We don’t want the same things from work anymore

Things we are no longer chasing, and the end of busywork

For many people, the pandemic was the catalyst that changed our definitions of success and our ambition.

It’s not about racing to the top of the corporate ladder anymore. People pleasing. Overthinking. Overcommitting. The scaffolds that propelled us along in our careers and our lives are breaking down.

Being in a box, or progressing through a series of boxes seems far less appealing now.

The pandemic gave us a rare chance to see behind the curtain and really look at how work is structured and the role it has taken in our lives. We have a chance to recreate this and make it stick before the loudest voices and the ruts of habit have us careering back into old paradigms.

Being busy is losing its cachet as a status symbol. And busywork is being brought into full view. Being shown up to be as absurd as it actually is.

These shifts don’t always happen quickly, and we usually get in our own way. Or we let other people get in our way.

What are we not looking at? What are we ignoring? What are we hoping will just go away? We do this all the time in organizations and in our lives. The problem is that the really important things we ignore rarely go away. They just show up in inconvenient and often painful ways, at the most inopportune times.

What have you been chasing that you suddenly realize you aren’t chasing anymore? As we head into 2024 and back to work for many of us this week, allow yourself the time to think and feel what it is you actually want.