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Having Fun, Anyone?
Time to admit the truth. I never really worked for a living. During three decades of running stations, I rarely took it seriously. It was fun, a game we all played. Sure, the stakes were high and there were occasional moments of sheer terror, but that was all part of the game.
The fun was spending every waking moment trying to win. Win ratings, win pageviews or whatever the latest metric, win revenue, win profit. That meant big highs, big lows and sometimes betting your job on a big idea. Ask any successful general manager and they will tell you pretty much the same thing. They will also tell you that lately something has changed.
After 18 months of being battered and bruised, no one seems to be talking about winning. No one talks about fun. So much has happened in such a short time that it is hard for people not to be overwhelmed, not just on the station level but also in many corporate jobs.
You know the list. A pandemic that just won’t end. Social upheaval in the streets. Political chaos, not just in Washington but in many local communities. The new awareness of the need for equity and equality. Learning to work from home. Learning to work back at work. Getting used to people calling you at home – at all hours. The vaccine mandate and its repercussions, including some coworkers choosing to lose their jobs rather than comply.
All piled on top