Opportunity Cost of Ignoring Feelings
What is a career? What career progression is generally accepted? What is a career change?
I often ask myself these questions these days. Society's generally accepted definition of career progression could be defined as growing knowledge and responsibility, married with promotions and an increasing salary, in a specific industry. The key words being "specific industry". This is a very industry and company centric view and not a very human centric view. It allows for people to easily make job changes within an industry but it hampers career changes, across industries, tremendously. Interestingly it is the definition that we all give in to and tend to use whether as hiring managers or job seekers. Why is that?
Risk aversion may be the main culprit. Employers and employees are all guilty of this - en masse. The roots for this aversion to risk taking are very real of course - and they are financial. If a company's business is building airplanes it had better have employees who know something about building airplanes. If you, an employee, have earned your living comfortably in aeronautical engineering you will not want to risk your earnings by switching to a field you have no, or little, knowledge about. The risks are too great to the company's revenue and to the employee's income. True. But what about other risks? Should we be averse to other risks?
Are boredom, monotony and lethargy risks? Is the lack of passion a risk? What about a void of ideas and innovation? These are risks that are clearly hard to measure and, as a result, our society tends to ignore them when weighing options off against each other. What if we could quantify the value of passion, diversity and excitement? What if the value of allowing someone to follow their noses, their gut feelings, could be quantified? What is the value of the energy and excitement generated by one's desire for change as it lies unused within someone? Would employers be more willing to take a risk if it could be quantified? Would employees be more willing to make a career change rather than just a job change? Would employers end up with a more diverse and dynamic employee set?
We are no where near being able to put a value on these psychological feelings and so we should not kid ourselves into thinking that society will systemize their inclusion in decisions any time soon. This should not, however, cause us, as individuals, to ignore these very real risks to our own potential. It happens that people get tired of a profession. We lose interest, lose passion. Old ideas and interests come back and a desire to switch and start anew can be quite strong. New passions and dreams arise. With them an amazing energy and potential starts swelling. Businesses and individuals need to start harnessing this power. The first step it is to stop ignoring it.
Interestingly society elevates those organizations and individuals that have taken these unquantifiable risks into consideration and have reinvented themselves. We dream of others when, most likely, we have our own dreams just within reach, within us.
Let me know what you think about what you have just read. Please and thanks!
I often ask myself these questions these days. Society's generally accepted definition of career progression could be defined as growing knowledge and responsibility, married with promotions and an increasing salary, in a specific industry. The key words being "specific industry". This is a very industry and company centric view and not a very human centric view. It allows for people to easily make job changes within an industry but it hampers career changes, across industries, tremendously. Interestingly it is the definition that we all give in to and tend to use whether as hiring managers or job seekers. Why is that?
Risk aversion may be the main culprit. Employers and employees are all guilty of this - en masse. The roots for this aversion to risk taking are very real of course - and they are financial. If a company's business is building airplanes it had better have employees who know something about building airplanes. If you, an employee, have earned your living comfortably in aeronautical engineering you will not want to risk your earnings by switching to a field you have no, or little, knowledge about. The risks are too great to the company's revenue and to the employee's income. True. But what about other risks? Should we be averse to other risks?
Are boredom, monotony and lethargy risks? Is the lack of passion a risk? What about a void of ideas and innovation? These are risks that are clearly hard to measure and, as a result, our society tends to ignore them when weighing options off against each other. What if we could quantify the value of passion, diversity and excitement? What if the value of allowing someone to follow their noses, their gut feelings, could be quantified? What is the value of the energy and excitement generated by one's desire for change as it lies unused within someone? Would employers be more willing to take a risk if it could be quantified? Would employees be more willing to make a career change rather than just a job change? Would employers end up with a more diverse and dynamic employee set?
We are no where near being able to put a value on these psychological feelings and so we should not kid ourselves into thinking that society will systemize their inclusion in decisions any time soon. This should not, however, cause us, as individuals, to ignore these very real risks to our own potential. It happens that people get tired of a profession. We lose interest, lose passion. Old ideas and interests come back and a desire to switch and start anew can be quite strong. New passions and dreams arise. With them an amazing energy and potential starts swelling. Businesses and individuals need to start harnessing this power. The first step it is to stop ignoring it.
Interestingly society elevates those organizations and individuals that have taken these unquantifiable risks into consideration and have reinvented themselves. We dream of others when, most likely, we have our own dreams just within reach, within us.
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