What we don’t always realize – the apocalypse has already begun – A long time ago.
In the background – Leadership and managerial components are breaking down.
The great resignation of 2020 was but a small manifestation of this.
I wrote this piece in 2021.
Does it still ring true?
Is this your current experience of work?
Let’s look at the rest of it –>

We are the Working Dead!

What is the real problem with an apocalypse?
I guess by now, we’ve seen enough movies and TV Shows to “know” that if you survive the initial day of the apocalypse, the fight has only just begun.
There will be a truckload of other problems down the line.
Food runs out.
Medical care and supplies become almost nonexistent.
And what about the survivors — Don’t think for a minute they will be your friends. The hordes of cult separatist groups might even outnumber the hordes of walking dead!

Now here we are — In our neat tidy cubicles — All is fine.
We read our mail and drink our coffee – Purchased from the downstairs barista. Afterward, we cleverly negotiate through our work logs and meetings.
“Oh, look! another shiny tool that creates diagrams and makes work look so awesome!”
We are easily distracted.
It seems perfect — but something ominously evil is brewing!
What we don’t always realize – the apocalypse has already begun – A long time ago.
In the background – Leadership and managerial components are breaking down.
The great resignation of 2020 was but a small manifestation of this.
Not only are managerial constructs breaking down – But already younger people are gunning for your position.
You have a target on your back.
Your perceived value is eroding each day.
And if you do survive – You can’t escape from yourself – You can’t escape the trauma of having had to deal with verbal abuse, condescension, and a compromised nervous system.
Even if you do “get out,” you won’t necessarily be in the clear.

Oh. Wait, Matt! All of this sounds so ominous! It’s such a dark picture you’re painting.
I know we have a difficult boss, and people aren’t communicating as they used to – But why the doom and gloom?
It’s almost Friday? We made it through another week!

So that’s what complacent office workers have been doing since the idea of work was invented.
We live between monuments — Those magical days on which we don’t work.
Naturally, those days and hours that are surrounded by work aren’t always exactly satisfying — Because guess what — It has become impossible to switch off from work — What with all the gadgetry that keeps us tethered to the office.

In a way, we shouldn’t fear the hordes of dead zombies breaking down our fortress walls and boardrooms!
Why?
Because we ARE the walking dead.
Or are we THE WORKING DEAD?
We live in a semi-alive state in the week — Convincing ourselves that this is not our lives!
But again, to reiterate — It’s almost Friday — then we can live again!
When the weekend knocks on our doorstep, we ignore the deadness and become reborn for a few hours.

So there it is.
The real problem with an apocalypse is that we, the regular guys are already in it.
We don’t always know it — Because we’re waiting diligently for management to release a memo, making it official.
But it’s official — We don’t need management’s stamp of approval to see the obvious: People are hurting and experiencing trauma. Burnout is everywhere. Dissatisfied experiences fill the crevices of water cooler gossip.
This is an emergency!
Now we can do only one thing: We can survive it.
We can live through it.
We owe it to ourselves to make it out alive!

This was written during a particularly tough time in my life. And I’ve moved on since then… I have healed on many levels.
However…
Back here in 2023, I stumbled across these snippet the other day — Maybe nothing is new. After all.
I see dozens of these comments about working life.

Regardless.
Over to you…
You have the microphone.