Bitter workers dream of post-recession jobs

“Take This Job and Shove It.”
The ‘70s country song, performed by Johnny Paycheck, sounds as outdated as electric typewriters,
carbon copies and pastel leisure suits.
Today, the lyrics might go: “Thanks for this job — I really need it.”
If you’re of working age and employed, lucky you. You’re not a statistic in the Great Recession’s
jobless recovery.
But just because you’re getting a paycheck doesn’t mean you’re happy. Or even grateful.
According to a married pair of “business shrinks” (my phrase), many American workers are keeping
their own angry counsel. These closeted malcontents are waiting, just waiting, to tell their bosses to
shove it.
“Because times are bad, companies assume people won’t leave,” says sociologist Tina Beranbaum.
“That’s true for now. But not when there’s a glimmer of hope.”
Beranbaum, a former McGill University professor, and husband Mitchell Shack, an industrial
psychologist, head up Centauric, a La Jolla-based consulting firm that helps companies “get the best
out of people” (their phrase).
For at least the past two years, the mood has turned dark in the American workplace, the couple
believe. “There’s fear in the air,” Shack said.
When workers watch colleagues get laid off, they either feel guilt that they survived or anxiety that
they’ll be next, Shack said.