Janice Crawley left her job at Morgan Stanley a year after making an exit plan. She used the company's perks to broaden her horizons and stop engaging in what she calls "energy zaps" Mandel Crawley: What if your team, your boss, or your entire company makes a habit of staying the course? A very bad course.
In life and work, we have a hard time changing course. When we wind up in a miserable job, a failing project, or a floundering romantic relationship, we rationalize, make excuses, and stick with our bad decisions—even when the writing's on the wall. Why? Usually we assume the driving force is sunk costs: we don't want to admit we've wasted that time or money. But in fact, the root of our stubbornness is a psychological trap called “escalation of commitment.” Once we understand that, we can start taking steps to protect ourselves from… well, ourselves. This is an episode of WorkLife with Adam Grant, another podcast in the TED Audio Collective. For more episodes, find and follow WorkLife wherever you're listening to this.