And consistent with this matrimonial metaphor, interpersonal trust, investment of self, shared meaning, and commitment are all needed to pull it off. Sometimes even the most dedicated collective effort fails to overcome a company's disadvantages in technology or cost position. When this happens, the company must put its own survival ahead of continued employment for its people. In the aftermath, committed employees often experience intense loss, a feeling of being betrayed, and grief, the kind that we legitimize in our private lives but seldom acknowledge in our professional ones. It often ends with anger, sadness and depression.
Leavers feel discarded and betrayed.
Survivors are consumed with their attempts to tough it out in jobs that have lost their joy, spontaneity, and personal relevancy. There is an inherent bind between two of the protagonists of our drama. The corporation requires ever-greater levels of intensity and commitment from the individual. The employee, to perform well at these tasks, must invest deeply and personally. But society's background role is a big part of the problem.