Why quitting your job isn´t always the answer
One of the most common misconceptions of career coaching is that the goal is to quit your current job and find a new one that fits you better. Finding a new opportunity can be a great step. When you are looking to grow skills, increase your salary, or when you want better work/life balance, sometimes the answer is finding a new place that fits your needs.
But quitting your job is not always the answer. When there are lots of aspects of your job that you enjoy, leaving means saying goodbye to all those elements as well. Whether it is those amazing coworkers that have become friends, the short travel distance or the content of the job, you have chosen that job for a reason. It might be worth reflecting on how you can improve your current situation without giving it up.
Just like our relationships, our work situation reflects a lot of our patterns, beliefs and deep-rooted feelings. Whether we are conscious of it or not, we bring our life experiences, upbringing, fears, doubts, hopes and wishes into the workplace with us. When we move to a new role without addressing those feelings and beliefs, we will probably fall into the same dynamics in our new workplace.
Quitting your job means quitting the good parts as well
I recently held a survey in my network, where I asked people to share the challenges they experience at work. The answers varied from generational differences between coworkers, unclear expectations, navigating work-life balance and the fear of criticism and making mistakes. There was only one thing everyone had in common: everyone experienced challenges.
At the same time, the majority of people said they were planning to stay in their current job. While there were parts of the job they found frustrating or difficult there were also many parts that they enjoyed. The people they worked with, the work itself or the financial stability their job gave them were mentioned as elements they were not willing to give up.
Quitting your job can feel like a fresh start, leaving behind the things that bothered you for a new environment. But it also means giving up the parts that you love. Making small but significant changes to your current situation can signficantly change how you experience your work. There are certain things you have no control over, but reflecting on the parts that bother you can help you improve your day-to-day experience. Figuring out your own needs, and expressing them to others. Finding the tools to manage feeling stressed or overwhelmed. Exploring new ways to interact with coworkers that are different from you. The obstacles you experience at work can be a great opportunity for growth.
Your work situation is a reflection of your patterns
We all have certain patterns that keep occurring in our lives. These patterns are as unique as we are. For some, it might be the feeling that you work a lot harder than your coworkers, and that you don´t get the appreciation you deserve. It might be finding it difficult to work with coworkers that have a very different perspective from your own, or feeling an enormous amount of pressure to perform well. You might feel like you always end up in a job that offers no room for growth or find yourself always doubting whether you are good enough at what you do. Reflecting on whether this is only happening in your current job or if this is something that keeps coming up in your life can give you great insight.
We all have childhood wound that have left an imprint, and previous experiences that made us feel disappointed or hurt. When we don´t take the time to untangle and process these feelings, we look at the world through the perspective of that wound. The workplace, where you are often surrounded by people that you did not choose as your friends, can bring up a lot of these wounds.
Often when I work with clients, they realize that their dominant manager bothers them so much because they remind them of their parent. Or they learn that they always take on more work than they can handle because they have a deep-rooted fear of not being good enough.
When you process the original feelings of that wound, you will change the way you show up in the world, and at work. You will no longer be stuck in a loop, where you keep recreating the original pattern.
If you experience recurring patterns in your work life, it is likely that you will recreate the pattern in a new workplace. Exploring the beliefs, emotions, fears and desires behind the pattern can help you see what is truly going on and develop the tools to do your part in creating a better situation for yourself.
If you do decide that a new opportunity is what is best for you, you can bring a new energy and perspective on your needs and desires to the new role.
If you experience recurring patterns in your work life, or if you are not sure whether you should stay in your current job, you are invited to have a free introduction call with me.