When did work stop feeling like a calling, and what to do about it now.
Work plays a significant role in our lives; it can fill us with joy or despair, a sense of satisfaction, or boredom; which not only impacts on the time we are at work, but influences the rest of lives as well, our level of energy, our sense of accomplishment, our relationships, and how we spend the rest of our time. Therefore it’s necessary for us to be aware of how work is impacting on us (and our teams), so that we can make the adjustments needed to make sure both our work and personal lives work for us.
How we think about work, and how we view our job impact on how happy we are. It’s been suggested that there are three ways we can view work – as a job that brings in money to support us, a career which gives us a sense of accomplishment or as a calling which they do because it is meaningful or worthy. Those working in charities will tend to fall into this category, of seeing their work as a calling (they’re not usually in it for the money!). And this is important because those who experience their work as a calling tend to be more engaged in their work, more committed and they tend to be happier because their work gives them meaning. All of which supports our wellbeing, making us happier in the long term, and more resilient.
This sounds great doesn’t it, surely everyone working for a charity is happy because of the meaning in their work? Well, we know this isn’t true, staff in the third sector are burning out, staff are becoming disconnected from their work and there are huge recruitment and retention issues. If a calling was enough, then these issues wouldn’t be there for you or your teams.
So, we know that the impact of years of austerity, and the pandemic have contributed to the issues charities are facing, but these are not the only reasons you might lose that feeling of a calling.
You might be experiencing vicarious trauma (the emotional impact of hearing others’ stories of trauma at work) or compassion fatigue (the physical, emotional and psychological impact of helping others) meaning that work no longer feels like it is something you are driven to do because of this impact on you.
It may be that as you’ve progressed up the career ladder, that the tasks you spend your day doing (completing KPI reports, dealing with employee relations issues, sitting in another meeting) bear little connection to the reasons you first wanted to work for a charity. You’re disconnected from what was meaningful to you.
It may be that as life has progressed what is important to you has changed, and the work which was once a calling, no longer is, and is now a means to an end.
If you’re feeling like this, or you feel one of your team is, there are steps that can be taken.
First of all it’s important to consider if you’re burnt out (or experiencing vicarious trauma or compassion fatigue), if this is the case the most important thing is to get support in place to help you manage how you’re feeling.
Next it’s important to take stock of what is important to you now – is this work still meaningful and do you want to continue to pursue it, and how does it fit in with your life now. Are you living to work, or working to live?
If this work is still for you:
Is there the right resources and support in place to do this job?
How can you connect those aspects of the job you don’t enjoy to the bigger picture and what is meaningful. So, how does managing those employee issues support the communities you serve? Perhaps this enables your organisation to deliver the best support they can?
Are there aspects of your job that can be adapted to better suit your strengths, so you can spend more time using them?
If work, whether in your current role, or elsewhere can feeling meaningful, and have the right support and resources in place, you (and your teams) will be in a better position to thrive at work and in life.
To find out more about how I can help you or your teams find their calling again, book a call.