lives.

The Wrong People Argument is Flawed

In fact, fatally flawed.

Hiring the wrong person for the job usually means they do not have the relevant skills. That, I agree.

However, the hiring manager would have uncovered that during the interview.

So that cannot be the reason.

The real reason is they no longer want to give their best shot.

I used to be one of them.

I became a zombie when,

• My job scope changes every 3 months,
• My explanations or justifications fall on deaf ears,
• The expectations of my deliverables become near God-like.

You can trust me when I say this.

If all these 3 things happen to you concurrently, you will complete the zombification process from 0 to 100% in one calendar quarter.

Watch it.

And steer clear.

It is no fun.

Wages, Wages, Wages.

Well, well, well.

We cannot avoid the topic of below-sea-level wages, can we?

I will be the first person to admit that I work for the money. And salary increment is a soft bribe that gets me to do more work. There. I said it.

But I also do more work when my income stays stagnant.

I can say the same for my colleagues. We aren’t mercenaries. We work for our living and retirement.

So, when do we start feeling undercompensated?

The keyword is feeling.

It starts from the point of under-appreciation.

And it manifests itself in many different forms.

Take, for instance, the following.

• Asked to attend meetings for secretariat duties when we have better things to do,
• Got dragged into a discussion to recap the pointers from the previous,
• Passed over for promotion(s) because the boss’s pet hogs the limelight,
• Having our due credit snatched away and accredited to someone else,
• Being talked over during meetings.

Sounds familiar?

Well, it will be weird if it is not.

You see… wages dominate the headlines because this topic evokes frustration and annoyance with zero effort. It is like a pricky needle that guarantees blood, given human contact.

But reality is rarely that simple.

The workplace, however, is dynamic.

Favorable and unfavorable events play out daily. At times, we win. Then we lose. And we regain our footing and rebalance the odds towards or against our favor.

When we start feeling that our work and present are disrespected…

… we feel as if we are losing our footing in the workplace. And that we are losing big.

It is then we start degenerating into zombies.

Sure, we will fight back. No one goes down without a fight.

But if we continue to lose…

We will tap out.

100%.

The Close

So!

Are you feeling dead at work?

I’ve got your back. In fact, millions and billions of WFH folks and Quiet-Quitting tribe members are waiting to pull you to the Dark Side.

But I say this.

• It is one thing to undergo the process of workplace zombification.
• It is another to get out and become a human being once again.

If you are quietly turning into a zombie — Do one thing.

Tender resignation. Leave.

You will find a better workplace elsewhere.

I guarantee.

Enjoy my writing? Consider subscribing here.