I saw a job ad today titled "Workaholic wanted." I am seeing more of these types of ads where the demands of the job are rudely spelled out. I guess in a depressed job market employers don't feel they have to sugarcoat anything. The ads have a take-it-or-leave-it tone that border on threatening. And most of the employers who take this macho approach won't even bother to respond to your application if you don't sound willing to take a blood oath to work until you drop.
When the economy turns around, I wonder whether anyone will ever want to work for these places that treated people so badly during the tough times of this recession?
I think certain employers, who are sounding more like Southern plantation owners than modern-day business leaders, are shooting themselves in the foot with their total disrespect for the majority of people seeking employment. Advertising for a "workaholic" is like placing a help-wanted ad seeking emotionally unstable people. Anything with "aholic" tacked on to the end of the word is a sign of a potentially unbalanced human being who should not be in the workplace, let alone put at the top of the list of prized job candidates.
The person who placed this ad that I saw today should be removed from his or her job. It's that stupid, trite and shortsighted. There are plenty of better ways to state work-ethic requirements. If using the word workaholic is the best this ad-placer could come up, they shouldn't be involved in recruiting or any form of strategic thinking.
Employers who believe it's cute or effective to demand such traits in applicants will most likely end up with burned out employees in a very short period of time, or ones who move to the next job rather quickly. Ultimately, it does the bottom line little good to have a workforce filled with workaholics and high turnover. It doesn't spark innovation. It douses creativity. It causes illnesses (and lots of sick days) and eventually will eat away at the core of businesses. Look no further than the failing newspaper industry to see where buildings filled with underpaid workaholics lead.
There is a better way.
Instead of seeking workaholics, businesses (including newspapers) should hire smart, responsible folks with relatively healthy minds and grounded lives. People who can keep life, including work, in perspective. Spending 16 hours a day in a cubicle isn't a sign of a good employee. In fact, it's often a sign of someone who is either inefficient with their time or doesn't have the talent to work at a reasonable pace. It could also mean that that person is not functioning well in other areas of life, which can really come back to haunt an employer or colleagues of the workaholic.
Of course, there are times when long days are necessary. Emergency workers often have to push themselves to the brink for a greater good. But that shouldn't be the norm. I don't want a surgeon operating on me who has been working 18 hours straight. I don't want my pilot pulling a double shift.
Any business owner who thinks he or she has found gold in a workaholic is living in an antiquated world. They will create a business environment that produces results contrary to what they thought workaholics would bring to the table. Workaholics are often broken people with limited range and identity issues. It might look good to have a room filled with folks burning the midnight oil, but does it really produce positive results over the long run? Do these overworked employees have time to think, plan or form strategies that will improve business? I am a huge proponent of solid work ethics and living up to one's responsibilities, but I don't support the concept of a proving worth and character via the overtime sheets.
Google does it right. They don't advertise for workaholics. They are more enlightened than your average plantation owner from the 1800s and are a good model for the next decade. They don't go to the whip or find honor in burning out employees. They hire people based on the correct criteria and give them breathing room. That space and life-work balance helps inspire some pretty neat products. Those ideas and products keep the profits flowing and put certain companies, that keep trying to find workaholics, out of business.
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