Is it time for you to change your career in a meaningful way?
According to a joint study by the Lumina Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Omidyar Network, and Gallup, over 50 percent of Americans reported being unhappy at their jobs.
Beyond that, there is a strong correlation between job contentedness and race, ethnicity, and gender. Black people are twice as likely to be unhappy in their jobs than white people. It is even more pronounced for Black women.
Whether you’re working in a job that doesn’t inspire you or you’ve been furloughed from a job that doesn’t feel rewarding at all, this can be a time of great reflection on your career, your future, and what your path forward can look like.
There are many reasons to stay with a certain career. For one thing, many American workers have their health insurance (and their family’s health insurance!) tied to their jobs.
Losing that alone can be reason enough to scare you into staying. Many employees stay with jobs that don’t fulfill them for security and comfort reasons. Maybe the job pays well. Maybe you’ve been working there for half a decade. Maybe you like your coworkers, your commute, the sandwich place down the block, and the list goes on...
But, maybe your path could look completely different. Here are common reasons that people finally make that leap from a career they don’t love to one that fulfills and inspires them.
Do any of these sound familiar to you?
You’re Completely Uninspired
Workplace burnout is real. Over the past few years, burnout has become a bit of a hot topic. But here’s what a lot of people don’t recognize. Burnout doesn’t always look like a harried doctor working 100+ hours a week. It doesn’t always look like a caseworker with stacks and stacks of paper on their desk.
Underchallenged burnout is a type of burnout that occurs when an employee is underchallenged and downright bored at work. With no rewards, accomplishments, or goals in place, underchallenged employees can find themselves in a lowered mood with extremely low levels of satisfaction.
While we always think of frenetic burnout when talking about burnout, underchallenged burnout is likely the more insidious and common type of burnout. With this type of burnout, you’re spending 40, 50, or 60 hours a week in a room doing something that doesn’t feel inspired, offers close to no rewards, and might be draining the life out of you.
This kind of burnout can be tough to root out. Sure, we all have uninspired weeks at work. We all how low quarters, slow seasons, and parts of our job that feel tedious or repetitive.
If you’re feeling consistently underchallenged and uninspired, take steps to identify what you love to do. What brings you joy in your free time? Is there a way to infuse that into your current position or is it time to reroute your path?
Your Career Doesn’t Align With Your Values
In her book, Power Moves, our CEO, Lauren McGoodwin talks—a lot—about the dream job. Except, here’s the catch. The dream job doesn’t exist.
The dream job doesn’t exist for this simple reason. We are changing, evolving humans and no job can serve us “perfectly” in the ways we need as we navigate life, family, death, economy, politics, humanity, and everything in between.
This is an important element to consider. Is your career aligning with your values, both culturally and personally?
Personally speaking, does your career allow your life to breathe outside of it? It’s quite possible that you started this job in your mid-twenties as a single person. Maybe, you grew accustomed to working 12-hour days.
It’s also quite possible that leadership has recognized what an incredible worker you are. But, maybe things in your personal life have changed, too. Maybe your family needs you more. Perhaps the “hustle” you worked in your twenties is no longer conducive to your personal life—or your personal health.
Culturally speaking, does your career align with your values?
Are you working for a company—or in an industry—that has made room for causes and initiatives that you care about? Does your organization or industry take care of its people and the people it serves? Does it feel “right” to proceed in your career or at your organization once you identify your core values?
Determine what your values are. Define your personal, professional, and societal values. Now, weigh those against the values of your career, the organization you work, or the expectations of the job you do. Where do you stand?
The Reality is Different Than You Expected or Hoped
Remember how we talked about how "the dream job" doesn’t exist? This is a prime example of why we don't believe in it.
In one way or another, we have all been fed this narrative of striving for this one very specific goal. It might be getting that C-level position at a certain company.
Once you get there, how is it? Maybe it’s not so great. Your paycheck might look ideal and your LinkedIn header might be looking fabulous, but how is your day to day?
When navigating your career, pay attention to your values, as we touched upon above.
- Yes, a better salary makes paying a mortgage more comfortable.
- Yes, a shorter commute uses less gas and mileage.
- Yes, it would be lovely to take meetings in a corner office.
However, your long-term happiness and health are of the utmost importance in a job. Make sure that your quest for “the job” isn’t about a title and a paycheck. Make sure it includes all of the small details that make a job rewarding.
Your Health Is Suffering
We feel like this header should be enough. If your job is having an impact on your health, it’s time to pivot, right? Well, sure.
Here are a few signs that your job might be deteriorating your health.
- Sleep Problems. Sleep is a big one—and it’s often the first sign that things aren't going well. Everybody has a restless night once in a while—in the face of a big deadline or a stressful meeting. However, when your sleepless nights are becoming the norm, your job is entering an unhealthy phase.
- Achiness. Headaches, stomach aches, body aches, and more. When your job is a constant stressor, your body is likely to respond. In a stressful environment, your brain may flood your system with adrenaline and other stress hormones to cause aches and pains throughout your body.
- Mental health. Increased stress can worsen existing mental problems. One study linked work stress to various health complaints like overeating and depression. When employees feel they are being treated unfairly due to the core of who they are, it’s an attack on their core dignity. Injustice faced by employees, especially by women of color, can cause deep stress.
- Susceptibility to Illness. Studies have linked stress to compromised immune systems. If you find yourself repeatedly getting sick, ask yourself how your job might be contributing to that.
Something Else Is Calling You
It’s quite possible that you’re feeling “pretty okay” in your current position, but that there is something nagging at you.
Just as Moana was always being called to the ocean (listen, I have Disney+ on in the background for my son), maybe your calling is in a completely different field.
Manage your expectations. Be realistic in charting your course. Know that entering an entirely new field might call for new skills and proficiencies.
Here’s the good news, though! While transitioning into a new career can be daunting, you likely have some (or many!) of the skills you need in place to do it. Reach out to experts, go on a “listening tour,” take courses on the skills you know you’ll need, and gain your experience.
These are all things you can do while maintaining your original job. When you regard a career transition as a “side hustle in action” you can actually take the steps to build on your new career before actually making the move.
And Finally, a Few Questions to Ask Yourself
It's important to conduct honest check-ins with yourself. Here are a few questions you may ask yourself at the beginning of a workweek to take your own temperature and keep track of your happiness levels at work.
- How is my job serving me this week?
- Who am I helping with my job?
- How does my job fit into my life?
- How can my job better serve me?
- How can I grow my career this week?
- What is my level of satisfaction with my career this week?
