Aimee Voelz
Pace yourself
I heard someone say that they only gave 40% of what they’re capable of to their company job. They save the rest of their time and energy for themselves.
When I told a coworker about it later, I said that I’d feel too guilty to do that. But then we talked about how we burned out earlier in our careers because we pushed to the limit for years. And how it wasn’t worth the exhaustion and sacrifices to our personal lives.
If I could go back in time, I would do it differently. I’d stick more closely to a 40-hour work week and make more time for friends, hobbies, and relaxing. I probably would have had the same level of job success without the burnout.
Work for a company that values your aptitude
I know someone who spent years working for an electrical company, starting as a journeyman and working his way up to the to a chief foreman, the top role on the union side of the business. He eventually wanted to move from the union to the management side of the company to continue to grow and advance his career.
He was successfully running large commercial jobs worth millions of dollars and was already performing some of the tasks that the senior project manager is supposed to do. But when he pitched his company to hire him in that capacity, they refused. They said he could only move to management if he started at the very bottom, as an assistant. It would have been a huge pay cut and taken years to move up to the role that he was already capable of.
He very quickly met with a competing electrical company, Prime Electric, and was offered a senior project management role. The people that interviewed him looked at his resume of high-value jobs and got references from people who had great things to say about his work. They saw that he was qualified for the role and that his experience would help them win bids on future projects. Some of those references were given before he spoke to anyone at Prime…one executive makes it a habit to find out who is respected on large jobs in the Seattle area.
I won’t name his former company, but am happy to give a shout-out to Prime as an example of a company that has a practice of hiring people with aptitude and providing opportunities for existing employees to develop.
The former company has lost two other employees to Prime that I’m aware of. One was stuck in an assistant role while performing project manager duties – but they wouldn’t promote her because she didn’t have a construction management degree. Prime hired her, and now she’s the project manager for a multi-million dollar, big-name building. Another person wanted the chance to develop a specialized segment of the business – but they wouldn’t permit it. Prime hired him, and now he’s able to live up to his potential while growing the business.
The former company is still in business, but Prime has continuously expanded, creating even more opportunities for employees.
It’s incredibly shortsighted for companies to underestimate what their employees are capable of and limit their opportunities for advancement. Instead of building morale and creating loyalty, they must replace great employees just to maintain their current rate of business. It’s also ridiculous for hiring managers to insist that candidates come from the same role that they are hiring for, instead of seeking out candidates with the aptitude to excel.
When you’re researching companies as part of a job search, you might not find a lot of public information about how well companies hire and develop staff based on their capabilities, but you can get this information during interviews.
Ask if there are policies and practices in place that help employees advance their careers. An interviewer at Prime would be able to describe a mentorship program, a “university” where staff can learn what skills are needed for various roles, and explain that managers are evaluated partially on staff development. You can also ask if the interviewer’s colleagues were hired from outside the company or promoted from within.
It is worth probing if there is a culture of employee growth and development. Instead of needing to job-hop to advance, you could be building your career from your first day on the job.
Passive productivity
There are multiple ways of being productive.
I feel most productive when I’m typing on my computer, knocking out a PowerPoint or document.
I feel least productive when I’m sitting in front of the screen and not much is happening. I sometimes get frustrated with myself because it seems like I’m not focusing. But after every period of just…being there…I start typing again with more clarity about what I’m trying to express, or with a new idea of how to complete the project.
It might look like zoning out, but in reality, it is time spent processing my thoughts. Passive productivity is still productivity.
Leaders and Workers
In large workplaces there are leaders and workers, obviously. There must be people at the top setting strategic direction, delegating, and making decisions about where to invest. And there must be people to get the work done.
Yet in some corporations and the military, if you don’t continue to rise through the ranks, you are eventually pushed out. In one performance review system that I was familiar with, if an employee was considered unlikely to be promoted, they were docked in their review score and received fewer financial rewards. This was true even if they performed above expectations.
The belief was that the best employees would grow into higher-leveled positions and everyone else would eventually leave the company.
It seems short-sighted, doesn’t it? It’s a pyramid, with far more roles for workers at the base than roles for leaders at the top. Companies need many reliable workers at those lower levels to function, let alone thrive.
Not everyone has the qualities to be leader or wants to be a leader. Valuing the people who keep the business running is wise, especially in today’s environment, when employees who aren’t treated well are finding new places to work.
You don’t have to sprint all the time
There are times when a big presentation or project deadline takes extra time and effort to complete. Sometimes it’s exciting because I get to showcase my best work. Usually, it’s just a slog to finish in time and someone higher up the chain gets the glory.
Either way, sprints should be infrequent.
I’ve had roles where there was so much pressure to deliver an unrealistic workload that I ran on adrenaline for 10 – 12 hours every weekday. I’ll never do that again.
If a role requires more work than can be achieved in roughly 40 hours per week, it’s not a one-person role. If management is unwilling to prioritize then they are not the kind of employer I’d like to work for. If they load the calendar with meetings, leaving no time during the day for actual work, then it’s not the right culture for me. If they demand an excessive amount of tracking work vs. doing work, then I wouldn’t be happy. If they believe working 50 – 60 hours per week for a 40 hour per week paycheck is reasonable, then they don’t respect their employees and I wouldn’t respect them as managers.
A fast pace with long hours might produce results in the short-term, but it isn’t a sustainable model for productivity or morale. I’ve burned out from working like that in the past and I regret it. When I set boundaries and stick with them, I’m happier, I make fewer mistakes, and I meet my deadlines.
There’s no good reason to sprint all the time.
It’s hard to succeed in your job if you don’t fit in with the workplace culture
I recently heard someone say that the ability to succeed in the workplace depends on how well you adapt to the culture.
I wish I had learned that lesson at the start of my career. It could have spared me years of fighting to survive in workplaces where I would never have fit in.
I’ve had jobs that I stayed at too long past my expiration date. After the honeymoon phase, I slowly realized that the way I approached my work was not what those organizations wanted. Worse, in one of those roles, my work ethics were not aligned with the team’s.
If I could go back in time, I would have started looking for new roles as soon as I sensed that what I brought to those jobs — including my capabilities, ideals, and personality — were not valued. Instead, I burned out while putting my energy into trying to fit in better and succeed despite the environment. Towards the end, all my energy went to coping one day at a time.
What a waste.
On the other hand, I’ve been fortunate to experience some roles that were a great fit. My managers understood and supported what I was working on and how I did my job. I was mentored by people I respected. I could put my energy into my projects instead of navigating politics and temperamental managers. My skills and personality meshed with team’s charter and culture.
I accomplished a lot for those organizations.
I thrived.
Planning for healthcare insurance when you leave your job
If you’re planning to leave a job that provides healthcare insurance – or if you think you may get laid off soon – it is good to know what your options are.
If your company has an internal website with benefits information, check it out. Some companies even have internal sites with sections for “leaving the company” that can help you plan ahead. Find out what happens to your health insurance when you leave. Does it terminate on your last day of employment, or are you covered for the duration of the last premium paid?
In the United States, the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (most commonly referred to as COBRA) allows most employees to continue their employer-provided healthcare insurance by paying for all of the premiums themselves, plus a 2% administration fee.
If your employer currently pays for a percentage of your premiums, you might be shocked at how expensive COBRA can be. Despite the cost, before the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces opened in 2014, COBRA was the best option for many people to have continuous coverage between jobs.
Now there is another option when you lose your employer-provided coverage: purchasing healthcare insurance as an individual from state marketplaces. Marketplaces should offer multiple plans with different levels of coverage that correspond to the cost of the premiums. Don’t skip coverage because you think you can’t afford the premiums – you might qualify for a subsidy. You can find the basics at www.healthcare.gov and link to your state’s marketplace from there.
If you want to enroll in COBRA or a state marketplace plan, you have 60 days to enroll (sometimes 90 days for COBRA) from your last day of coverage.
If you have a Health Savings Account (HSA) or) through your employer-provided plan, it is yours to keep even after you leave. You may be able to use remaining funds to pay for COBRA or marketplace plan premiums.
If you have a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), you will lose those funds after you leave, so use them up! This is a great time to get your eyes checked, buy new glasses, get prescription sunglasses, get contact lenses, see a specialist, or stock up on over-the-counter medicine. If you choose to continue your coverage with COBRA, you can keep your FSA funds, but you can’t apply them towards your premiums.
Even if you’re leaving a job on your own terms, it can be stressful to think about healthcare coverage, especially if you have dependents. Taking a little time upfront to research your options and know how much you will need to pay for premiums can alleviate some of those worries. If you wait until after you quit, just don’t wait too long, since you have a limited amount of time that you are eligible for COBRA or a marketplace plan.
Why are so many people quitting?
Phillip Kane recently published an article in Inc. entitled, “The Great Resignation is Here, and It’s Real.” If you’re unhappy at work, you might like to read it and commiserate with the many thousands of others who are contemplating a job change.
I enjoyed the article because it points out what employers can do to retain staff. Kane writes, “In a word, care.”
I’m thrilled that so many employees are demanding a basic level of respect, and willing to find a new job if they aren’t getting it.
Are you one of them?
Trying to decide if you should quit? You should quit.
People who are unhappy at work often add to their misery by spending a lot of time and energy trying to decide if they will quit. Agonizing over the decision is exhausting.
If I simplify the advice that I’ve heard from dozens of people who quit their jobs into one sentence, it is this:
If you’re unhappy with your job, find a different one.
It is true that there are other considerations, like how difficult it will be to find a better job that pays enough, if you will change fields, and whether you should hold on in case things get better (they usually don’t). You can dwell on details endlessly, making yourself feel worse without getting any closer to a better life. The longer you stay in a bad job, the more it will take a toll on your health and wellbeing.
If your job is making you miserable, don’t make it worse by dragging out the decision of whether you should quit. You should quit.
Put your energy towards finding a better job.
Lots of people are quitting their jobs. How about you?
Lately there have been a lot of news stories about “the great resignation.” Some employees are quitting because they do not want to return to the office after experiencing the benefits of working from home. Others are reevaluating their priorities in life, and want to make changes that help them enjoy more of their working hours.
There are some similarities to how employees felt during and after the housing recession around 2007 – 2012. During the recession, there were mass layoffs and some employers cut benefits. Yet workloads did not change. The remaining employees struggled to fill the gaps and do more work with fewer resources. Employer attitudes were that staff should be grateful to have jobs when many did not.
When businesses started growing again and hiring in greater numbers, employees who were burned out and fed up had more new opportunities to choose from. And they chose them!
This time around, workers seem to feel even more empowered to leave their jobs for something better. A quick internet search for “negotiating working from home” pulls up several pages of results from the past year. And it is not only people seeking remote work who are quitting. Workers are looking for employers who will treat them well. Employees are less likely to put up with bad managers, brutal workloads, or inflexible workplace policies when there are other options.
If you are tempted to leave a bad job but need a little nudge, I’ve got a few nudges in the “quitting” category on my blog Quitting : Truth and Details.
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