job performance
by rantywoman
I completely relate to this blogger’s post:
http://anotherthirtysomethingblogger.wordpress.com/2012/12/10/on-burnout/
- I’m going into phases of deep despair, because I feel like I’m losing hope in social justice, community-based work- the work that I’ve been doing for years now and that makes me really really sad because if I don’t believe in the work that I’m doing then why I am here. As in, I thought that this was my life’s purpose.
- I’m bitter, jaded and frustrated.
- I feel like we can’t make social change because we’re up against these giant systems. And the gap between the haves and have nots just becomes wider and wider in my eyes as I see it played out in my work. As I start to realize that the people I work with will only get so far in life and will continue to struggle and middle-class people like me will rise farther up the ladder (until we plateau).
My way of handling this lately is through distraction. When I wake up, I think of writing on my blog. I might do some kundalini yoga. I think about books I’m reading while at work and often look up reviews of them. Sometimes I compose new blog posts in my head, or if I have time alone in my office, I will listen to a podcast or some music. I also think about what I want to do over the weekend or about a weekday event. I go to dance or yoga after work.
I give some headspace to the job of course– I couldn’t perform otherwise– but it’s no longer what primarily motivates me.
thebitterbabe 
Like it or not, it is simply the truth that you probably cannot bring into effect all the change you would like to in life. The old prayer about the courage to change what you can, the serenity to accept what you can’t change, and the wisdom to know the difference, is applicable. Ideally everyone would do what they could, and not stress over the things they couldn’t achieve.
Probably easier said than done.
Definitely easier said than done, especially if you’re a person of empathy and have come to care about the people you work with. I feel for both of the bloggers … it’s hard to live in a world that can be cold and uncaring.
There’s the disadvantaged and struggling, whom I do have empathy for and can still find rewarding to work with, and then there’s the “underclass,” most of whom have left me emotionally numb. Also, I’ve just worked with a lot of people who seem hopeless, and that has taken it’s toll on me, although I seem to have found ways to cope with it now.