Don't wait for the chop

It’s happening again. Job cuts and redundancies have been relatively rare lately, with the employment market being squeezed by labour shortages. But as belts are being tightened everywhere, more employers are considering the possibility of letting people go.
Maybe you’re in one of those businesses. Maybe you can feel the axe looming over your head. And maybe you’re deciding right now whether you should wait for the chop, or make a break for it, while you still have the chance.
Here’s my top five tips for making sure that you do what’s best for you:
§ Check out your assumptions
When times are tough, rumours sometimes get out of control. Go after the facts instead. Fear is contagious, so make sure you are reacting to what’s really going on, instead of focussing on what people are afraid “might” happen.
§ Look after your relationships
One of my favourite sayings comes from Desiderata: “As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all people.” You never know when you will need a good rap from your workmates or your boss, so (without compromising yourself) make sure those relationships stay healthy. Too many people burn bridges when they feel threatened (and regret it afterwards).
§ Find out what support is on offer – and take it!
Most businesses these days offer some kind of career support to staff. Whether or not there are job losses on the horizon. Get information about what’s available, and if possible negotiate to get some support at a time and in a format that suits you. Don’t be too proud to ask for help.
§ Put a positive spin on it
Attitude is everything. Treat a potential job loss as a chance for a fresh start. Explore your options, and take the opportunity to spend some time thinking about what you really want to do with your working life.
§ Brush up your self marketing
You never know when you might need it, so make sure you are ready to market yourself at short notice. You’ll need a slick CV at least. And if you haven’t applied for a job in years, be aware that times have changed. Get some good advice on how to present yourself.
A final word…
Research says that less than 10% of people who voluntarily make a change in their working lives say afterwards that they “jumped too soon”. Most people say they wish they’d done it years ago. There’s a good reason for that. Most people are naturally cautious about messing with their career. Most people don’t take unjustified risks with their working life.
So if you’re feeling it’s time to pack your bags and get out of there, you need to listen carefully to those feelings. One of the things I’ve learned from people I’ve worked with is that the hardest thing about making a change to your working life is making the decision to do it. Once the decision is made, the rest is easy.

The power of the passion

If you’ve been looking for work you can be passionate about but can’t find it, maybe you’ve been looking in the wrong place…

Maybe one of the things that compel us to read about the lives of celebrities is that they are living a life we wish we had. If only we could do that for a living – like the old Dire Straits song: “That ain’t working – that’s the way you do it – get your money for nothing…” And when the celebs are interviewed they talk about how lucky they are, getting paid for doing what they love. What a life!
I used to think not everyone has a passion they can turn into a living: having a “calling” was the privilege of the fortunate few. I’m now not so sure that’s true.
The other day, I asked a room full of people to stand up if the work they do has something to do with who they are as a person. A surprising number stood up. Motor mechanics. Social policy writers. Finance officers. Administration workers. There wasn’t a priest or a doctor among them. But by standing, all of them were indicating that their work means something in their lives. That’s passion. That’s a calling.
What makes our work meaningful is a very individual thing. For some people it’s about the work they do – the things they build, fix, or create. For others it’s the employer they work with – and what that organisation represents. For others it’s the relationships they build, the people they influence, or the ideas they work with that make their work special.
Whatever makes your work satisfying, that’s the clue to your passion. It’s not in a job description, it’s in how you feel about the work you do – what your work means to you.
But of course, back in that room, not everyone stood up. Not everyone has found a way to work, a place to work, or a job to do that has meaning for them. And they might have been thinking, like I used to think: “I don’t get passionate about work. Work is work.”
So let’s re-define passion (in the work context!). A good start is to think about what’s important to you:
When do you feel REALLY happy – joyful even? What are the things you love discussing and debating with friends and family? What are the things you could do all day and never get bored or tired? What are the things other people admire you for?
You might not find a job that has it all, but you might find a way to build some of those things into your work. It’s not so much the work you do, but how you do it that matters.
Be open to surprises. Passion is rarely straightforward or predictable, and often we find we can get what we want in unexpected ways. Don’t be afraid to make decisions, then make sense of them of them afterwards – gut instinct and intuition have their merits!

Gen Y and work

I was talking yesterday with a fellow who was happily telling me how much people love working in his organisation. “No-one ever leaves”, he said, with a self-congratulatory smile. Then there was a pause. “Except the young ones” he added wryly. I asked why the “young ones” leave. “Oh – because they’re bored, because they want to try something else, because it’s all too hard for them, because they want to travel – you name it.”

Ah, there it is – the Gen Y dilemma. Ask your average baby boomer manager about managing Gen Y and they typically shake their heads with horror stories of lack of focus, expectations beyond the established norm, high maintenance needs or just plain mystifying behaviour. The prevailing view seems to be that people who are too young to remember the last time that times were tough (the recession we had to have) just don’t have what it takes to stick at something for the long haul. And of course, the long haul is what it takes to succeed… doesn’t it?

I’d like to put a couple of things on the table. The longest I’ve ever held a job is 3-and-a-bit years. And I left that (in my twenties) because I wanted to travel. And I’m (just!) a baby boomer. And I recall some people in older generations at the time telling me I was being a bit irresponsible. So I have to admit, I sometimes wonder if it’s possible that differences between older generations and Gen Y’s just come down to the old generation gap – with new buzz words.

But then I think about changes that have been happening for years in the world of work, and I’m not so sure. While Gen Y was still at primary school, commentators were talking about the rise of the “portfolio” worker – someone who didn’t seek a full-time, permanent job, but instead treated their career like an adaptable and ever-changing smorgasbord of paid work – someone who was more focussed on maintaining their future employability than their current employment. It was widely accepted back then that this was the way of the future.

So why are we so surprised that some of our bright young things have embraced this concept and are busily making it their own? Why do we persist in trying to mould Gen Y’s in our own image, complete with our absolute faith in the “hang in there and work your way up” approach? This new generation has been brought up to believe that anything is possible. Here’s a novel idea – what if they are right? What if instead of trying to make them more steady and responsible, like us oldies(!), we tried to come to grips with new ways of working, and new ways of defining jobs? What if we made it possible for people to build more flexible and dynamic working lives – at any age? It could mean the death of the full-time, permanent, wage-slave – is that such a dreadful thing?

Job Satisfaction?

Some years ago, I was working with a young man who had come to me for some help to plan his next career steps. He had decided to drop out of university, because he felt his studies were going nowhere. And he needed the money that paid work would give him.
One of the first questions I asked him was “What do you want to get from work?” He looked puzzled, and asked me what I meant. He said he’d only thought about the money he’d have if he got a job, and not about anything else the job might give him.
As we talked, he smiled to think of what he might be able to learn, what new attitudes and understandings work might give him. He smiled to think about a working life that was deeply satisfying. It was an entirely new concept for him. Scary stuff!
Our work often defines us. It’s one of the first questions we ask the people we meet: “And what do you do…?” We have a right to expect such an important part of our lives to be satisfying and fulfilling.
If you don’t wake up every morning thinking something good will come from work today; if you don’t come home in the evening feeling you have achieved something worthwhile – then maybe it’s time to take stock of how your career is working for you.
I’m a counsellor by trade, so my instinct is to ask you some questions to get you started.
What is your current job giving you?
What are you getting from work beyond a pay packet? What skills, knowledge, understandings or even what contacts are you accumulating that are useful to you, no matter where you are?
What have you got to offer?
Get some feedback on the skills, knowledge and qualities you have that are valued by those around you.
What’s important to you?
Decide which of all of these you value the most. Think about what you do that makes you feel good – things that feel easy – never a chore. Remember what you value most won’t necessarily be what others think is important: sometimes others value our ability to do stuff we’d avoid if we could!
Who have you told?
Put it out to the universe! Talk to people about those things you value most about your work. Talk about how to fill your working life with those things, and get rid of some of the dross. People nearly always have more and better ideas than you expect.
Do I have to change jobs?
Don’t forget to think about how you might be able to change and improve your current work situation – sometimes we underestimate what possibilities are available, right where we are. Or sometimes we don’t even ask. The grass might look greener on the other side of the fence, but maybe all our own backyard needs is a little more attention to make it grow.