Self-worth and your job

How much do you tie your definition of self to your job?

This week, my professional association published a blog post about the implications of being labelled “non-essential.” Of course, millions of people got first-hand experience in recent months, as businesses closed in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. On one hand, the designation makes perfect sense. Someone had to determine what was completely necessary to remain open. On the other, it’s makes sense that your self esteem might take a hit if you are deemed to be not essential.

I have wrestled with this in recent months. I scaled my business way down to take over primary parenting duties of my daughter. It was the right decision and I had the luxury of being able to do it. But, I felt like I lost myself in the mix. What am I giving to the wider world when I spend days on end nagging my kid to keep on task with her math homework?

For all the talk of what “the new normal” may look like, I think very few people have really thought about what happens if new normal looks almost nothing like old normal. What if you will never go back to that work you did before? Or you never return to that salary you had before?

And most importantly, how will you define yourself without those things? Join me here to dive deeper into this idea.

Do you need a job search strategy to kick-start the next phase of your career? Ask about how careerified can help!