While the wake of a robust work culture has led to a
lot of positives including the emergence of a sincere work ethic, it certainly
has had its own pitfalls like that of an obsessive workaholism. Workaholism, in recent years, has skyrocketed as a culture among the young people and the
youth is leaving no stone unturned to show it off. Young and ambitious
professionals and entrepreneurs are using every last bit of their energy to get
better in their jobs, to grab that promotion, or to avail that opportunity.
And that’s a beautiful thing! Until it backfires.
How on earth can hard work ever backfire, you must be wondering?
Well, that’s exactly what we shall be discussing in this blog post.
When I say your hard work and obsession may backfire,
don’t get me wrong – all I mean over there is your obsession may, there are
possibilities, sometime cause you to be short-sighted, or limit you from
looking at the bigger picture. And that backfires – that exactly is what
hinders your career trajectory.
Looking at the bigger picture is always a necessity,
provided the rapidly changing economies we are living in and the terribly
transient opportunities it’s offering us with. The world is transitioning every
hour, at the fastest rate ever in the entire history of humankind, and so are
the career possibilities and market realities. Every specific career choice
that you can point your fingers at shall no longer be the same just after one
year. And in such a fast-paced market, the only way to survival is think less
about the immediate specific realities, and focus more on the bigger picture
and futuristic probabilities.
And your obsession with your job or current career
choice is hindering you from having this futuristic approach to your career
trajectory. How, you ask? Here is how:
If you are obsessive and are having a toxic
workaholism, chances are you are ignoring those shining opportunities just
alongside – those excellent career prospects you could grab only if you plan to
shift your career trajectory a little. Only if you agree to be a little more
flexible. Only if you can devote a little more time for self-development and a
little less obsession to your job. ‘Grass on the other side looks greener’, I
agree, but that’s no reason to shift to the other side when the grass there is
really greener.
Secondly, those overtime you’re putting in at your
corporate office might mean that you are missing genuine networking
opportunities outside. Networks matter, no matter who tells you otherwise. And
having a set of trusted connections that includes people other than your boss
and colleagues helps a lot!
Third, globalisation has one significant implication
that is often overlooked – globalisation rewards profusely to career
trajectories that have an interdisciplinary blend. Look around you and you’ll
understand – every job or profession that’s in demand has some sort of
inter-disciplinary element involved therein, be it a technology lawyer, a
social entrepreneur, or a businessman who knows coding. And sticking to your
current job in a single-minded manner means you miss an opportunity to go
inter-disciplinary. In addition to these, there are a lot of other
disadvantages to obsessive workaholism that you can easily deduce once you
start paying attention.
So, the solution?
Embrace
flexibility!
A flexible, open-ended career plan is the need of the
information era. Embrace flexibility in your career plans and choices. Have
back up plans and be prepared to navigate through uncertainties. Take risks
while you’re still young and carefree. Work hard on yourself – develop the
skills in demand so that you can be confident while switching jobs. Value soft
skills and network over money and other hard assets. The latter still matter,
but not more than the former; at least not in the formative years of your
career. Work for a brand ‘You’. Build an identity for yourself beyond your job
and profession. Make sure people will still recruit you and your skills will
still be in demand even if the industry you’re currently employed in happens to
crush down in the next decades. Meet people outside your industry, ask them for
talks over coffee – explore possible inter-industry projects that you can
undertake. Write for industries other than the one you’re currently working in,
while relating the two via your writings – publish those writings before an
audience you want to network with. And all the while, keep reconsidering and
making necessary modifications to your career plan.
As the LinkedIn cofounder says in the book ‘Start up
of You’, replace ‘Aim, Set, Fire’ with ‘Aim, Fire, Aim, Fire,…’!
I wrote this post for Opportunity Desk, and it originally appeared here.
