Don't get stuck in a job you hate

It's funny how things work sometimes. Just this evening I was reminded how life can change dramatically, and yet behaviors stay with you.

I wanted to send a mass office e-mail, in order to share an idea that I thought would help the company, but I was afraid. I know it sounds weird, but a swift realization came to me: I was shell-shocked from my previous place of employment, where sending out an e-mail with the slightest typo would be plenty justification for an hour-long belittlement session, or scathing PUBLIC e-mail.

Now, I am not going to name any names, but just six months ago I worked elsewhere. I was stuck in a job that I hated, miserable and demoralized. The owner treated us horribly. It was the worst type of micromanagement. I saw co-workers run out of his office crying on a daily basis. I was even one of them a few times. You can imagine what type of energy that place gave off — it was like a funeral or a place where someone will throw you in front of a bus.

This situation is so common in today's workplace , yet it is only beginning to be addressed. According to news reports, the treatment of employees is becoming increasingly important as the baby boomers reach retirement age, leading to a definite shortage in the workplace. And the x and y generations know that they will soon have the upper hand.

However, my last employer had not learned that lesson. He made that very clear one afternoon right before I decided to quit, with no job waiting for me.

It was the day of our sounds-good-as-a-morale-booster-on-paper "Hero of the Month" lunch. You know the type: They buy us lunch, make announcements, pick a hero, the usual. Except the usual that day was a wonderfully motivating speech on MySpace and YouTube orgies.

Yup, you read that right: orgies.

The owner of the company, while pacing frantically back and forth, gave a full-on Shakespearean diatribe on the evils of these websites. He gave complete explanations of how he has been watching and reading all of our profiles closely. How some of them were "obscene and appalling," to quote him directly. He then gave us the kind permission to have our MySpace orgies at home. These sites were to be blocked within the office from that point on. Then he talked a little more about "orgies"; he must have said that word at least five times. And we were the obscene ones?

Okay, now let me clarify. The second clause in the last sentence I can agree with: If you feel as if these sites are causing a severe lack in productivity within your company, by all means block them. But, it is not okay to tell your employees that they are obscene and that they are being watched in front of all their co-workers. The evil little man (as I was wont to call the owner) ended this wonderful inspirational speech by letting us know that if we didn't like what he was saying, then we could leave — but that all companies conduct themselves similarly and we would not get very far.

As far as I know, no one in that office had anything on their pages that would cause this sort of reaction. However, I do suppose what one would call obscene is a very individual thing. Unless they are offering services that I don't know about, I am not quite sure how you would have a YouTube orgy. None of us who heard that speech could figure that one out, though we had quite a few laughs trying.

His pep talk worked so well that no one stayed to eat birthday cake, going back to work like good little bees (actually I just think everyone was so repulsed they lost their appetite). It's not surprising that the business has a 100 percent turnover rate!

Needless to say, after that I could not stand even being there, I felt so caged. I went to every online account I knew and changed my privacy settings. My MySpace profile (now blocked) read "Suddenly it was 1984, and I was in a Brave New World." Making reference to the Orwell and Huxley novels about "big brother" watching, I was hoping that the evil little man would be smart enough to get my sharp retort.

Then I quit. And fate showed me its sense of humor…

I took a little break to nurse my emotional wounds. I wanted to have a job this time that I enjoyed; I would take my time. So I did, and then before I even started looking, I got a phone call from a social networking company.

My first thought, having never heard of this company, was what the hell is it? I accepted the interview, intrigued. Then I looked it up, and I was instantly converted into a fervent follower and believer. A social networking site that allows you to control what people (employers, etc.) see, what an amazing idea!

I could not believe my luck, and they found me!

The interview increased my excitement ten-fold. They were so organized, so together; they seemed to share my views, ideas, obsessions. My potential boss even wrote an award-winning article on one of my favorite female musicians!

That night I created a profile and sent out invitations to all of my friends. Apparently it was this profile that was the deciding factor. I was hired. And I love it – it is the complete antithesis of where I was before, and an amazing place to work.

In fact, I conquered my fear and sent that e-mail, and the CEO loved it. Just yesterday he gave me permission to put at least two typos in every mass e-mail I send.

So thanks, evil little man, for driving me away. I left because of your tirade, and you know what? I was offered a better job with a better job title and a much nicer work environment at a social networking company. I can have orgies all day long and get paid for it!

Yeah — irony, it is indeed a beautiful thing. And for those of you who were or are in the same position I was in, don't listen to that negative co-worker who is on edge and spends most of the time smoking or complaining how all places are the same Hell. Because they're not and there is hope.