Lucy Nichols: Break the shackles of a dead-end job

In this volatile economy it is easy to feel grateful to have a job, even if it means taking on additional work.

Determine your self-worth, put a plan in place and search for new role with positive mindset.

If you're over the age of 30, most of us can look back on our careers and recognise that we stayed in a particular job too long.

I once worked for someone so unpleasant that they still induce a Pavlovian response of self-doubt in me years later. This individual created an office culture more toxic than Chernobyl and yet I clung grimly to my job, jumping through hoops like an eager-to-please performing seal, craving the scraps of praise occasionally tossed my way.

I was brought up to believe that hard work and loyalty to your employer were the main qualities you needed for success so I sacrificed my well-being and integrity flogging this dead horse of a job for far too long. With hindsight, maturity and a Teflon coating of resilience, I now realise I was suffering from a classic case of Career Stockholm Syndrome.

The term Stockholm Syndrome was coined after a bank robbery in Stockholm, Sweden. Several bank employees were held hostage in a bank vault from August 23 to 28, 1973, while their captors negotiated with police. During this stand-off, the victims became emotionally attached to their captors, rejected assistance from government officials at one point and even defended their captors after they were freed from their six-day ordeal.

So how does this syndrome manifest in the modern workplace?

As we spend more time at work, it is easy to allow our job to define our self-worth. The volatile economy of recent years has resulted in multiple restructures, leaving remaining employees feeling jittery. If your colleagues have been systematically picked off by redundancy, it is easy to feel grateful to have a job at all, even if it means taking on additional work and working in a less than ideal environment. As a result, long-term employees may exhibit misplaced loyalty to their employer, even if they are not particularly well-treated, by living in a state of denial, rather than face the unpalatable truth. The human brain also has an annoying tendency to favour routine, so that habitual behaviour becomes hardwired, making breaking out of your comfort zone all the more challenging.

Lucy Nichols is the client development manager with Madison Recruitment. Photo / Supplied

So how can you break the cycle? Julie Cressey, head of consulting services at Madison Recruitment has the following advice:

"The mindset of a job seeker is critical. If you are linking your self-worth to the way you feel about your role, it will dampen your enthusiasm and focus for a new opportunity. As most companies use an interview to ascertain competence, self-doubt can undermine your chances to secure your next move.

"In the current market, particularly in the executive recruitment space, searching for that next role requires resilience and a positive mindset. Finding your next job is a job in itself. It's no longer enough just to scour SEEK, Trade Me Jobs and client job boards for roles. As an active executive job seeker you need to be networking, researching and connecting with useful people who can assist you achieve that next move. The job market is highly competitive, but don't let that deter you or get you believing that you are better off where you are. If you are genuinely focused on moving, put a plan in place, don't be deterred if you fall at the first hurdle, as many highly qualified, competent individuals do."

When tackling Career Stockholm Syndrome, any sort of action is better than wallowing in a state of paralysis and inertia. Ease yourself out of your comfort zone by starting small. Even updating your CV can feel like you're taking back the power from your "captors".

Lucy Nichols is the client development manager with Madison Recruitment. She can be contacted at lucy.nichols@madison.co.nz