I don’t want any more cheese – I just want out of the trap.
30 Oct 03

Do you feel trapped in your job? Fed up of working this way? How many more Monday mornings are you going to drag yourself out of bed and off to a job you hate in an office you resent for a boss you’ve got no time for?

It’s a question almost all of us ask at some time in our lives. Richard Templar, author of I don’t want any more cheese – I just want out of the trap believes it’s a sign of the times. "The old 'jobs for life' experience has vanished and we are left with people who want to get out of a rat race and find a better way of doing things. This doesn't mean they want to opt out but to change how they do things. I figured a book that sort of gave them permission to get out would be a good thing. We want to be freer, happier, more challenged and stretched."

And the title - a backlash to the bestselling parable Who Moved My Cheese?, the book that some managers bought and gave to their teams to get across the message that all new initiatives were good, ever moving goalposts were fine and don’t bother dissenting? "Not at all" says Richard "It was an expression used by an American business friend of mine, when he was stuck at an airport on a stop-over. His flight had been mucked around with so much and they had offered him paltry things such as sandwiches and coffee to get him to stay that he finally blew and demanded 'I don't want any more cheese, I just want out of the trap'. My book isn't about cheese or mice, it's about real people trying to make things better for themselves, trying to escape from real traps.

Sounds like you’ve been there? "I've been in several traps and escaped them all, eventually. The last time was a serious road accident which left me thinking 'what am I doing here? why am I risking life and limb rushing to a place I hate to do a job I loathe for a boss I have no respect for?'"

For those of us who haven’t had a life-turning incident like this, maybe it’s easier to stay, even if you do feel as if you are in a trap. Richard agrees "It's both easier and requires no risk. People are afraid of walking away. They wonder how they will pay the mortgage. Quite rightly so. But they don't then go on to make an escape plan. They just wander around saying 'I hate it here, I want to leave'. But that's as far as they go."

So, are you advocating people should all downshift or find a freelance job? "Definitely not" says Richard "For some people being a freelance and working from home alone would be a trap – it all depends on who you are and what makes you feel trapped. ‘Out’ may be starting your own business or going freelance but it might equally be the same job in a different company or even a different job with the same firm. Whatever, the steps to getting out of the trap are the same. "

What's the single most important piece of advice you'd give to somebody who feels in a trap and wants out? "Talk about it. Talk to your partner, your friends, your family, even your kids. And talk to your boss. If they can help they will. If they can't/won't, then you know it really is time to go. Then make a plan. Then take a first step to make that commitment to escaping - it doesn't matter what as long as you do something, anything."

I don’t want any more cheese – I just want out of the trap. Get out of your career rut and find a job that makes you happy. By Richard Templar has recently been published by Prentice Hall Business, £9.99. For more information or to purchase click here.

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