Is my job promotion bad for my soul's growth?

[rsnedaker]

Hi all. I have an important decision to make about my job, and I would like to ask for your advice. I work at a human resources outsourcing company and we handle benefits for a wide range of employers. One of my co-workers is getting promoted and my manager wants me to take over her account. The account is about four times the size of my current one and it's very complex. I am pretty sure I would be sucessful with the account, and it would mean I'd be next in line for a promotion. There's one problem. The account is managing benefits for a wine and liquor company. This is troublesome to me since my brother killed himself after a battle with alcohol, and I know he drank the night before his suicide. Today I told my manager my concern. I let her know I would feel the same way about a pharmaceutical company due to the fact my mother & sister are severly addicted to pain killers. Not that I am being offered that, but for future reference. My manager said I wouldn't be "working for" this alcohol sales company, I'd be working for my human resource company. She said if I don't take this account, it's unknown when I'll get another opportunity like this, and she said I would have to move to another manager and another team. She wants me to take the weekend to think about what I want to do. In the past she's told me her intention is to groom me for a leadership position with a significant increase, and her timeline is one year. My manager did seem empathetic toward me and she did have tears in her eyes, cause I started crying when I told her. Is not taking this position the STO road? Am I being melodramtic here?

 

[ScioAgapeOmnis]

Hi Rebecca, it seems that there are 2 real obstacles for you here - your emotional association between the new position and your brother's predicament, and your hesitation about the complexity of the account. If you can overcome both, it seems that there is no reason why you shouldn't accept the position. The idea that it's bad for your soul's growth doesn't make sense to me because everything is lessons, so ultimately wouldn't your soul grow from all experiences?

I also don't think that taking this position is either STS or STO in and of itself - what you do with your energy is what ultimately determines what you are, and as the C's say, money is a form of energy. Just making a lot of money/energy doesn't mean anything, it all depends on what you do with it, where you channel it. So the more money you are making, the more opportunity to help yourself and others. You can't give anything to others if you have nothing to give, just as you can't share knowledge if you don't first gain knowledge. And if you're constantly in need, you have little time for anything other than trying to survive - and the little time you have will probably be full of stress and worry anyway, so you can't even use that productively.

So as long as you feel comfortable in the environment and feel you can handle the new position, I'd encourage you to go for it. Being in a leadership position is an opportunity to strive to be the kind of leader you always wish you had, and learn many things about yourself in the process. A leader doesn't have to be someone who sits around telling others what to do - you can lead by example and be a facilitator/organizer who doesn't place herself on a pedestal.

And if there's more money in this position, that's awesome! It will help relieve financial stress and allow you to use it for the betterment of yourself and helping others as well. For example, you can buy books, and maybe even buy books for others who can't afford them (and the dot connector magazine!), donate to good causes, buy healthy foods and vitamins, and have enough stress-free time to spend more time here on the forum and also developing real-life relationships with friends and family, etc. It seems like a good thing all around, just think of it as having more tools and resources, and what you build with those tools, or where you invest those resources, is up to you.

 

[rsnedaker]

Thanks SAO, I understand. What I was thinking before was I would be spending my time and energy helping a wine/alcohol company that sells products that can be very harmful to others including my brother while they make a profit. I thought that would be supporting STS, but now thanks to your perspective, I understand that it's not that black & white. I can recycle the energy /"money" I make into helping others. And also all lessons lead to soul growth. As many times as I've heard it, I guess I forgot that lesson when applying it to real life. Thanks for reminding me.

That's a relief. I WAS feeling guilty about taking the account. I was also thinking it would harmful to my career growth if I didn't. I think I can deal with the emotional association as long as my conscience isn't bothering me. The account is definitely going to be a challenge, especially since that want me to take it on with one other, but I am sure I can handle it. Thanks again.

 

[RyanX]

ReBecca.S,

I agree with SAO. I don't think there is anything wrong with taking the job. Remember we are all STS living in an STS world, and we can only become STO candidates. The fact that you even considered the implications of your job choice shows, at least to me anyways, that you are considering of others. I've had similar reservations about the type of work I do. But in the end, I realize that I can give back just that much more by staying in the job I'm currently at, where I have a lot of flexibilities and a decent, steady pay. Like SAO said, you can try to take that extra money/time/energy and put it towards helping people, in some form.

Maybe some day there will be ways to make a living and truly help others in this world. If those jobs exist now, they are certainly difficult to come by. Even when people think they are doing something of service to others, it often ends up being used for other purposes.

My $0.02, anyways.

 

[curious_richard]

I work at a human resources outsourcing company and we handle benefits for a wide range of employers.
...
The account is managing benefits for ...

First, I think SAO gave the best advice. There is not much I can add. But I will try.

It seems to me that your job is (and will be) helping the employees of the companies. If you do that job well (and you believe you can), then your job is helping those workers. Even if the companies are evil, won't you feel good if you are able to make the employees' life just a little better? Or a little easier? Or if you can make a few people's problems just a little smoother?

Someone is going to get the job. Why not you? It is not like you fought other people to win the job. It seems like one of those uncommon times when the right person gets the offer. For what it's worth, I suggest that you take the offer.

 

[ScioAgapeOmnis]

Along the lines of what RyanX and curious_richard said, working for an evil corporation allows you to take the money out of that system and use it for good - money that otherwise would've been used for evil or just selfishly wasted by someone else in the same position. So the more the "bad guys" pay you, the less of their money will be spent in evil ways, since you'll be channeling it towards good causes.

If I could work for a giant evil bank (one of the major arms of our matrix control system), and be like a top manager and make a million bucks a year (assuming I can tolerate the environment for any duration of time), I would do it just so I can use that million bucks to help others. I'm using the bank's own resources to legitimately make life better for others - money that the bank would've used for evil stuff, or some other top manager would've blown on his 10 cars, 2 mansions, drugs, etc. Plus, I'd do my best to be as helpful and fair as I can to all the bank's customers and the bank's own employees, trying to make life better for everyone, and maybe making the bank a little less evil in the process, at least for some people.

Or imagine the irony of getting a cushy government job, let's say right in the heart of the Pentagon somewhere, and using most of your 6 or 7 digit salary to donate to SOTT? Sure you might not last long once they figure it out (so it's probably best to keep a bunch to be comfortable while between jobs!), but you'll be giddy with glee while it lasts! And if you're sneaky enough they might not figure it out for a long time :)

 

[Gonzo]

Hi ReBecca.S,

You have received come excellence guidance I'm my humble opinion.

I know how hard it is to separate such intermingled issues.
The fact that there is an entire industry now built around ethical investing to cater to the desire in individuals to avoid supporting negatively perceived corporations demonstrates that you are not alone in your thinking.

The universe has sent you a wonderful opportunity to grow and benefit.

The growth will undoubtedly come in part from releasing the negative energy you have associated with your family's connections to alcohol and pain killers by vilifying the entire industries that produce these products and the products yourself. Think about how many people vilify tobacco and their producers because family members developed cancers.

To help you see another side, perhaps you can see the benefits of these industries as well. The nasty pharmaceutical industry does relieve suffering through some of its products. The alcoholic beverage industry supports celebration of some of life's most wonderful milestones: births, marriages, etc.

Just because some individuals have difficulty in moderating their own consumption of a product does not make the product bad. Just because the marketing branch of the corporation targets weaker members of society does not make the entire employee base bad. Just because the boards of directors of corporations act in selfish ways that have negative impacts on society does not tell us anything about the makeup of their employees or customer base.

Emotional thinking leads us to throwing the baby out with the bath water and impairs our ability to think critically and hopefully, with objectivity.

I fully empathize with you and understand where you are coming from and I hope whatever decision you make brings you closer to your objectives.

Speaking of objectives, this might be a good time to look at what you want from your career, to identify and priorize your career objectives and your overall life objectives. Once you have them identified in order of importance and priority, it will make it a lot easier to assess opportunities in terms of how they either support or impede attaining your goals.

I wish you peace in your decision and success in your objectives.

Gonzo

 

[rsnedaker]

Thanks everyone for your help. I am so thankful for this network. I am going to take the opportunity with a brand new attitude now. Without you guys I would have thrown it all away or would have been stuck with my negative introject nagging me for not doing so. I am so glad I asked you all. It's eye opening to see how off my judgement was due to emotional thinking. The closest thing to an objective judgement I made in this case was to ask you all. Also, I didn't realize I was vilifying but I was. It's helpful to realize that for multiple reasons.