Find your flair

Published in the Idaho State Journal on Sunday, January 17, 2010

There's nothing like good movie therapy. Movies help elicit emotional responses that we, for whatever reason, may not be able to muster up otherwise. For me, it seems I either need to laugh, I need to cry, or I need to get really brassed off. Over the years, I've gathered a small collection of movies that hit just the right emotional spots for me—Moll Flanders is my crying movie, King Arthur is my “it's better to be smarter than it is to be stronger” movie—featuring Clive Owen with his shirt off.

When I first became betrayed at my job, ultimately losing it, I watched the movie “Office Space” at least once, if not twice, a day. There have been plenty of “evil employer” movies and shows before and since Office Space was released in 1999, such as The Pajama Game and TV series The Office. but Office Space stands out for me as an amusing and iconic snapshot of time—a time when stock options in a company was considered highly-prized compensation for good work performance and loyalty.

Aside from priceless employee caricatures such as Nina in corporate accounts payable and Milton down in storage room B, I wish I could say the theme of Office Space is a big pack of lies—archaic, one man's bad work experience. But it's not. Many citizens work for Big Employer—and yet somehow, in spite of gobs of psychological studies and basic common sense, Big Employer hasn't figured out that the way to get the most out of a worker is to be nice to them.

Some employees are miserable in any work situation—but that's not a workplace issue, that's an emotional issue (curable, by the way). But most employees are great at what they do and really like their job—or at least really want to like their job even it's boring or off their career course. But it seems in today's workplace, all too often the path to the good stuff about work is blocked by hostility, a blind eye, back-stabbing, secrecy, intimidation, general “weenie-ness”, or other incarnations of Bill Lumburgh.

As of now, there's not really much any of us current and former drones can do about it. Employment law, policies, and legislation may as well be written on stone tablets for how out-of-date it all is—and that's assuming everyone is going to keep to the code once it's finally re-written. But these jobs pay our bills and keep a roof over our head. So if there is an exit strategy to be planned, it must be planned carefully and legally—because you never know what could happen if a decimal point gets misplaced.

I particularly like the ending of Office Space and Peter Gibbons's next career move. As a career professional and worker, I wonder if the next phase of career choice for some is going to include flexibility of vocation and salary, while prioritizing a healthy, supportive, and empowered workplace. Work is fun and rewarding when it's done right—whether you're digging ditches or designing the bulldozers.

While there are many great employers and so many things to love about the workplace such as camaraderie, sharing expertise, surviving the morning rush, and perhaps some well-deserved printer beatings, it will take a while for the overall nature of the modern workplace to change. Until we get the new-millennium labor revolution of my dreams, we have friends, we have support, and we have Office Space. Onward!

BIO: Nancy Goodman is a licensed counselor with an emphasis on life and career coaching. For questions or to schedule a free consultation (in person or over the telephone), contact Nancy at 208-478-1414 or goodnanc@yahoo.com.