The False Security of 'Employability'

There is an inherent bind between two of the protagonists of our drama. The corporation requires ever-greater levels of intensity and commitment from the individual. The employee, to perform well at these tasks, must invest deeply and personally. These preconditions trigger near-irresistible reflexes in the hardwiring of our human nature -- evoking pride in task, personal bonds, and group identity. This heightened commitment to task will inevitably generate some measure of loss -- and yes, even grief -- when work relationships are disbanded. In Noer's words, "The more trust (and commitment), the greater sense of violation."

So far, the drama has featured two of the protagonists -- the individual and the corporation -- but said little about the third element, society. But society's background role is a big part of the problem. Why? Because the dilemma facing the individual and the corporation that arises from the loss of employment security cannot be dealt with effectively without a shift in social awareness and values. Norms of society suppress or legitimize human sentiments. And societal awareness has not yet evolved to honor the grief and loss associated with work life as among the most painful of human experiences -- ranking alongside divorce and the death of a loved one.

These issues are exacerbated in the United States, where the other life domains in which individuals traditionally anchor themselves in society have been weakened. Ray Oldenburg, author of The Great Good Place, asserts that a healthy and balanced social identity has historically relied on three factors -- family, work, and "a third place." The Third Place is the pub in England, the sidewalk café and bistro in France, the coffee bar in Italy, and Biergarten in Germany. In Japan, it is the after-hours private bars or cocktail clubs.

Oldenburg describes the essential requirements of this Third Place: it must be neutral ground; rank is forgotten there; conversation, rather than music or video games, is the central source of entertainment; it is frequented by a core group of regulars; and it fosters playful interpersonal exchange. In other words, it is the bar setting in the TV series "Cheers." The Third Place provides its guests with novelty, perspective on life, a spiritual tonic (Oldenburg's phrase), and friends by the set -- that is, friendships with an open and inclusive group that are more important than any one relationship between specific individuals.

The problem in America is that the Third Place (once provided by the church, community groups, and the tavern) has largely vanished. Concludes Oldenburg, "Without the Third Place, a society fails to nourish the kinds of relationships and the diversity of human contact that are essential to a psychologically balanced life." And here's the rub. For most North Americans, work consumes more of us than ever before. At the same time, not only is there no Third Place, but also family and community have lost potency as counterbalances to our lives. Thus, society has left a void that exacerbates the dilemmas confronted by the corporation and the individual.

Beyond Gridlock

The three protagonists in our drama are trapped in a classic Western gridlock that stems from our tendency to look for solutions that are rational and tangible -- "employability" -- rather than spiritual. More useful than traditional organizational theorists is the research of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and Stephen Levine into human experience with terminal illness. Kübler-Ross identifies five stages: denial, anger (including resentment), bargaining, depression (which includes sadness, pessimism, guilt, and feelings of worthlessness), and acceptance (which is not equated with happiness).

The journey to the other side of grief and loss isn't happiness, but acceptance. Based on decades of work with the terminally ill, Stephen Levine observes that the effective way to metabolize pain isn't by repressing it or "putting it behind you." Rather, it must be integrated into one's understanding of life. Life's difficulties are spurs to spiritual and emotional maturity. There are no short cuts or easy outs. Just "living," states Levine, "is the ultimate danger sport."

The remedy to the hazards of less-secure work environments will not be found in a new "contract" to replace the old one. We cannot render arms-length and transactional that which is ultimately personal and emotional. Knowledge-based competition will demand more of us, not less; the requirements of committed involvement in work will increase in parallel with the insecurity associated with it.

Rather than teach ourselves to care less, imagining that we can somehow shield ourselves from the bonding and self-identification that committed work inevitably entails, we must face a harder and more demanding truth: namely, that healthy resolution lies in inner wisdom, not external arrangements. As Stephen Levine observes: "We can learn to relate to the pain, not from the pain." Supportive norms in society will also aid the evolution of the inner life of those who brave the hazards of work. Societal awareness must shift to legitimize the hardships associated with work and dignify the human struggle to deal with them.

Richard Pascale was a member of the faculty of Stanford Business School for 20 years, and is now an associate fellow of Oxford University. Based in San Francisco, he is a well-known author, lecturer, and consultant on corporate change and transformation.