“You’ll always be disappointed by fellow workers. Not by humans, not by your mates, not by your family, but people you work with are always going to disappoint you.”
Work is a strange place. Over time our colleagues can become our best friends, our counsellors, and sometimes feel even closer than family. But as economist and author David McWilliams states, when “shit hits the fan” very few people will actually have our backs at the end of the day.
It’s human nature. Our work environment comes with the highs and lows of the job and we very quickly convince ourselves we have a safety net of co-workers ready to catch us when we fall.
But McWilliams states, “That never happens. They scurry off to the next gig. Your mates in work situation disappear like snow off a ditch when things go wrong.”
Is it wrong to leave your pack behind when the going gets tough? Probably not. It’s our natural instinct to always look out for number one. Does it hurt when you’re the one left behind? Absolutely.
After watching the danger of dependency in the workplace, David quickly developed a plan for avoiding the disappointment of co-workers: Independence.
“I don’t expect anybody,” he said, “So therefore I’ve maybe become much more aware of working for yourself and not depending on other people, because I see what happens.”
This week on Ireland Unfiltered, David spoke to Dion about the fragility of co-workers and his determination to never be dependent on anyone.
You can check out the full episode below:
Ireland Unfiltered, brought to you in partnership with Carlsberg Unfiltered, will be available everywhere you get your podcasts and on YouTube every Tuesday.
