This is an employer’s market we’re living in. People are jumping at any job they can get, and are willing to go above and at each position. Because employers are looking for “driven, motivated, go-getters”. Rightfully so. But that does that set the expectations too high? When work starts piling up to the point where you’re drowning in it, or you’re not getting the recognition or input you deserve, do you speak up? Or do you keep quiet and suffer in silence because well, let’s face it, a sucky job is better than no job at all.
If you do speak up, it could go either really, really well, or really, really bad, or have no effect whatsoever, in which case it’s still kind of bad. How do you work up that courage? The courage to confront that coworker or maybe even boss? The people who could have direct impact on your livelihood. Yikes. I guess it really depends on “if the juice is worth the squeeze”. Can you afford to live with the consequences of speaking up, no matter that the outcome is?
Then again if you don’t speak up, well it’s still bad. Bad in that you’re not progressing, or possibly being perceived as having no opinion, or that you simply don’t care. Now that’s another thing weighing on your mind. You have to ask yourself, “can I continue to work in a positive environment if I don’t say anything”.
I’ve been lucky in my job experiences where my co-workers and my bosses have been people I mutually respect and I enjoy their company. So when it came to “confronting” them about an issue I had, it wasn’t a problem. perhaps the issue isn’t the confrontation, it the relationship you have with your colleagues. The more comfortable you are in those work relationships, the easier it is to discuss potential issues and nip them in the bud.