How has the corporate rat race taken a toll on young minds?

A huge chunk of the people working in the corporate world is not satisfied with their jobs. This is more striking in the case of young professionals who are just entering this sphere after working hard for years to get here. They are frustrated by the jobs that require them to work their fingers to the bone but do not pay them what they deserve. If you are one of these young professionals, then you have also become a part of the corporate rat race.

What does a corporate rat race mean?

If you are hearing this phrase for the first time, then you need to understand its meaning to understand its implications. The corporate rat race refers to the constant attempts made by employees to flourish in their professional lives.

This comparison that scholars have drawn between the corporate world and the rat race is interesting and apt because just the way rats run after a piece of cheese only to get caught in a trap, in a similar way the corporate employees are also made to chase something that they can never get hold of.

The never-ending slate of dissatisfaction and burnout:-

The corporate sphere forces these youngsters to keep working hard to meet their financial and career goals and when they get close to achieving them, they realize that this is not the end. So they keep sweating to do better but unfortunately, this ‘better’ does not come ever. Just like the rats, they are caught in a continuous dangerous cycle that leaves them perpetually unhappy and dissatisfied.

What this rat race does, is that it makes the youngsters feel that all their efforts are going to waste as they are not able to achieve their ‘goals’, the unrealistic goals which are not set by them but by the corporate domain itself. It also fills them with the feeling that they are not working enough and compels them to toil even harder until they are too swamped to even think.

Financial woes:-

The worst part is that all the mental and physical labor that they are doing is not leading them anywhere and they are not even paid what they deserve. While those who are in the top positions are getting their work done and even extra work done, these young employees find themselves inadequately compensated. Most of them might have taken student loans in the hope of earning enough to repay them. But reality strikes them when they start earning and lose out on most of their salary on basic utilities. These financial constraints and unsatisfactory compensation for their efforts torment these youngsters and affect their mental health awfully.

Destructive competition:-

A vital part of this entire toxic corporate atmosphere is the brutal competition. This competition begins right after college when these young people start hunting for jobs. They face hundreds of rejections and when they are relieved about getting a decent job that the competition has ended, they get introduced to the toxic work environment that persists in most professional settings.

This competition arises because these young employees are pitted against each other. The rat race makes them compete with other employees to get ahead. This competition aims to ‘bring out the best in the employees, but it is time to realize that in reality, it squeezes out every ounce of energy from them.

Conclusion:-

Many young professionals are finding ways to get out of this rat race and do something that fulfills their career desires and is good for their mental health. But we need to ponder upon the larger question that is escaping the solution to this multi-layered massive issue? At the end of the day, we have to acknowledge that not everybody has the privilege to break free.

So right now the primary objective of the corporate world should be to address the roots of this rat race and eliminate them to end it. They must strive to bring about real structural changes and make this place a healthy and welcoming professional setting where young minds are nurtured and their potential is respected.

Also read:- Why does your company need an HRMS toolkit?

Author- Achal Chaurasia

A superior and highly experienced entrepreneur in the field of business for quite a long time now. Also, a philanthropist, author, and public speaker who believes in working towards the overall well-being and betterment of society as a whole.

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