It’s Just a Job ...

A friend recently shared a workshop icebreaker technique she had just experienced. It was simply to describe oneself, starting with the words, "I am a....." without mentioning one's job title or type of work involved in. Sounded simple, but give it a whirl and see how instinctively we revert to work-based definitions of self. We tie so much of our personal identity to work and career, that the lines between these different parts are not just blurred, but almost evaporated.. 

We all know the wise old people say "don't put all your eggs in one basket". Surprisingly, that is precisely what we all do in relation to work. Some of us even sign non-compete agreements that legally bind us to that same basket even when we've moved on!.

My husband and I have battled to segregate our lives and personal identities from our work. With both of us working in the HR domain, it was not an easy journey. We deliberately don't talk about work at home, and consciously choose to be segregators rather than integrators. Work is work and our personal life is us - the real "us". 

Many people don't do this, hence have difficulty with the icebreaker question. People today generally identify themselves as Accountants, Analysts, CEO's, etc. Wouldn't it be a beautiful thing if more people intuitively answered this question by saying, "mother, husband, great swimmer, bad liar"? Or even "party animal"?

Over the course of leading too many company restructures and presiding over countless heart-wrenching exit discussions, the most typical first response to being told they were being let go, was confusion and uncertainty. Typical words would be "What should I do now", "that's who I've been for so long" and "'what will I tell my family". 

Over-blending one's personal identity with work or even employer is a larger individual problem than some might think. It has the potential to negatively impact self-esteem and well-being, and given that employers are striving for exactly that through employer branding exercises, hugely i difficult too.

Defining or rediscovering one's own persona outside of a work context is liberating and an important step in reclaiming one's own mojo. The first step could be as simple as engaging in activities that you fancy doing, like drawing, exercising, cooking, partying, swimming. Literally anything that makes you smile. 

A larger step is building a side hustle that can one day be your back up plan, retirement plan, or source of inspiration and excitement. This could also be a way to redefine your skills and capabilities outside of your current career context. It doesn’t have to be big (although it may well be!), and is more about proving to yourself that you are capable of achieving whatever you set your mind to, outside of your job.

A side hustle could be starting a small business on the side or simply freelancing on projects that excite you. Of course, this could even be in your area of expertise if not necessarily your exact current job. I know a reward analyst with great Excel modelling skills who does gigs building Excel templates for people that may or may not be reward-related. He just loves building Excel models. 

The fact that you control the terms of the choices you make (which projects to work on and being fully responsible for the output) will turbo-charge your self-esteem and confidence. You may even find a swagger in your step as a result!

Do something about the future of work, for yourself, today. Sculpt your personal identity in the same way you might sculpt your body through exercise. You can do it!

A by-product may just be that you fall in love with work all over again.

And who doesn't want to fall in love again? 

ABOUT ONE CIRCLE

One Circle is a smart collaboration workspace where businesses hire HR consultants on-demand over a technology enabled ecosystem. Completely virtual, giving you access to quality HR consultants, from around the world and across the employee life cycle, All in one place.

A South African start-up coming to life by global citizens with Human Resources expertise – an HR workspace for high growth companies.