From the Handelsblatt archive: For fear of not finding anything new, many people stay with their employer even though they are dissatisfied. In the worst case scenario, they quit internally. Experts show ways out.
Berlin. Johanna Kohler has a problem: “I’m bored to death in my job.” In the morning, says the 36-year-old marketing executive, she starts her computer. See if anyone has written - which is rare. And then look for something to do yourself.
The situation is putting a strain on Kohler, who actually has a different name but does not want to give her name for fear of disadvantages. Because she's actually used to getting involved. “I always enjoyed working.”
Kohler has been looking for a new job since the beginning of the year. But despite good references and her experience, she can't find anyone suitable. And because quitting without having a new job is not an option for her financially, she stays with her current employer for the time being - even though she is becoming increasingly dissatisfied and demotivated there.
And this means that Kohler is faced with a problem that it shares with a growing number of employees. You can read what this development means for companies, what it does to employees and what those willing to change can do here:
Many people on the job market are currently feeling the same way as Kohler. Although Germans are still willing to change, only a few dare to take this step. This is shown, among other things, by a survey by the job portal Xing at the beginning of the year. According to this, more than a third of the 3,400 employees surveyed would change their employer. However, only eight percent are planning concrete steps. Two out of three respondents cited job security as the most important reason for staying. Only 39 percent of those surveyed believe that their employer appreciates them.
Stefanie Bickert, career expert at the job platform Indeed, is also observing this development. “Safety has become much more important for many people,” she says. “In difficult times, we prefer the familiar – even if it may no longer be good for us.”
Because the job search has become noticeably harder. According to Indeed's job index, job openings shrank 3.9 percent in the second quarter of this year. In the first quarter it fell by 4.5 percent, putting it at its lowest level in five years.
Given the economic downturn, companies are not only hiring fewer people, they are also cutting jobs. Not exactly the best time to look for a new job. “Anyone who quits without already having a new perspective is taking a greater risk than they did a few years ago,” says Bickert.
If you want to change but there is no job in sight
This is a completely new situation for Johanna Kohler. She has changed jobs several times. Not because she had to, but because she was looking for a new challenge. She took on leadership responsibility early on. Among other things, she led a team of 20 and reported directly to the management. The 36-year-old came to her current employer through a headhunter. At first everything went smoothly: Kohler got promoted and was happy. “My desk was full every day,” she says. “I had a lot of responsibility.”
But then everything changes. Kohler's employer is bought out. The culture in the company is changing. Agreements on mobile working will be cancelled. The marketing expert is deprived of responsibility and tasks are eliminated. Kohler, who always gave full throttle, suddenly has nothing to do anymore.
Managers
“A job loss can shake the entire foundation of your self-worth”
So she writes one application after another. Most of them don't even get an answer. Kohler begins to doubt himself. “I increasingly have the feeling that my good CV and my achievements are no longer worth anything,” she says.
Self-doubt is often the result
Maria Bergler is currently experiencing such cases often. She coaches executives and was previously a consultant at McKinsey. “Many of my clients are looking around right now,” she says. “But in middle management – especially in industry – the options are very limited at the moment.” An exclusive analysis by market researcher Civey for Handelsblatt recently showed that 40 percent of companies have cut middle management positions in the past twelve months. “The fear of unemployment is great,” says Bergler. “Many people therefore stay in their job even though it no longer suits them at all.”
According to Bergler, it's a vicious circle: because good jobs are rare, the search becomes more strenuous. “Even if it’s not necessarily due to your own abilities, if offers don’t come, it eats away at your self-worth,” says the coach. This leads to many people estimating their market value to be worse than it actually is. “And then they think they can’t find anything better anyway.”
Job search
What is it failing? The totally crazy job market
This has strong implications. Thomas Rigotti is a work and organizational psychologist and heads the Leibniz Institute for Resilience Research. He speaks here of a “workplace log-in”. “It’s often not the act of staying that’s psychologically problematic,” he says. “But rather the feeling of having no choice.” Those affected experience less control, ruminate more - and increasingly develop the feeling that their own efforts are not changing anything anyway.
Studies also back up what Rigotti says. Swedish researchers, for example, were able to show that the well-being of people who want to change jobs but are unable to do so decreases significantly. He also warns of a vicious circle: “Helplessness reduces the willingness to actively look for ways out,” he says. “And the lack of change in turn increases helplessness.”
This manifests itself differently in everyday working life. Some employees withdraw psychologically. “They identify less with the organization, contribute ideas less often, avoid additional responsibility or contractually limit themselves to what is necessary.” Others, says Rigotti, try to maintain their performance for a long time, but pay for it with exhaustion, rumination and a lack of rest.
A dangerous mood of doom prevails at the moment. André Holtrup, industrial and organizational psychologist
A high level of resilience, i.e. good inner resistance, could help here, but should not be understood as the ability to endure poor working conditions for as long as possible. “Resilience here means remaining able to act under stress, recovering and, if necessary, taking a new path,” says Rigotti.
Dissatisfaction also puts a strain on companies
A situation that also puts a strain on companies in the long term. André Holtrup heads the Change in Working Society department at the Bremen Institute for Work and Economy. “If employees are dissatisfied and cannot find a new job, they often quit internally,” she says. Many then continued to complete their tasks. However, without the enthusiasm that is not only good for them but is also important for the company. The result: you wait, demotivated.
Holtrup finds cases like Johanna Kohler's particularly critical. “When restructuring takes place, it is part of the company’s duty of care to find new, suitable tasks for employees whose tasks are eliminated.” This is also in the company's interest. “A situation in which employees just serve time doesn’t do anyone any good.”
In general, he considers the current reluctance of companies to plan personnel to be critical. “At the moment there is a dangerous mood of doom and gloom,” he says. The labor market expert is surprised at how little many companies think about how many employees with what skills they will need in the next five to ten years. “Baby boomers are still retiring, leaving gaps that need to be filled.”
Holtrup advises companies to plan more long-term and create clear career paths so that employees know where they can develop. This reduces dissatisfaction and fluctuation. Holtrup says: “Anyone who employs employees below their performance potential is wasting valuable potential for the economy as a whole.”
What can those willing to change do?
And what can people who feel stuck in their careers do themselves? Expert Rigotti recommends a precise diagnosis first. Is the professional frustration due to the employer, the general conditions, the team, the manager or just a specific task? “The more precisely the problem is described, the greater the perceived scope for action becomes.” Because often it doesn't necessarily have to be a change of employer; sometimes the situation can be improved by a different distribution of tasks or different working hours.
work
“Many companies have a culture of pseudo-productivity”
However, if the only way out is to change, it is important to think about concrete steps. The general thought “I have to get out of here” should become a realistic plan of action. According to the expert, this can include a further training step, a conversation about internal perspectives, updating the application documents or a fixed appointment per week for networking. “What is crucial is to see concrete progress again.”
Networking is particularly important for managers who are willing to change, says coach Maria Bergler. “I have many clients who have put all their energy into their teams and tasks – and have completely neglected their external network.” But this is particularly important in high positions if you want to change jobs. “At a certain level, applications without contacts are no longer effective,” says Bergler. “You just get rejections, which is frustrating.”
But how does good networking work? Instead of sending mass contact requests on job portals such as LinkedIn, Bergler recommends personal exchanges. “For example at conferences or at lunch.”
Johanna Kohler also experiences that in the end only vitamin B often helps. “Applications to job advertisements are often sorted out by an AI because of my salary expectations,” says the marketing manager.
That's why she recently took a targeted approach: she contacted a publisher with whom she had already been in discussions a few years ago. “It didn’t work out back then because the job was too focused on IT,” says Kohler. “But they still remembered me.” There isn't a specific position available there, but at least there was a long conversation with the managing director. She writes a concept as a test. Although the boss was enthusiastic, the job didn't work out in the end.
