Member-only story
Written a million things in my life (seemingly) about onboarding and the first days of a new job, so when I see articles about those topics, I like them. Here’s one from Art Markman, who I think emailed me once, about why new jobs are awkward. Article makes a number of good points, but there’s a broader societal lesson near the top, in this section:
When we’re uncertain about what will happen, we default to inaction. This is for two reasons. One, our anxiety motivates us to avoid potential threats or calamities. Two, when we do experience bad outcomes, we’re more likely to blame actions we take rather than things we fail to do. So we convince ourselves that not doing anything is less likely to cause problems. As a result, when you’re not sure what’s going on, it can be difficult to start conversations with new colleagues or to speak up.
Look at the USA right now. You’ve got:
- Inflation
- Climate change
- Automation
- What will be our role in Ukraine?
- Polarization
- COVID still lingering
- How to educate children
- Housing market is jacked
Etc, etc.
That’s a lot of “uncertain about what will happen.” So instead of pushing towards change…
