Well-channelled anger could be your greatest asset, writes Jim Bright.
The desks, faces and workstations flew past in a blur.
The office worker barely saw them. He was far more focused on the security guard who had his right arm firmly twisted behind his back. Without ceremony he was escorted from his upper level office to the lifts and down to the lobby, past the staring eyes of juniors and visitors waiting for appointments.
He had once been fired with enthusiasm for his work. Now here he was being enthusiastically fired.
As he felt the guard's grip loosen to be replaced with a firm push between the shoulder blades to assist his passage through the revolving door, his mind cleared and settled on one word. Revenge.
Such scenes are being played out all over the country. In some cases the sacking is less dramatic, although in others it is even more so.
It is said that the three great dramatic well-springs for a story are love, ambition and revenge. We have become familiar with the first two as drivers of career success in the recent boom years.
Who hasn't heard the old saw: find a job you love and the success will follow? We live in a culture where marriage is based on romantic attachments. We eschew the pre-arranged variety, believing love is essential and the same holds true of career. We admire those who follow their passion and believe they are rewarded in kind.
The effect of ambition on career is well-documented, be it naked or cloaked. Used wisely it can bolster our progression through the ranks. Too much of it can lead to our undoing.
But what about revenge? With the change in the financial climate
surely there is a bubbling cauldron of disaffected employees out
there considering, planning, even undertaking revenge right now.
Just think of those Pacific Brands employees whose union called for
a boycott of the
company's underwear after it announced plans to lay off 1850
staff.
The Federal Government has also got in on the vengeance act, looking at ways to claw back grants and subsidies from the company.
Others take a far more direct approach to revenge. Take Florida woman Marie Cooley, 41. Under the impression she was about to be fired last year, she allegedly deleted $3.9 million worth of architectural drawings stored at her workplace.
She had seen a job ad that she mistakenly thought was aimed at finding a replacement for her. It turns out her job was never under threat. But I wonder if it is now.
Type "revenge at work" into Google and you will be met with scores of suggestions for how to get back at your employer. Typically, nearly all the advice you will find is juvenile and following it will produce only a hollow victory. Putting the suggestions into practice is more likely to degrade you than your intended victim.
They all overlook the true value of revenge in driving career.
The indignant energy and rage that comes from being wronged can be channelled into an attitude which says: "Right, I am going to show that idiot and I am going to get a more senior role than them." Or: "I love to keep sending my old boss postcards every time I get promoted."
Don't serve revenge cold. Instead serve it hot to yourself to drive you on to even better things.
Jim Bright is professor of career education and development at ACU National and a partner at Bright and Associates, a career management consultancy.
