A common theme in many of my recent conversations with peers, friends and coaching clients has been how much has changed about how they look at the world since before COVID times.
We went into COVID on "autopilot mode" in our lives and careers. Our personal lives were in a flow and rhythm and from day to day, week to week, we didn't question it; rather, we just went from task to task and got things on our to-do lists done. Our work lives weren't much different - demanding expectations at work, sometimes uncertain conditions and many who've told me that they felt no sense of purpose in what they were doing every day. They went to work, they worked and they went home. And they didn't leave work at work either. While the workday might have ended, the stress, the expectations and the frustrations often followed them home. Work-life balance was typically absent.
While there were a lot of negative things about COVID times, I'm finding in my conversations with people that many appreciate it as having been a time of pausing and living more in the moment, of finding more of what brought them joy (because they might have had more time to, especially during those early weeks of isolation and lockdowns) and of finally slowing down enough to ask themselves some tough questions about what they wanted to do in their personal lives and careers.
I've actually had people tell me that those days CHANGED THEM FOREVER - that they haven't thought the same about their lives, their relationships and their jobs since that time. And as a result, they are looking for MORE now - more FULFILLMENT, more PURPOSE, more JOY, more BALANCE. They know what "different" feels like and they don't want to go back to the "same old" way of living and working again.
I think much of this is why we see such a battle between companies and employees around the remote vs. hybrid vs. 100% in office debate. Employees have gotten a taste of something different and they've seen how well it worked in many cases, not to mention how it supported better work-life balance for themselves and their families.
I have a growing number of people who've been reaching out to me lately to GET UNSTUCK from their careers and to rebalance their lives. If you're in this boat - knowing that where you are isn't meeting your needs (whether it's the role you're in OR the company you're spending most of the hours of your day working for OR both), let's connect. Having been through the process last year of carefully weeding through job opportunities and companies to find the RIGHT FIT for me has enabled me to gain deep skills and perspective that I know would help those of you who are ready for a fresh start but just don't know how to go about making a change that is the RIGHT change for YOU!
(Photo Credit: Colton Sturgeon, UNSPLASH images)
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