ECON What Happens When The Competent Opt Out?

What Happens When The Competent Opt Out?​

BY TYLER DURDEN
MONDAY, JUN 05, 2023 - 08:15 AM

Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog,
(Sells books, blogs, etc.)


By this terminal stage, the competent have been driven out, quit or burned out.



What happens with the competent retire, burn out or opt out?
It's a question few bother to ask because the base assumption is that there is an essentially limitless pool of competent people who can be tapped or trained to replace those who retire, burn out or opt out, i.e. quit in favor of a lifestyle that doesn't require much in the way of income or stress.

These assumptions are no longer valid.
A great many essential services that are tightly bound to other essential services are cracking as the competent decide (or realize) they're done with the rat-race.

The drivers of the Competent Opting Out are obvious yet difficult to quantify. Those retiring, burning out and opting out will deny they're leaving for these reasons because it's not politic to be so honest and direct. They will offer time-honored dodges such as "pursue other opportunities" or "family obligations."

1. The steady increase in workloads, paperwork, compliance and make-work (i.e. work that has nothing to do with the institution's actual purpose and mission) that lead to burnout. There is only so much we can accomplish, and if we're burdened with ever-increasing demands for paperwork, compliance, useless meetings, training sessions, etc., then we no longer have the time or energy to perform our productive work.

I wrote a short book on my experience of Burnout. I believe it is increasingly common in jobs that demand responsibility and accountability yet don't provide the tools and time to fulfill these demands. Once you've burned out, you cannot continue. That option no longer exists.

For others, the meager rewards simply aren't worth the sacrifices required. The theme song playing in the background is the Johnny Paycheck classic Take this job and shove it.

Healthcare workloads, paperwork and compliance are one example of many. Failure to complete all the make-work can have dire consequences, so it becomes necessary to do less "real work" in order to complete all the work that has little or nothing to do with actual patient care. Alternatively, the workload expands to the point that it breaks the competent and they leave.

2. Loss of autonomy, control, belonging, rewards, accomplishment and fairness. Professor Christina Malasch pioneered research on the causes of burnout, which can be summarized as any work environment that reduces autonomy, control, belonging, rewards, accomplishment and fairness.
Despite a near-infinite avalanche of corporate happy-talk ("we're all family,"--oh, barf) this describes a great many work environments in the US: in a word, depersonalized. Everyone is a replaceable cog in a great impersonal machine optimized to maximize profits for shareholders.

3. The politicization of the work environment. Let's begin by distinguishing between policies enforcing equal opportunity, pay, standards and accountability, policies required to fulfill the legal promises embedded in the nation's social contract, and politicization, which demands allegiance and declarations of loyalty to political ideologies that have nothing to do with the work being done or the standards of accountability necessary to the operation of the complex institution or enterprise.

The problem with politicization is that it is 1) intrinsically inauthentic and 2) it substitutes the ideologically pure for the competent. Rigid, top-down hierarchies (including not just Communist regimes but corporations and institutions) demand expressions of fealty (the equivalent of loyalty oaths) and compliance to ideological demands (check the right boxes of party indoctrination, "self-criticism," "struggle sessions," etc.).

The correct verbiage and ideological enthusiasm become the basis of advancement rather than accountability to standards of competence. The competent are thus replaced with the politically savvy. Since competence is no longer being selected for, it's replaced by what is being selected for, political compliance.

It doesn't matter what flavor of ideological purity holds sway--conservative, progressive, communist or religious--all fatally erode competence by selecting for ideological compliance. Everyone knows the enthusiasm is inauthentic and only for show, but artifice and inauthenticity are perfectly adequate for the politicization taskmasters.

4. The competent must cover for the incompetent. As the competent tire of the artifice and make-work and quit, the remaining competent must work harder to keep everything glued together. Their commitment to high standards and accountability are their undoing, as the slack-masters and incompetent either don't care ("I'm just here to qualify for my pension") or they've mastered the processes of masking their incompetence, often by blaming the competent or the innocent for their own failings.

This additional workload crushes the remaining competent who then burn out and quit, go on disability or opt out, changing their lifestyle to get by on far less income, work, responsibility and far less exposure to the toxic work environments created by depersonalization, politicization and the elevation of the incompetent.

5. As the competent leadership leaves, the incompetent takes the reins, blind to their own incompetence. It all looked so easy when the competent were at the helm, but reality is a cruel taskmaster, and all the excuses that worked as an underling wear thin once the incompetent are in leadership roles.

By this terminal stage, the competent have been driven out, quit or burned out. There's only slack-masters and incompetent left, and the toxic work environment has been institutionalized, so no competent individual will even bother applying, much less take a job doomed to burnout and failure.



This is why systems are breaking down before our eyes and why the breakdowns will spread with alarming rapidity due the tightly bound structure of complex systems.

All of the above, plus aging parents (cancer, Alzheimer's) were why I got the hell out at 59.
Knew I'd take a heck of a $$ hit and really scrape until SS...but it was worth it.

Many times grumbled that if I didn't retire, they'd eventually fire me for pizz-poor attitude and not caring what I said or who I said it to anymore. Lucky that nobody knew what I did or wanted to try to figure it out, so they left me alone to keep their asses out of trouble, wept when I left, and still beg me to come back. Too bad. Sanity, competence and autonomy (especially to an INTJ) is everything.

My husband and I have a running joke. If you want answers you have to contact "Bob." Bob is usually the only one with the correct/complete answer. It doesn't matter the program, department, business, industry, whatever. And there is only one Bob. And why is it he is always on terminal leave, vacation, and/or at his retirement party when you need him most?

The world needs more Bobs ... or Bob needs to be training his/her replacements. Because when the last Bob leaves his/her position the business, etc. is going to eventually fold.

Already did it. Y'all have fun.

Done and done here, too. Cary could have worked a lot longer but chose to just take the small hit on SS and get out. He also had health issues. He wasn't going to get very much more SS than what he was going to get anyway by retiring early. He was almost maxed out already as to what one can receive from SS.

I opted out shortly after our second child was born. Chose to make the sacrifice to be a "stay at home" mom.

Thank God I started my SS at 62 and I'm no longer in the workplace. If I was I'd get fired or lose my every loving mind. My last job was home depot and I left in December '08. Before that I'd always worked in an office, and good grief what a nightmare that must be by now.

I've been out, going on 20 years now. The bail required for the consequences of me having to endure the demise of higher ed was just getting too steep.

Dozdoats said:

Already did it. Y'all have fun.

Click to expand...

Me, too!

I need to stay working another 10 years.

I opted out 21 years ago. I could no longer stomach the large corporation BS. No regrets.

I went out at 63 to save a life.
My boss'

I was lucky to bail out 30 years ago when I got married. I mean, I still did things like work part-time at home assembly sweaters under the table for a couple of years until the company shut down in the early 2000s recession, writing books with my husband (who did most of the hands-on work), sales rep for my husband's jewelry company for a couple of years; that sort of thing.

But I never had to darken the door of a "real" office or employer ever again. And when my husband's business partner had a classic boss tantrum when he didn't understand what a database was and accused me of "wrecking everything." I quit. I told Nightwolf, "I had years of being forced to deal with stuff like that, and I always quit those jobs, too, as soon as I could find another one."

The guy did apologize, and I did continue to do some sales but no secretarial work at all. That was now his problem.

I want to opt out so badly. I feel as if most of the good nurses have left either quit or retired. I get asked some of the most insane and basic questions from fellow nurses. Then I had a pt wake up flailing about. We held her hands down so we could get a set of vitals. She accused us of assaulting her and twisting her neck. She says she has neck problems. None if that happened. All I need is someone like that to sue and take away what little retirement I have.

You know, there is kind of a reverse action where the competent do not opt out but they are removed like when the job rec says "only people of color" and they terminate you for not having a vax.

These able bodied people are the wheat, leaving only the chaff and hopefully that wheat will find its way to Galt Gulch!

It is not the competent persons problem. I have been completely retired for 6 years now but I can be bought. I’m just not cheap.

Zimbabwe...to answer the question.

1911user said:

I need to stay working another 10 years.

Click to expand...

Same or more

What Happens When The Competent Opt Out?​

We are about to find out.

At first, nothing happens. . . nothing notable.
And if education, training, and motivation are maintained . . . nothing happens.

However, with lowering of standards to accommodate affirmative action mandates to hire minorities and diversity and gender-less-ness, the standards for education, training and motivation are eroded.

And then the competent are not promoted because the incompetent are needed to affirmatively fill those promotions.
And they do more with less until only less and less can be done.

You have been finding out for about 10 years. It is part of that concept of "very gradually at first, and then suddenly"

Coco82919 said:

I want to opt out so badly. I feel as if most of the good nurses have left either quit or retired. I get asked some of the most insane and basic questions from fellow nurses. Then I had a pt wake up flailing about. We held her hands down so we could get a set of vitals. She accused us of assaulting her and twisting her neck. She says she has neck problems. None if that happened. All I need is someone like that to sue and take away what little retirement I have.

Click to expand...

It is getting that if people don't self-report those problems at admission then they are basically signing that they don't have such problems. The consequence is that if they admit to having certain problems they could get a denial of service or be required to get an approval from a specialist before service.

raven said:

At first, nothing happens. . . nothing notable.
And if education, training, and motivation are maintained . . . nothing happens.

However, with lowering of standards to accommodate affirmative action mandates to hire minorities and diversity and gender-less-ness, the standards for education, training and motivation are eroded.

And then the competent are not promoted because the incompetent are needed to affirmatively fill those promotions.
And they do more with less until only less and less can be done.

You have been finding out for about 10 years. It is part of that concept of "very gradually at first, and then suddenly"

Click to expand...

This. Or the competent are not promoted because they are needed in their current spots to actually get the work done. The dubbers get promoted because they are less vital. For us this skill and brain drain is starting to really impact our abilities to manufacture/ repair stuff.

Eighty-seven days to go. I've had enough.

SSTemplar said:

It is not the competent persons problem. I have been completely retired for 6 years now but I can be bought. I’m just not cheap.

Click to expand...

Yep. People want something for nothing and that's just not how life works.

When I opted out I didn't let the door hit me in the ass on the way out.

Who is John Galt

After twenty-five years I was let go for someone who said the right thing but didn't have the technical background. So now they still pay him but outsource when they need technical support, so it costs twice as much. I am grateful that I got out when I did at the end of last year.

Hfcomms said:

What Happens When The Competent Opt Out?​

We are about to find out.

Click to expand...

Given what I see of the new hires it will be bad.

The scenario of a bad pandemic (or EMP or civil war) is that, after it has full effect, there are no longer enough of the qualified people to run power plants, water treatment, sewage, hospitals, communication systems, fire fighting and police work. The entertaining description of such a situation in the 50's book The Marching Morons or the movie Idiocracy is just that, entertainment.

The reality of a modern population, dependent upon the functioning of all the infrastructure above, will be more like the aftermath of war. The only difference is it will come about slowly. Many of the needed competencies have a long lead time for schooling and then training for the specific application of their skill. That requires experienced people for them to train under. Which is at the heart of the article.

There is a great reluctance within the current generation coming into the workforce to take jobs that have responsibility and accountability.

In commercial aviation mechanics used to be hired 1 or 2 dozen at a time, now there are training classes for 1 or 2 mechanics. Pilots cannot be found and flight attendants, ticket agents and customer service agents often quit soon after their start of work.

We are headed for bad times but I think it will be like the frog in a pan of slowly warming water.

Shadow

I could have gone back to work for a large power company that I'd worked for for 20+ years after my second set of hip replacements but when the Dr said disability, the door did NOT hit me in the butt leaving!
I was the idiot that went on site 6 to 8 months early, planned the turbine/generator outages - work scope/man hours/work packages/procedures in nukes/clearances/order parts/rent supplemental equipment like fork lifts & cranes plus work the outage to handle any emergent problems & provide technical direction to the crews. Most outages had 30 to 50 millwrights to keep busy. Nuke outages could run 100+ millwrights to keep busy. I was usually on the turbine deck by 3 am and most days didn't go "home" to my camper before 8 or 9 at night. Got paid straight time up to 72 hours a week - if it was approved. Working over 100 hrs a week wasn't unusual. I was off every other weekend - home about 4 days a month but still answering phone calls from work.
I figured out that disability paid almost what a forty hr week would pay. I was disabled when I was 52 but was still listed as an employ until I actually retired at 65.
I left my notes, which were they trashed. Those notes included details on what part & specialty tools were needed to work on turbines that had been modified with metric internals. I heard it was certified "Charlie Foxtrot" when they realized they couldn't work on the machine they had half disassembled..... not my problem!
They never did seem to understand why every planner of any kind bailed the first chance they had.

Amen to this:
"There is a great reluctance within the current generation coming into the workforce to take jobs that have responsibility and accountability."

My son works on a complex piece of equipment offshore. His last trip out they had some technical issues that they could not resolve so a group of engineers from the home office came out to fix things. My son was nearly in a panic to get off the boat because "those guys from the office can fire you for no reason". He didn't want to be around them because he claims they could fire you on the spot if they didn't like the color of your shirt. I could not convince him that the best thing to do was hang around and learn from them. I've broken many things in my various careers and never really had a problem as long as I admitted it and pitched in to fix it. As Shadow said, this generation doesn't want to take any responsibility. There's some irrational fear that upper management/owners/rich guys are all in it for themselves and can't wait to fire people.

Take Healthcare for example . . .

what do you think happens when the competent check out?


Too late.

This is even happening in China no future no options they call it “Laying Back “ though there it’s being done by younger people.

Many people under the age of 40 (and not a few over that age) don't have a work ethic.

Or any other kind.

One of the nicest compliments I ever received was a softly spoken "you are delightfully competent" from a customer. I didn't think too much about it at the time because I was too busy working, but later on I realized just how few and far between those kinds of compliments were. If you are good at your job it eventually is taken for granted.
I worked at this position for 10 years, outlasted many and helped to train my supervisor. No one already in the office wanted the job, including me! Ever have a younger, newer person who was new to the company and still asking you how things worked tell you you did something wrong? Had that happen twice. After the second time I found another job! I was asked to stay...no, thank you. I think I may be preaching to the choir here!

Kathy in FL said:

My husband and I have a running joke. If you want answers you have to contact "Bob." Bob is usually the only one with the correct/complete answer. It doesn't matter the program, department, business, industry, whatever. And there is only one Bob. And why is it he is always on terminal leave, vacation, and/or at his retirement party when you need him most?

The world needs more Bobs ... or Bob needs to be training his/her replacements. Because when the last Bob leaves his/her position the business, etc. is going to eventually fold.

Click to expand...

That's a very interesting statement.

I got to thinking about it?

Every Bob that I've ever known has always been wrong or lazy?

The world has been trying a lot of Bob's in the work force.

Maybe it's a Northern problem????

Now I'm going to have a problem with anyone wearing a Bob name tag.

Soon, they shall reap what they have sown.

The stupid shall be punished...

1911user said:

I need to stay working another 10 years.

Click to expand...

This is a very large segment of formerly high achievers that will ease over into the slow lane, downshift and do just enough to meet expectations....

No more going above and beyond.... no more spending off time thinking about and solving problems.... just settle into the pack...

raven said:

At first, nothing happens. . . nothing notable.
And if education, training, and motivation are maintained . . . nothing happens.

However, with lowering of standards to accommodate affirmative action mandates to hire minorities and diversity and gender-less-ness, the standards for education, training and motivation are eroded.

And then the competent are not promoted because the incompetent are needed to affirmatively fill those promotions.
And they do more with less until only less and less can be done.

You have been finding out for about 10 years. It is part of that concept of "very gradually at first, and then suddenly"

Click to expand...

QFT