How Would You Cope?

Mo Saleh is expected to leave Liverpool and join the ranks of those in the Saudi league which, some have said would be the worst possible scenario for Jurgen Klopp. A number of stalwarts from seasons past have moved on this summer and with Sadie Mane leaving last summer, Klopp’s squad looks decidedly different from the team that won the league and lifted the Champions league trophy.

None of this is news to even the casual football follower but what I want to do is place a little context around the time the Klopp has been at Liverpool and the changes in the squad and how that could relate to you.

Klopp has been with Liverpool since 2015 and initially was breaking players left and right with the change in intensity required in their play.?A lot of the injuries, from what I have read, came about through a spike in workload and players bodies not being able to function at that level repeatedly.?Of course, with football squads there are transfers and players more physically suited to Klopp’s style came in, some went out and players adapted to the nature of his game.

2019 came and Liverpool won the Champions League after missing out the previous year; they continued that form and won the English Premier League in the 19/20 season too.?Fans were happy, players were happy, I’m sure the club owners and staff were happy also.?Fast forward a coupe of seasons and so much has changed.?Firmino, Henderson, Milner, Fabinho, Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Keita are gone with Mane and Origi departing a year ago.?Saleh could be next.?BUT, this is expected, turnover and transformation are normal in football and I’m sure turnover of staff is normal in your workplace too.?There is a difference however, I want you to image this…

Everything you do at work is monitored, tracked, catalogued and reviewed by numerous people.?Some of you may say that is exactly what happens at your workplace but it goes further.?How many steps is it from your desk to your boss’??How can you be more efficient, how can you take fewer steps to get there quicker??Your days are tracked and graded, reviewed by your managers in detail that goes beyond ‘Was the report in on time?’ and, ‘Were sales targets met?’?How about being asked to take a urine test to see if you are hydrated enough to concentrate and perform your tasks to the desired level.

The end of the week is approaching and you want to go home early on a Friday and relax into the weekend. But no.?Someone comes into the office to stand and watch you.?Judge you, cheer and chastise you.?Every single time you hit backspace to get rid of a mistake on your keyboard they hurl abuse at you; it might be profanity, sexist remarks, religious or racial slurs.?You are largely expected to ignore it.?Get on with your job and perform at your peak.?Your co-workers are demanding too, they expect you to work to your best, your manager is expecting this part of your week’s work to be the best that you have done.

Let’s place you in front of 10, 100, 1000 people, judging you for how you work.?All the little errors, hesitations, misspoken words, wrong files attached to emails, missing attachments magnified by 1000 strangers.?People having a go at your partner for their looks, fashion sense or any number of things that have nothing to do with your job or how you are working today.

Now repeat that 50 times a year.

Repeat that for 2,3,4 years.

As a player, you are pushed every single day to be better.?Better at everything from preparation to performance to recovery.?Better media trained, to have less ‘human’ responses when people are shouting abuse at you from the stand or when being approached in the park or supermarket with your family or friends for the 50th time that day

I often hear people say,‘That’s the life he chose.’?I disagree.?Players have a talent for football and work hard to get to the top of the game; they chose to be a footballer, not to be abused, not to be expected to react differently from the random guy on the street when his family are taunted.

So, when I read of people having a go at Jordan Henderson for going to Saudi Arabia, I can’t help but think the majority of people who would do the exact same thing.?You’ve reached the top and won, you can go somewhere that will allow for extra family time, it provides an opportunity to take care of not just your family but creates generational wealth and you may not be pushed at hard as you have been every single day for more than a decade.

Other jobs have stress, and I acknowledge doctors, nurses and firemen on the frontline; the tech industry and investment banking is notorious for long hours and pressurised deadlines but rarely do you have a industry that is as monitored, driven, consistent and in the spotlight as high profile football.?If Saleh moves to the Saudi Pro League, I have no problem with it from a working / lifestyle perspective and doing something positive for himself or his family.?Sport washing, human and gender rights issues may be for another article but for this one, I ask you, as a person…

If you were treated the same way footballers were in your work place, how would you cope?

#WorkEnvironment #Empathy #BetterEveryday #Standards #WorkplacePressure