Tired of Your Job? Maybe It's Time to Ask the Tough Questions

You may have wondered, as I did in a previous post,  "am I tired of my job, or just tired?"  So you took a nap, had a long, restful night sleep, had a nice weekend off, did a little soul searching and guess what, you are still tired. What is this all about? Maybe, just maybe it is your job. Let's play with this a while, I will.

All things considered, I have been thinking about my job lately.  What things considered? The lack of time to do anything beyond the day to day, the attention the day to day details demand and more directly, the fact that I have very little energy left for myself or my family. I threw out the idea of me taking the summer off and going back at it in the fall. My husband's response, "how about me?" Ahh, the over stressed, over committed family of today. Needless to say, although we  both continue to work , there was value in opening the way for a committed approach to family focus.

I found value at the SHRM Annual Conference here in Vegas this week. I participated in the course "HR Issues in the Public Sector: Meeting Critical Challenges" sponsored by Harvard Business Review Publishing. Believe it or not, I considered withdrawing from the course and conference a few weeks ago when I felt overwhelmed by work demands coupled with recent business travels. The monetary cost of doing so on such short notice was too high so off I went to Vegas, begrudgingly.

Needless to say, I was very impressed by the conference - it was superbly organized, the attention to detail was second to none, the service and the presentations first class. There were many "golden nuggets" thrown my way during the conference (worthy of a post of their own) but there was one in particular, thrown to me at about 5:00 p.m. today, that I now believe was the reason I was here. This nugget was presented by Robert M. Galford, Center for Executive Development, and co-author of Your Leadership Legacy in his presentation, "Legacy and the Public Sector Leader."

The nugget was presented in the context of strategic and personal questions to ask yourself in consciously planning your legacy. Without further ado, here they are:

• Is it fundamentally possible to make the impact that I hope to?
• Are the challenges/requirements to accomplish this at my present job or in my present role insurmountable or achievable
• Is this how I want to continue my career?
• Is there something next, something greater, or more exhilarating, or perhaps less or "differently" frustrating?

Where am I now? My current role is not the role in which I want to continue my career. I am seeking something greater and more exhilarating. There are aspects of my role that I enjoy and get value from and there are distinct contributions I make to the organization.  Personally, the totality of my role and contributions are not what I want for myself. It is time for a change.

Asking myself the questions above, yes, it is fundamentally possible to make the impact I hope to and no, the challenges in my present role and within the organization are not insurmountable. There is one main reason why people leave organizations and for me, this is the very reason why I will stay: my supervisor. 

Now is the time to take HR to the next level and I can bring it there. I have to bring it there. Is it where the organization wants it to go? I don't know. What do I know? I am confident that when I bring the ideas to the table, they will be listened to. Unlike the odds at the casino, this is one thing that you can take to the bank and I can't ask for any more than that.

Comments

[Wally Bock]

Your point about supervisors is well taken. Good supervisors are the reasons that people stay with companie. Bad supervisors drive people out the door. Sadly, though, less than 10 percent of US training budgets are spent on supervisors and supervisors in many companies receive no training in how to do the supervision part of their job. Also, sad is that we don't ask the right questions necessary to select people for promotion who are likely to do good jobs as a supervisor.

[wayne]

I totally agree!
Most supervisors do not look at an individual employee's work performance, rather than the overall production of the group. An individual's contribution should never go unnoticed because more times than not they are included in the group's shortcomings. No one likes to give 100% to any project and not be recognized for their efforts.
Morale has the most effect on any group and it is the job of supervision to keep morale up! It doesn't cost the company anything to say "You are doing a great job" or "good job" to a worker that deserves it. It will however increase production of most employees. Just knowing that supervision is satisfied with job performance gives a little more confidence and feeling of job security that will keep them motivated.

[Nick]

I really appreciated reading this post. I have been focused on college for two years now, while at the same time building a good reputation with my job. However, along the way, I have become what I like to call a bounce-ball supervisor. I am there when they need me, but when promotion time comes, I do not get the raise and the position.

However, they are quick to point out when there is nobody available that "I am the man for the job." After almost two and a half years, I feel used and tired. I am tired of going back into the role of average worker and then when I handle situations myself (which I do regularly) being chastised for not using the people in charge, that are at the same ability level as me. I feel as though it's a trust issue, and that it's become poison.

I want to stay, but am tired of being called a good leader and then not promoted when good leaders are needed. If anyone has a different outlook, please advise me. Maybe there is something that I cannot see, but from my angle, after two years, I am being used and left to work at the average level when they don't need me. At first it was fun to step up, but now, I feel that I want to move up or move out. Maybe that's just my Pisces talking as well, as I often get unchallenged and bored with a job within a few years anyhow. As soon as I feel like I learned everything I can, I simply get tired and want to move on.

The other problem is that I am in school. Although I am not sure yet what it is that I want to do with my degree, I know that I am working fervently towards it and that is my goal. The job doesn't pay enough anyway to live out here, and that is another reason why have started to lose love for the job, without the promotion, life is going to get harder for me to live. And when someone tells you everyday, you are at the level, but you never get it, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that they love keeping you as a Reserve, but do not want to pay you to run the show...just allow you to do it.