What's the cost?
Thanks for reading ZenCareer. This is my love note to the worker bees, the game-changers and the quiet leaders making the world a more delightful place - all while doing their best to make a living that supports and sustains them, their families and their communities. 90% of what I do here is paywall-free, although every single paid subscription tells me that talking about work and identity isn’t the crazy idea some people say it is.
Next week I’m starting a series of conversations with people about identity and work. I have lots of presumptions about how the two intersect. Much like assumptions though, my presumptions have been known to make an a** out of me.
Lately people have been telling me that the main reason they quit their jobs (or want to) is because of the heavy toll it’s taking on their personal life. As in partners didn’t want start a family or even continue a relationship due to the flat out emotional drain of their job.
Some shared that they had a crazy boss who called at all hours expecting responses, others mentioned the out-of-pocket expenses and extra hours spent to care for their classrooms and students; and others talked about how guilty they felt if they couldn’t finish an unreasonable workload in a day.
In each case they knew it was a “job” and yet they couldn’t separate their sense of responsibility and even value to their ability to get the job done.
Sometimes when you leave a job that you know is draining you, you still feel guilty.
Cut yourself some slack if you’re in a similar position and find a way to move consciously in the direction of work that will light you up - instead of drag you down.
Round up
This week I came across these gems from HR Brew
- seems that employees are bored.
- That’s probably because they’re not as engaged as they are at Zillow.
Andrew Seaman at LinkedIn has a thoughtful piece on what you may want to know about AI when interviewing.
Graduation Season
Huzzah you grads - you made it! My hope for you is that you always work with your values front and center; that you speak truth to power in an effort to build sustainable companies and workplaces; that you recognize that true growth and longevity comes when you make room for all in the boardrooms and beyond.
Go forth, have fun and remember that everyone deserves to be happy at work!