We've all felt it. Frustration at work, dissatisfaction with our jobs, dysfunctional relationships with coworkers, absence of trust in our leaders, lack of recognition and appreciation for our contributions. It all seems to be part and parcel with what it means to be an employee in today's workplace. Of course there are also moments of triumph and exhilaration, times when we feel a real sense of worth and accomplishment in what we do. But these seem to be little more than flashes in the pan in an otherwise never-ending struggle to eke out a living and, hopefully, find some semblance of personal self-worth in the process. The good news is that it's possible to tip the scales, and we don't have to quit our jobs to do it. We can increase our sense of meaning and purpose while at the same time reduce our feelings of futility and frustration. But to do this we first need to understand what it is that's causing us such discontent. And to do this, we need to talk about wet water. Water is wet. (Really. Go check. I'll wait.) That's its nature, and for the most part that's not a problem. Fish do quite well in wet water. A fish doesn't complain that water is wet. If it did it would live a very frustrated and pointless existence. Even if it wanted to, even if it dedicated its every waking moment to the endeavor, a fish can't change the nature of wet water. It's an environmental constant. All a fish can hope to do is adapt to water's wet nature and live in harmony with its environment. Like fish, we live in many environmental constants that cannot be changed, but unlike fish, we sometimes get it into our heads that these constants have to change for us to be happy. So we embark on a frustrating and ultimately futile journey as we try to change our environmental constants. In other words, we try to make water not wet. When this happens something does have to change, and it's not the water.
About the Author: Lon Schiffbauer, Ph.D. is an organizational culture expert who believes that when employees are engaged in what the company is trying to accomplish on a personal and meaningful level, great things can happen. Lon has over 25 years experience working and consulting with such companies as FedEx, Intel, eBay, and other global companies that differentiate themselves based on culture. In addition to his consulting work, Lon is a faculty member at the University of Phoenix where he teaches a variety of undergrad and graduate-level business strategy courses. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Journalism, an MBA, and a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. For his dissertation Lon studied the effects of the pursuit of self-esteem on an employee's ability to thrive in the workplace.