Boiling the Frog
Take control of your professional identity, before it's too late!
When I finally watched the movie An Inconvenient Truth, I was startled to hear Al Gore using the expression “boiling the frog” to describe the failure of humanity to act on climate change because we’re terrible at understanding subtle changes over time.
It’s a jarring and ridiculous phrase that conjures a ridiculous image, but the lesson the metaphor is trying to impart is an important one.
For those of you willing to admit never having seen the film, the expression refers to a legendary science experiment:
An unlucky frog is dropped into a beaker of boiling water. It immediately recognizes the peril, jumps out of the water, and so it survives! Another frog, even unuckier, is placed in another vessel of water. This one is slowly brought up to a boil. Because the change is gradual, the frog is unaware of its impending doom. It sits patiently as its circumstances deteriorate.
It is boiled alive, and it dies.
Out of Control
I have been thinking a lot about the frog as I record the many alarming ways that our working world seems to be getting worse each year.
More evidence rolls in of the growing rift in our culture between employer and employee. Every month it seems another record is set for most abhorrent method of layoff, worst manager behavior, most obscene abuses of marginalized people, and the ongoing deterioration of work-life balance.
I’m especially saddened when I talk to Americans who feel trapped in a shitty job situation because of our employer-based approach to health care. A friend with cancer described to me her discovery that while it is nominally illegal to fire someone for being sick, our system offers no mechanism to prevent it — only the opportunity for someone who is discriminated against to sue after they’re fired (but before they die.)
I have heard from several people recently who are subject to various forms of surveillance at work. You might find in your next job that your activity at your computer is monitored, and a little status icon displayed to your manager (and your colleagues!) that shows how ‘busy’ you’ve been in the last little while.
In a company famous for panopticon-like surveillance of warehouse employees and delivery drivers, you might think that the knowledge workers in downtown skyscrapers would be exempt from the same scrutiny.
Notice the two-way turnstiles installed recently in the building lobby and on each floor? What’s that about?
This innovation is necessary if you’re in the business of keeping track of people both arriving and leaving. We’ve been swiping in to the office for 30 years, but swiping out is a relatively new phenomenon, and it’s necessary if you want to keep track of who has truly “returned to the office.”
I snorted with laughter when a previous employer described this technology as necessary to ensure the building was completely evacuated in case of an emergency.
An emergency like what? A union election?
Doing It Yourself
Most of the people I talk to in the corporate world feel trapped by it, in once sense or another. Maybe you’re shackled to your health insurance, or the visa that allows you to stay in the country. Maybe it’s your only shot at paying off your student loans. Maybe it’s a standard of living you and your family are accustomed to. Maybe it’s what you parents expect of you.
If you’re taking what you need from the corporate world, I support you. I’ve been there. You’re certainly not alone.
The real danger arises from the illusion we’ve created for ourselves that our performance in this system is rewarded with some kind of safety or stability.
Every year it’s increasingly clear that it is not.
There’s only one group of people who are consistently enjoying more and greater rewards from this system, and those are the ones at the very top.
The best way I can think of to overcome this system — to beat the game — is by taking back as much ownership and control of your professional life as you possibly can. This isn’t easy for everyone, and I don’t mean to make it sound like something you can achieve at the drop of a hat.
It takes some grit, a lot of determinations, and the investment of a lot of time to build yourself an “alternative” career that’s not tied to a corporate employer. I had the benefit of various kinds of privilege to help me on my way — less than some, but more than most.
Creating your own professional identity doesn’t have to be an overnight transformation. For most people it won’t play out as a heroic entrepreneurial training montage. Almost anyone who can find a little bit of time each week to invest in themselves can start building toward a future where you’re not at the whim of an anxious executive trying to meet their quarterly targets.
Here are a few ideas:
Start freelancing — just announce it: “I’m available for freelance.”
Start writing a newsletter or an eBook on how to be amazing at what you do
Get involved in the networking organizations in your industry
Dedicate some time to coaching or mentoring people
Commercialize your hobbies using Etsy, eBay, or Squarespace
Sign up for expert networks like GLG, Coleman, or Alphasights
Start writing a paper or presentation to present at a conference
Ask your manager if you can get more involved in recruiting, training, or professional development programs
Talk with the people you know who aren’t in the corporate world and ask them how they did it.
Most of the people I talk to already have an idea about what “side hustle” they’d pursue if they had the time. Put an hour for yourself in your calendar every week. Mark the time as “busy” and start investing that time in yourself each week.
If you’re feeling that your corporate career isn’t going to get you where you need to be, you’re probably right. From some experience I can tell you that feeling doesn’t get better with time.
Get yourself started today. The frog is not going to boil itself.