Corporate Zombies... the other pandemic

The triumph of mediocrity

In a recent poll by YouGov on 9.000 working Americans, 20% feel their job is meaningless. It reaches its lowest in people born before the 80s and its top in GenZ hitting 27%. The difference starts to be more dramatic when people reflect about their impact on the world, with industries like healthcare and education on the very positive end and financial services, retail and similar among the worst (30-40%).

These stats reflect people’s perception of their job, not their actual performance, as there is nothing worse than a wasted opportunity, having a chance for impact but lowering your arms to become… a Corporate Zombie.

What is a Corporate Zombie?

As seen time and time during my career, a Corporate Zombie is a person that has decided to give up and become part of a system. People, who after years of frustration, bad managers and absurd corporate dynamics decide to give up and go with the flow. They have evolved and adapted and after years of trying they chose to adopt what some authors call… mediocracy.

Many of these people become a “one company worker”, accepting moves between different departments with less and less motivating tasks but with a sense of security that they will never be fired because they are good players.

But take note…you’ll be in the company as long the company feels you provide value and your boss doesn’t have an incentive to fire you

What is the virus that creates these monsters?

I believe it has two different strains, large corporate salaries and losing touch with the market. They both lead to a self-defense attitude and although HR try to sell you ideas like thinking critically or about your team before yourself, the reality is that once infected anything goes in order to survive.

What drives you evolves over time, you start by wanting to eat the world and finish by accepting it. By then, it’s normal to have a family, which increases the risk of changing scenery, so you decide to stay and hope that you can still progress some more, however, *THEY* already know who you are. Suddenly, in the next reorganisational they decide to hire some “rockstar”, repatriate or promote a friend... anger and frustration make you to update your CV but you soon realize you are out of the market, you earn a lot of money and your skills became crippled…congratulations, you are now a Corporate Zombie.

And beware, the virus feeds from all levels of the organisation. Senior managers are it’s favorite but even lower level employees can get infected if given the right salary, time and level of frustration.

Game over, you are now living in a mediocracy

With enough time and frustration, even top performers start to show these symptoms. They start with high ambition, driving large projects and show their credentials and access senior positions but eventually fall infected.

How to save yourself

First of all, there is nothing wrong with taking a conscious decision to become a Corporate Zombie. We all reach a point that some stagnation is appreciated, just make sure you understand its difficult to come back from it.

Critical thinking is your best defense. The moment you systematically see people following orders and not being able to dissent you are in trouble.

Keep yourself connected with the market… interviews, networking, training, measure your real value, if this is gone its only a matter of time you become scared of being out.

There are always opportunities and time does open some doors. There are moments where the stars align and new people appear to challenge the status quo. If you are truly interested in getting off the hamster wheel, riding this wave is your opportunity.

Challenge the status quo, zombies don’t want real change to happen