By Gerry Murray. 15-12-2019
(Scroll down for a laugh)

“So instead of the soldier carrying his computer for five meters, two people drive for a combined six to ten hours, fill out around fifteen pages of paperwork, and waste a good four hundred euros of taxpayers’ money.” ~ David Graeber

What is a Bullsh*t job?

I’ve been delving into David Graeber’s thought-provoking, humorous and somewhat controversial book Bullsh*t Jobs - The Rise of Pointless Work and What we do about it since it caught my eye in a bookshop in Aachen a few weeks back. I felt compelled to buy it, if only to see if I could find any insights into why so many people are not engaged at work and simply work to exist. My father-in-law, Heinz, who was with me at the time, thought it might provide some humorous stories for future reference. So, here we are...

The above quote is taken from page 2 of Graeber's book and describes the work of Kurt, a sub-contractor, of a sub-contractor of a sub-contractor at a German military base. Kurt describes the process of helping a soldier move from his current office to the office next door. You’ll have to get the book to get the full story. 

And, without reading the full story, you’ll notice that this is also a bad financial deal for everyone concerned!

What's wrong with motivation at work?

In a well-written and beautifully illustrated blog post, Lawrence Yeo (whom I’ve just recently discovered) expands upon this phenomenon, skirting through the history of motivation at work (quoting Graeber) and formulating his own intriguing take on how we could ensure that we do more meaningful work. You can read it here

What if you’re simply in the wrong job for you? 

Many people are unhappy simply because they’re in the wrong job for them. Three things that affect this are: 

• You’re spending too much of your time doing tasks that you don’t enjoy and that don’t play to your strengths 
• Your interests are not being met or satisfied through your work
• Your work environment (location, people, equipment, etc) is not conducive to you doing your best work

Now, you don’t need to be a genius to realise that you can easily change any one of these factors if you really want to. It’s really about making a choice either to accept the status quo or take steps to change it. 

For several years I and my colleagues have been working with the Harrison Talent Solutions to help both employees and employers ensure that people are in the right jobs for them. These tools are totally unique and they work extremely well at any stage of the Talent Life Cycle. I’d be happy to demonstrate these for you. 

Make 2020 Your Best Year Yet

Will it be a New Year with New Beginnings for you? 

Make 2020 Your Best Year Yet is my annual seminar where 20 people join me to review the year that’s been and plan the year ahead using a structured and proven approach. I combine cutting-edge Neuroscience and NLP to teach methods that work. 

I’ve already delivered this event to 20 members of JCI earlier in December and you now have the opportunity to join me in January. 

If you hurry you can get the seminar for half price and bring a friend too! 

If you’re not in Belgium and would still like to go through the process then you can buy the online version here. 

May you find meaning in your work this week…

Gerry

Humour

Guy 1 - "What are you doing today?"
Guy 2 - "Nothing."
Guy 1 - "You did that yesterday..."
Guy 2 - "I wasn't finished."

Police: Where do you live?
Me: With my parents.
Police: Where do your parents live?
Me: With Me.
Police: Where do you all live?
Me: Together.
Police: Where is your house?
Me: Next to my neighbour's house.
Police: Where is your neighbour's house?
Me: You won't believe me if I tell you.
Police: Tell Me!
Me: Next to my house.

Wipe your face, you got some bullshit on it