Today the demands in the work environment are increasingly high. Long working hours, continuous pressure from executives to meet high requirements, constant search for brilliant and successful people who can meet the demands of large companies in their desire to lead, does not stop.
Wall Street workers are known for leading this life of stress and constant pressure, an inspiration to those who want success and money.
However, 38-year-old Karin Peeters is a psychotherapist and has worked for many years as a counselor to bankers. She spoke for the first time to England’s Telegraph newspaper about what it’s really like to live as a successful bank employee and what she has heard in her years as a therapist to these successful financiers.
Everyone would think that these young, well-dressed, million-dollar businessmen are the living testimony of a life of success and happiness, the pinnacle of inspirations for many people who want to have money and be recognized.
However, the reality is very different. According to Peeters, the testimonies are revealing and have moved her greatly. She says it’s common for Wall Street workers to tell her, “I’ve gotten really good at showing that apparently all is well.” Everyone thinks that at work they are superheroes but inside they are destroyed.
Many of the clients that Peeters serves in the financial sector are in their 30s or 40s who earn large sums of money. They affirm that they feel tired all the time, they feel a constant pain in some part of their body because they say that showing a face other than what it really is exhausts them.
They usually laugh at what their bosses say but really HATE what they do and despite being blamed for being bad people or cold in the decisions they have to make on a day-to-day basis, Peeters reveals that they are very vulnerable people. Those who seem calculating and overbearing say they are afraid that their colleagues and friends will find out who they really are.
See also: The words of a brilliant executive before dying of cancer about work
In this environment, not only money is important, these people talk about promotions, bonuses and recognition that drive them to be the best. They are often disappointed in themselves if they fail to meet these challenges. They have become used to earning large sums of money, to the point of thinking that they will never be able to survive without it.
Peeters believes that despite their great positions and functions, they have a self-esteem problem, in many cases their wives would rather have the funny guy they married again than have the big house, but they don’t know it.
Bankers have revealed to this psychoanalyst how they usually have a “false face” that they put on as soon as they arrive at work, in an attempt to hide that inside they are stressed and unhappy.
They may not like the culture of the company, the products they sell, or the people they work with, but they appear to be okay when what they really think is that they “need someone to get them out of that place ASAP.”
This obviously affects your personal relationships. They work so hard, they are under constant pressure that their adrenaline rises to such a point that when they leave their workplace, it remains high and leaves them at a constant level of alert. Their wives complain that they don’t listen to them, that they are on the run or distracted all the time.
Part of the problem is that they believe that their feelings are worthless, some of them have worked their whole lives to get to where they are, now they have got what they thought they always wanted, but they are not happy because they are not living their own life, they are simply living what others expect of them.
Although some of the company cultures have changed, many people are still trapped in jobs they hate, put up with unfair bosses, in positions and hours that prevent them from spending time with their families and enjoying the things they really love.
Modoemprendedor hopes that this is one more reason that will help you in your purpose of creating a company, it is not only about money and being successful, but about finding a balance in your life and being happy with what you do.
And remember, if you are really interested in creating your own business, you can read our book “How to create a company while working: Discover how to manage your time, manage your money and motivate yourself while creating a company and working for another” , where you will find all the information you need to found your own company, without having to leave your job.