Pro Wrestling and White Collar Work

Why the Work World is Like Pro Wrestling
By the Liberal Arts Dude

One thing that always struck me about the white collar workworld is how similar it is to the world of pro wrestling. You know—the sport of two or more sweaty, muscular men in their briefs or tights grappling each other in an elaborate ritual combat of good versus
evil.

Huh? This is what you must be saying. How on earth can being in the work world be like pro wrestling? Let me elaborate.

The workworld is governed by a set of unwritten rules which everybody knows implicitly and recognizes—but do not overtly acknowledge. Just like in pro wrestling! Here’s an example. Ever wonder why the “babyface” or the good guy follows the rules judiciously while the “heel” or bad guy breaks them with impunity? Because those are the unwritten rules of pro wrestling.

The same way with the workworld. In being interviewed for a job, for example, you’re supposed to wear a business suit, act enthusiastic, exude absolute confidence, and write thank you notes. Because this is what is expected of you as a job candidate. That’s what the unwritten rules say which every serious professional should know about.

It doesn’t matter that in actual hiring, that there are ways to getting around the unwritten rules. Like knowing someone in the organization or company who is willing to vouch for you to get you hired over other job candidates. If you want to play the game of job-hunting you have to play by its rules (or be experienced enough to know the ways to go around them).

Here’s another one: in pro wrestling, you are supposed to fall down and writhe in pain when you get hit by a punch that is in reality, pulled. Same thing in the workworld. When you get hit by a critical comment or negative evaluation by your boss, there are certain ways to react that is correct and professional. Follow the unwritten rules and you will be able to defend yourself and perhaps even redeem yourself.

Of course, part of the unwritten rules is to roll along with the punches—acknowledge the validity of the negative feedback, always be positive, and do not directly challenge the feedback in a way that makes your boss look bad. Do so and you will be in for a real-life fight.

When someone in the workplace says “how are you?” or “how are you doing?” they aren’t really asking how you are. They are following a ritual where you are supposed to respond “doing great!” or some other variation of it. Respond honestly and if what you say is negative you open yourself up to criticism and being thought of negatively by the asker. Unless they choose to cut you some slack. Either way, the power of judgement is with them and not with you.

You’re supposed to wear a costume. For wrestling, if you’re a pretty boy you wear pretty boy costumes. If you’re an ass kicker, you wear a costume that indicates that. If you are comedy relief, your costume will reflect that as well.

In the workworld, if you’re in the corporate world in a senior, managerial position, you had better look the part. That means conservative business suits with little variation. Even if you are in a less formal, nonprofit setting, “business casual” will be your look. Jeans can be OK in “casual Fridays.” But sneakers and t-shirts? No. Under any circumstances.

Some people get a kick by saying “wrestling is fake” or “it’s not real.” Apparently, this is their way of showing how smart they are in saying the emperor has no clothes. We have people in the workworld like that too. They are called whistleblowers. The mild version of that who is not willing to stick their neck out in the open are called the office gossip.

In real life, however, you play the role of whistleblower at your own risk. In wrestling, you suffer no real consequences from wrestling fans if you insist on the fakery of wrestling. In the real world, reveal the secrets behind a facade or point out a facade as a facade and you will be potentially fired or at least you will burn some bridges. Both will affect your employability for the future.

Despite all of this, at the end of the day, work is still work. Unwritten rules aside, you still need to be good at what you need to do. You still need to have organizational skills and people skills. You still need to do the job you were hired to do. In other words, you still need to deliver. Same with pro wrestling. It all may be staged. But the show—the
matches—still need to deliver. You still need to wow the crowd and make sure they are entertained.

Copyright 2005