Say Goodbye to Misery Monday

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Pamela Chan, BCFamily.ca / Editorial

Ten years ago Misery Monday was a thing on social media.

“I hate my job.”

“My job is boring me senseless.”

“My love life is non existent.”

“I hate Mondays.”

In 2016, we can pretty much say that Misery Monday is officially dead.

“I love my job.”

“I love working for my company.”

“Here I am on a business trip in fabulous location X.”

“My company won an award lately. Did I mention that I love my job?”

You can imagine how this style of sharing information would play out in the personal posts.

Some might argue that people really feel that way and want to share their happiness.  Why rain on their sunshine?   Fair enough but if you don’t feel the same way, simply be silent.  There is no other option for you. (Unless you want to be muted or “unfriended/unfollowed” online.) Because that’s how it rolls in 2016.

But you can complain about the cost of real estate and being busy.  Everyone’s complaining about that.

It’s all about leaning in, being upbeat, projecting success, being inspirational and basically loving life.  And if you’re really savvy about social media and mix the personal with the professional, you’ve already branded yourself across multiple channels.  Your updates are fed to your grandmother and that stylish colleague of yours in Berlin.  It’s one size fits all. With glass half full in hand, you maximize all possibilities in your life.

Call me grumpy but sometimes I want to read about or share a good old grumble.  And I know that it’s not the wisest thing to be bad mouthing your boss or the office.  In the last ten years there are lawyers out there who have been focussing, almost exclusively, on helping employers to go after employees based on the latters’ online ramblings. Jobs are being lost.

So that’s that then.

You are not allowed to – and probably shouldn’t – admit that your job is soul destroying.

If you’re job hunting, make sure that you express how much you are loving the process. You’re not aghast at the terms of the job postings you’re encountering.  You don’t mind the prospect of a yet another 3 hour daily commute using multiple modes of transit.  You’re not depressed by the wages that are being offered and the lack of job security and benefits.  Yes, you’d love to work as an intern for three months, without pay.  You’re not encountering ageism, sexism, racism or any other ism as you try to secure a job.  And make sure that any of your public discussions on these points make your enthusiasm obvious.

Because you know that your digital foot print is being watched and researched.

It might not be a legal point, but apparently it’s just not so positive of you to complain about the dating scene, how your family treats you or any of these potentially prickly topics. Such honesty could reflect poorly on you, as a professional.

While we’re at it, it seems that every day I read a post about how married couples should be getting to know each other in the biblical sense, multiple times per week.  You’ve read the dire predictions about the potential for divorce; stale, platonic relations; and, poor health. Even the Pope has weighed in on this topic.

So no pressure on this score either and no complaints about that layer of pressure on top of everything else you’re juggling.  While you’re leaning in and balancing your public and private life, you will not admit to feeling stressed and overwhelmed and you will not let life get in the way of – you know – the Pope’s advice about your bedroom activities.

Go ahead and share about your date nights and your romantic getaways.  If you’re single and on the dating scene, write about how much you love to meet new people via dating apps.

And if you have a blog, pump out those Ten Tips articles on a topic of your choice.

What about all that encouragement and – perhaps – gentle advice that your mates could have given you if you admitted that everything isn’t rosey chez vous?  You won’t be getting that either because remember – it’s not 2007 anymore. We’ve evolved since then.

Be authentic online. But don’t be – you know – too honest.

And if you’re feeling grumpy on Monday well … just stay away from your Facebook profile.

And Twitter… Instagram… Tumblr… E-mail.

Hand write a letter.  Yes, there’s a plan.

And then recycle it.

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