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+1 for Erich Fromm! My entire concept of office politics is based on a work by Fromm, Escape From Freedom. His Premise in the book is that people don't want to
by zappo2938 11y ago
+1 for Erich Fromm!
My entire concept of office politics is based on a work by Fromm, Escape From Freedom. His Premise in the book is that people don't want to have to make decisions or be responsible, that they would rather have other people make decisions for them. He makes a point there there is a relationship, like a ratio, between being responsible and freedom. People would gladly give up freedom over being responsible.
- graycat 11y agoVery nice!
- fallingfrog 11y agoThis is insightful! Maybe you could say that people seek to maximize freedom (potential upside) while minimizing responsibility (potential downside)?
- Delmania 11y agoThis is something I struggle with. A part of me just wants to put my brain on autopilot and simply let my manager tell me what to do. That usually doesn't end well for me. However, I realize that people who want less responsibility and make no decisions are looking for a sense of stability and security in their lives. They want to wake up each morning, go to work, come home, and get paid on a regular basis. They want the regular paycheck. The irony of this, of course, is that this course of action is no less risky than entrepreneurship, because, at a moment's notice, your employer could fire you and destroy the illusion, even if you've worked over a decade for them. No matter what path you take in life, you need to own it. The days of working for a company for a few decades following a defined path were brief.