Andrea Kay - Works a Bitch and Then You Make It Work: 6 Steps to Go from Pissed Off to Powerful

Published in 2008 by
Stewart, Tabori & Chang
An imprint of Harry N. Abrams, Inc.

Copyright 2008 Andrea Kay

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

Career Rage is a trademark of Andrea Kay.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Kay, Andrea, 1954
Works a bitch and then you make it work : 6 steps to go from pissed off to powerful / by Andrea Kay.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-58479-708-1
1. Career changesUnited States. 2. Vocational guidanceUnited States. 3. Job huntingUnited States. I. Title.
HF5384.K395 2009
650.14dc22 2008027905

Edited by Rahel Lerner
Designed by Susi Oberhelman

115 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011
www.hnabooks.com

Visit Andrea Kay at www.andreakay.com

I N MEMORY AND CELEBRATION OF THE LIFE OF

Judy Hand, whom I met standing in line
at the post office in 1986. She was a talented artist
who was generous with her time and helped me
pursue my other career, in art. At our last
conversation, we reminisced over lunch about that
first chance meeting and talked about what matters
mostrelationships, work, art, and our hair.

PART I :
A Day in the Life of You (And How You Got Here)

PART II :
A New Day in the Life of You (And How You Get There)

Step 1
Take Your Pick: Disillusionment or Naked Truth

Step 2
Enough Already: Lay Down Your Cell Phones and BlackBerries

Step 3
Have a Brush with Greatness (Even If No One Notices)

Step 4
Prepare for Hurricanes, Sinkholes, and Maana

Step 5
Develop a Sixth Sense

Step 6
Go Twist and Shout and Shake Things Up

The words work and enjoy are rarely used in the same sentence these days. Youre more likely to hear work sucks. Or works a bitch.

Its no wonder. If youve been at it a while, youve worked your butt off to help create the most productive economy in the world. Youve been asked to do more with less, yet may receive less in returnincluding shouldering more of the cost of health care. All the while you see companies stock values soarsome showing record earningsand CEOs salaries skyrocket. (I hate to add salt to the wound, but did you know that many CEOs earn more in one day than the average worker earns in a year?)

Add to all that the fact that your company may ask younicely, youd hope, but not necessarily-to plug into company business 24/7 by way of beeper, BlackBerry, or e-mail. What kind of life is that? With your work life being such a drag, your overall life may not be so hot, either. They tend to bleed over into each other.

And while were at it, lets not forget that you may be one of those people whose job doesnt exist anymore or is filled in some faraway land. And what about all the talk about quality, quality, quality, while it seems nearly every corporate decision is based on profits, profits, and more profits? How can you feel good about your work?

I havent even touched on one of the top reasons people grimace in pain at the thought of work (or claim to in some surveys): bosses. Inept managers and leaders who lack integrity seem to overpopulate the workplace. Then add in the fact that you feel helpless to do anything about it. And if youre looking for a job, you have undoubtedly run into one annoying scenario after anotherthe most notorious being silence on the other endno phone call, no letter saying thanks, but no thanks, no nothing.

If any of this sounds familiar, youve got what I call a bad case of Career Rage. Youre pissed off, and its understandable. With all that Ive listed here, and more that I havent even touched on, you may feel that you can never get ahead. Whats the point of trying to find work youd enjoy, developing the skills to get along with others, and working toward a career dream, when so much of the workplace is broken?

In the short run, no one can turn around the crumbling of trust in the workplace and, in some cases, in corporate leaders. Nor will anyone quickly alleviate the daily stress of life compounded by a workplace that seems to treat people like inventory. But you can take steps to get out of the self-defeating cycle that has eliminated the phrase enjoy work from your vocabulary. Yes, work can be a bitch. But there is hopeand theres even more. You dont have to suffer, feel helpless and betrayed, and wake up feeling crappy about your career and your future. Theres a way to go from being pissed off to powerful. And you owe it to yourself to discover it.

Just so you know, I am not going to try to fill your head with a bunch of rah-rah happy talk and heres-how-you-deal-with-stress-and-stay-positive-and-turn-these-difficult-times-into-an-opportunity-for-growth jazz. That stuff is well meaning. But were way past that.

Im not giving up, though. And neither should you. This is your careerwhere you spend half or more of your life. How you feel about your work and career affects your relationships at home. Your future. Your potential income. Children you might have and the attitudes they develop as they observe and mimic you. The way you operate in the world and treat everyone who crosses your path. And someday, how youll look back at your life. Please dont waste it being pissed off.

If its any consolation, Im ticked, too. Im ticked that workers and job hunters feel so helpless, and Im ticked that injustices and some situations in the work world have deflated the spirit of workers. Im upset that the odds seem so stacked against you that you wonder, Why bother? Im disturbed when I get e-mails like this one from a worker somewhere in America saying, In this country its not possible anymore to do what you want or what youre good at. Im shocked by the number of discouraged twenty-somethings who have already lost faith in their ability to make a difference through their work.

I dont blame you for feeling frustrated. But to feel powerful about your career, you have to feel powerful about yourself. So lets begin with where you are right now.

The first section of this book starts there. Its your chance to vent. Then well move on to the meat of the bookthe steps you can take at work and in life to help you go from being pissed off to powerful. From time to time well touch upon laws, education, policies, and business practices that affect you. But this isnt a book about social and economic-policy analysis and whos right or wrong. Its a book about what you can do despite whats wrong and broken. Its also a workbook that makes you think, so get ready to do some work.

You might be a wee bit skeptical at this point. The work world and all those forces you dont control loom large. But the workplace is not like the weather, which everyone complains about but figures theres nothing they can do about. In the case of your career, theres plenty you can do. Lets begin.