WHY ARE WE STILL WORKING FOR JERKS?
With a dozen different ways to earn a living, surely we don’t need these assholes.
A few days ago, a podcaster shared on LinkedIn:
“He was a complete narcissist. It’s a toxic environment. I felt humiliated and shameful.”
The comments were full of strategies. I chimed in. And then it hit me: why the hell are we still working for these assholes?
We’ve normalised misery. Money is renewable. Time is not. Every hour spent with a toxic boss is gone forever—and it bleeds into your life outside work.
Yet we tolerate it. Industries exist to help people cope at work. Make it make sense.
CLINGING TO THE OLD PLAYBOOK
Our parents’ generation: get a job, work hard, stay loyal, retire with a pension. That worked for some—but often at the cost of health.
Fast forward to today: pensions are rare, loyalty is rarely rewarded, long-term stability is a myth. Meanwhile, new ways of working have exploded: influencers, creators, remote work, fractional executives, portfolio careers. Flexibility and options are everywhere.
And yet most of us cling to the old playbook: find a job, put up with the boss, stick it out. It’s absurd.
I KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE BROKE
I get it. I’ve taken soul-crushing jobs. Said yes when I wanted to say no. There was no safety net.
But here’s the truth: when you accept crumbs, tolerate assholes, or project desperation—you get more crumbs, more assholes, more scarcity.
Add cultural conditioning: suffering builds character, hard work is noble, complaining makes you ungrateful. Misery feels normal.
Scarcity thinking feeds itself. Résumés into the void. Hundreds of applicants for a single role. No responses. Scarcity feels real.
But opportunity is not scarce. The world has eight billion people and millions of new businesses launching yearly. If you can position your skills, communicate them, and put yourself out there, there’s more than enough to go around. The bottleneck? Imagination and fear of being seen.
Time is finite. Money can always be earned. Are you willing to lose years of your life to people who drain, demean, or dismiss you?
THE ALTERNATIVE: BUILD YOUR OWN INCOME INSURANCE
Stop treating a salaried job as the only option. Stop believing opportunity is fixed. Start building income insurance:
Personal brand: visibility is leverage. Works for employees and self-employed alike.
Side hustles: small experiments. Some fail. That’s the point—you learn.
Warm pipeline: talk to people weekly. Relationships pay off later.
Run your self-employment like a business: design offers, set systems, decide who you will work with, charge appropriately, build a cushion.
Step out of scarcity thinking. Don’t grab crumbs—design your own table.
YOUR CALL TO ACTION
Audit your bullshit tolerance: write down red flags you’ve ignored.
Draft an exit plan: side hustle, freelance contacts, savings.
Write your no-asshole policy: decide your line and stick to it.
THE TAKEAWAY
Stop settling for crumbs. Stop thinking misery is “just how work is.”
Your time is your most precious asset. Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.
The world of work is messy and uncomfortable—but full of opportunity. Build your pipeline. Explore your options. Design a career worthy of the hours you’ll never get back.
Because if you don’t guard your time, someone else will happily waste it.
LINKEDIN STARTER TIPS
Q: I’ll start posting on LinkedIn, but how do I even begin?
A: Visibility = leverage. LinkedIn is gold. Start here:
Comment, don’t just post: thoughtful engagement beats your own posts for visibility. 30 mins/day. No AI bots.
Pick a cadence: 2–5 posts/week. Keep the rhythm.
Post what you know: projects, client stories, aha moments. Keep it simple, useful, human. Help someone, show expertise, spark conversation. That’s it.
💛 MA
WORK WITH ME
Keep building work that actually works for you. I’ll be cheering (and nudging).
Until next time,
Mary Alice
