Marshall Goldsmith’s axiom “what got you here won’t get you there” rings in my ears most days as I operate as an executive coach within a constantly changing business environment. On a global level, the turbulence of worldwide crises – environmental, social, financial, conflict – is layering an undercurrent of anger, fear, grief and guilt as we emerge in a post pandemic world and face the challenges of what to do to address such overwhelming difficulties.
Then there are our own individual experiences where many are struggling to engage with ‘back to normal’ after a disruptive and demanding few years and are fearful and exhausted. Perhaps those of us who have been lucky to have a holiday this summer are returning to the routine of our working schedules relaxed and energised for the work ahead. However, there is a growing number who are apprehensive about getting back to the daily ‘grind’, unhappy with where they are in their career and at times, in their life. Absences (stress and illness related) in Ireland in H2 2021 increased to nearly 14% as a percentage of the employed population, and EU figures for 2022 are widely expected to show lower impact from covid (due to remote working arrangements, vaccination rollout, etc) and zone in on the causes of absenteeism. The topic of the year, Burnout, usually arises from a gap between what you expect work will or should look like and what you actually do at your job. That means society and culture and your specific workplace play much bigger roles than you do in whether or not you burn out.
It is hard to remind oneself in the heat of this current moment that all crises generate opportunities. Many are reviewing their jobs and careers in line with more life-enhancing options that encourage more life/work balance, personal happiness, purpose and meaning in a career. Some articles that may be of interest around this topic are below – I hope you find them useful as you navigate change.
- Certainly a topic to revisit, have a look at the below article re the work/life balance that many graduates facehttps://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220701-does-grinding-hard-now-earn-work-life-balance-later
- https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index provides all stats within an EU perspective
- Jonathan Malesic excellent book The End of Burnout: Why Work Drains Us and How to Build Better Lives
- https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases
