On a global scale, things have gone a bit weird recently. Regardless of political affiliations, you can’t help notice a certain oddness in the White House at the moment, and Downing Street seems to be doing its fair share of the unexpected by calling snap elections and, well, just Boris Johnson alone. Companies merge on a grand scale, while the countries they operate in seem to be moving away from large scale in favour of small independent.
At a more local level, the job market is in a constant state of turmoil as new technologies create new job roles and obsolete old ones. At the same time, traditional skills are in great demand and the skills gap is widening. We are constantly bombarded with information on our phones and computers, and yet a lot of it is unreliable or fake. The world is uncertain for us all, so how do you stay level-headed?
Modern life
The uncertain nature of modern life is probably why there has been a rise in techniques such as ‘mindfulness’ and ‘digital detoxing’ amongst people looking for a respite from the day to day pressure. However, the pressure does return, and the Monday morning feeling is always waiting if your working world isn’t right.
While I am not agreeing or disagreeing with these techniques (they do seem to help some people, so that has to be a good thing), I sometimes wonder if they don’t also present an answer for people hoping for the quick fix. You simply cannot put a plaster over a huge issue and hope it will go away.
Uncertainty in your working life will leak into other areas of your world and start to cause what can become quite serious problems. We all need to feel that our working world has an element of certainty and that it supports our home and leisure activities. That doesn’t mean that we should all be working 9 – 5 strict hours or similar, it means you need to be in a role that pays enough for your wider needs and offers you the work/life balance you need for your personal needs. Keeping a level head in an uncertain world is much easier if you are happy in the world you live in.
An uncertain world
If you feel uncertain about your future in your current role, it is usually a good idea to start by focusing on the simple question of why you feel that way. Is the company struggling? Do you feel you are under achieving? Do you feel undervalued and disinterested?
An uncertain world doesn’t mean you need to be uncertain about your own world. It’s easy to lose focus and forget what your career and development goals were. When we do this, we start to feel uncertain about where our work lives are headed, but often this doesn’t present itself in an obvious way. It shows as stress which leads to all sorts of problems from trouble sleeping to major medical issues.
One way of dealing with an uncertain world then is to focus on your own world and do a sort of career MOT. Does it shape up to where you wanted it to be and do you have job satisfaction? If you do, taking the time to recognise it will help you see the certainty. If it doesn’t shape up, then come and see us and let’s talk through your options. Workplace stress is a major problem, but you don’t need to be one of the statistics.
