The Insider Guide to Careers
Insider information, secrets and tips about getting hired and building careers. For employees and job candidates.
Here is a thought as you begin the new year. As you look at one more year of work in front of you, do an audit of where you stand with respect to three parameters: workplace, health and family.
If you look at the function called success, it means different things for different people. Some say that you can optimize two out of the three, but not all three. For example, if you take care of yourself and are successful at work, your family takes a beating. If you take care of yourself and your family, your workplace performance will suffer. Finally, if you take care of your workplace and your family, your personal health will take a toll. These ideas are too pessimistic, in my opinion. The categories are too broad, and it is not like all these are independent categories.
I offer a more realistic perspective: when you are young, you have time and energy but no money. When you are mid-career, you have energy and money but no time. In your old age, you will have time and money but no energy. So, waiting for too long is not an optimal strategy to hit your goals in life. I propose of more holistic way to look at the idea called success and choose those parameters where you can drive the biggest change. For the parameters, you cannot drive forward; at least put some minimum effort to prevent further sliding. Remember, you don’t need to excel in all areas; you just need to put the bare minimum effort in some to prevent them from deteriorating.
This is the formula I propose, where F refers to function.
F(Success) = F(workplace health) + F(personal health) + F(family health)
where,
1) Success = holistic success where the mind keeps tabs on each activity and its progress. This will ensure you get a good night’s sleep.
2) Workplace health (9 parameters)
3) Personal health: (7 parameters)
4) Family health (5 parameters)
There are twenty-one points here under three parameters. Ask yourself if your answer is yes or no for each of these questions. Give yourself one point for all questions. This is how you interpret the results.
1) You are doing well if you have a minimum score of the following in all sections:
Workplace health – 4 and more
Personal health – 3 and more
Family health – 2 and more
2) If you have scores that are lower than these, there should be some worry about the path you have taken. It may not be sustainable in the long run. Maybe you are looking just to maximise compensation, and it is taking a toll on everything else.
This audit is not just for employees who have spent a long time in corporate. Working as a faculty and meeting the best students in the world, the situation is no better. Some students are guided solely by compensation, especially in high-frequency trading, investment banking, and startups. They grudgingly work with plans to retire from their high-pressure jobs when they reach the age of 30 or 35. What a waste of talent and what a perverted view of the possibilities of life!!
Coming back to these audit scores, do talk to someone you trust (someone experienced in your sector) if you are worried about your scores. These are some of the issues that Careerbolt is trying to solve and provide answers.
I am always around if you have questions or want to know more.
