Can you believe 2021 is almost over? As this pandemic continues, life still isn't "normal." In many ways, life may never be as we knew it before March 2020.
I’ve changed and reflected a lot over the past year and a half. This summer, I shared some of my thoughts about the workplace impacts of the pandemic on the Black News Channel’s "State of Play" episode about Work in Post-Pandemic America (check my segment around the 12:15 minute mark).
Since that interview, I’ve also heard from numerous people who seek their next. They're tired of the lip service in their organizations. They want authenticity and accountability.
It's time to stop playing diversity and reevaluate our priorities.
If the pandemic and the very public outcries of racial injustice have taught us anything over the past year and a half, it’s that we only have one life to live. As we approach almost 1 million U.S. deaths from coronavirus, it's time to reflect on where we want to be and what we want to do in the future.
From a work perspective, The Great Resignation is real. Many people don't want to keep doing what they were doing before the pandemic. Unfortunately, quitting their jobs is a luxury that everyone doesn't have.
Several times a month, people ask me how to make a move. While many thoughts are in my "When to Walk Away" guide, I'll share some of them with you.
Develop Your Exit Strategy
Make a plan. Think about what needs to happen for you to get to a place where you are at peace and you're taking care of yourself and your health. That’s what life is about. That is your purpose.
Your Work Should Be about More Than Paying Bills
Stop doing what you've always done, especially if what you've done isn't working. Let's move beyond working for a paycheck and paying bills with limited fulfillment to finding our purpose.
Placement is Everything
Go where you're fulfilled. Go to a place where you are valued. Go to a place where you can grow. You can prosper when you feel as if you belong.
Listen to Your Inner Voice
Listen to everything that people are telling you about how you are responding to them. If you are becoming a grouch and disconnected, pay attention to that. Even if you can't admit that you need a change, others might see it for you.
And at the end of your time in the workforce, I don't want you to be in a place of “Oh, I'm glad it's over.” Every day shouldn't be a countdown to retirement. I want you to be at your retirement party and say, “I know that I made a difference. I know that I did work that mattered and left a legacy for people behind me.”
Walking away happens one step at a time.