強(qiáng)迫自己每天上班,日復(fù)一日地以同樣的方式與同樣的人做著同樣的工作。這種情景會(huì)讓你體會(huì)到電影《土撥鼠之日》主角(由比爾·穆瑞扮演)的感受:在一段時(shí)間之后,即便事情還沒(méi)有發(fā)生,主人公對(duì)于接下來(lái)要發(fā)生什么,誰(shuí)會(huì)說(shuō)什么話(huà)都了如指掌。 如果是這樣,類(lèi)似的人有一大把。求職網(wǎng)站Comparably在過(guò)去12個(gè)月中對(duì)近2.1萬(wàn)名美國(guó)雇員進(jìn)行了調(diào)查,詢(xún)問(wèn)他們工作中的壓力來(lái)自于哪些方面,其中一些答案我們都能夠猜得到:惱人的上下班通行、工作時(shí)間長(zhǎng)、同事不好相處,以及糟糕的老板。 但壓力最大的起因可能會(huì)出乎人們的意料:51%的男性和35%的女性稱(chēng),他們最擔(dān)心自己的工作會(huì)“變得停滯不前”。即便是高層人士亦不能夠幸免。近三分之二的高管認(rèn)為自己的工作單調(diào)乏味,該報(bào)告認(rèn)為這一現(xiàn)象“言之有理,因?yàn)樵谶M(jìn)入高層之后,繼續(xù)上升將變得越發(fā)困難。” 尤其是在眼下,工作市場(chǎng)中充滿(mǎn)了機(jī)遇,為什么不換個(gè)工作,從新開(kāi)始呢?Comparably的首席執(zhí)行官及聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人杰森·那扎稱(chēng):“尋找一份新工作需要很多精力。很多人覺(jué)得此舉太費(fèi)神。”有鑒于此,他還表示:“你可能最近在工作中并未做出最好的成績(jī),或處于最好的狀態(tài),因此感到自己遇到了瓶頸或處于‘停滯’狀態(tài)對(duì)你的雇主也沒(méi)有什么好處。” 有什么解決辦法嗎?那扎建議嘗試使用以下四個(gè)步驟給自己充電,恢復(fù)對(duì)工作的激情: 1. 與老板談?wù)劇?/strong>經(jīng)理的工作之一就是培養(yǎng)人才,因此要勇于與自己的上司談?wù)撚嘘P(guān)自己工作的未來(lái),甚至,哪怕你的上司是首席執(zhí)行官。那扎建議:“與你的老板合作,制定接下來(lái)工作的計(jì)劃。如今,只要員工給自己設(shè)立的新挑戰(zhàn)切合公司的發(fā)展目標(biāo),大多數(shù)老板都持接受態(tài)度。”那扎指出,人們進(jìn)行這類(lèi)對(duì)話(huà)的自然偏好在一定程度上可能取決于人們的年齡。他說(shuō):“承認(rèn)自己在職業(yè)中期感到焦慮可能有點(diǎn)恐怖,尤其是你接下來(lái)想做的事可能會(huì)需要更多的資源。千禧一代和Z一代似乎在提要求方面更果敢。”不管自己年齡多大,該問(wèn)就問(wèn)吧。 2. 在工作中培養(yǎng)正確的友誼關(guān)系。在這里,那扎指的并非是自私自利的“你能為我做什么”這種交流,這一現(xiàn)象通常也為交際帶來(lái)了罵名。他指出,那些對(duì)工作失去興趣的員工傾向于與類(lèi)似的同事抱團(tuán),此舉只會(huì)加劇厭倦和停滯感。那扎說(shuō):“態(tài)度是可以傳染的。因此要嘗試著與那些十分樂(lè)觀和積極的員工多接觸,多打交道。此舉不僅能夠帶來(lái)更多樂(lè)趣,還會(huì)改變你對(duì)整個(gè)日常工作前景的看法。” 3. 每天花一小時(shí)學(xué)習(xí)新技能。隨著人們壽命的增長(zhǎng)、固定收益養(yǎng)老金的減少以及社會(huì)保障不穩(wěn)定的前景,職業(yè)周期也逐漸在變長(zhǎng)。那扎指出:“除非你馬上就要退休了,那么你在職業(yè)歷程之上還有很長(zhǎng)的一段路要走。”此外,隨著科技的迅速發(fā)展,你最不愿看到的事情就是:自己依然還在工作大軍中,但自己已經(jīng)落伍了。那扎說(shuō):“終身學(xué)習(xí)的需求是真實(shí)存在的。始終讓你的技能能夠與時(shí)俱進(jìn),因?yàn)槁湮榈拇鷥r(jià)實(shí)在是太大。”學(xué)習(xí)一些新技能,最好是與你和老板所設(shè)定目標(biāo)相關(guān)的技能,此舉是對(duì)抗被淘汰的靈丹妙藥。它還是治療工作厭倦癥的良方,可謂是屢試不爽。 4. 該辭職時(shí)就辭職。假如上述所有的事情你都做過(guò)了,但工作依然毫無(wú)起色。那扎說(shuō):“認(rèn)真審視一下你的雇主是否愿意為你提供有意思的新機(jī)遇并幫助你進(jìn)步。”越來(lái)越多的雇主正試圖打造鼓勵(lì)和培養(yǎng)人才的企業(yè)文化,而且即便找工作這種想法會(huì)讓你有筋疲力盡的感覺(jué),但開(kāi)始尋找下家才是明智的選擇。那扎也說(shuō)過(guò):“如果你真的認(rèn)為,無(wú)論自己做什么,自己在當(dāng)前的工作中也不會(huì)有任何發(fā)展,那么你可能真的入錯(cuò)行了。” 請(qǐng)注意:如果你決定要換工作,一定要仔細(xì)思考在新工作中如何才能避免出現(xiàn)當(dāng)前類(lèi)似的情況。Ultimate Software的人力資源副總裁Kathleen Pai稱(chēng):“一定要清醒地認(rèn)識(shí)到自己的動(dòng)力源到底是什么,以及自己對(duì)成功的定義。” Ultimate Software在《財(cái)富》雜志最佳雇主百?gòu)?qiáng)榜單中排名第8位,其員工保留率據(jù)稱(chēng)達(dá)到了94%,這個(gè)數(shù)字在高流動(dòng)率的軟件行業(yè)來(lái)說(shuō)非常了不起。Pai說(shuō),主要原因在于Ultimate會(huì)為其經(jīng)理提供培訓(xùn),從而幫助員工打造強(qiáng)調(diào)持續(xù)學(xué)習(xí)的職業(yè)道路,其中既包括上升通道,也有平行調(diào)動(dòng),但基本上沒(méi)有“停滯”一說(shuō)。Pai表示:“很多公司都稱(chēng)自己也在開(kāi)展類(lèi)似的工作,但它們通常只是說(shuō)說(shuō)而已。” 這一點(diǎn)千真萬(wàn)確。在決定接受與當(dāng)前工作差不多(或更差)的新工作之前,看看像Glassdoor、Comparably和Vault這樣的網(wǎng)站,并在領(lǐng)英多問(wèn)問(wèn),以便了解過(guò)去和當(dāng)前員工對(duì)該公司的看法和你想象的是否真的一致。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)) 譯者:馮豐 審校:夏林 |
Dragging yourself into work every day, doing the same tasks in the same way with the same people over and over again, can make you feel like Bill Murray’s character in the movie Groundhog Day: after a while, you know exactly what’s going to go down, and who will say what, before it even happens. If so, you’ve got lots of company. When career site Comparably surveyed almost 21,000 U.S. employees in the past 12 months to ask what stressed them out the most about their jobs, some of the answers were predictable: aggravating commutes, long hours, difficult coworkers, and bad bosses. But the biggest cause of stress was one you might not expect: 51% of men, and 35% of women, said they worry most about “becoming stagnant” in their careers. Even people in corner offices aren’t immune. Almost two-thirds of senior executives believe they’re in a rut, which the report notes “makes sense when you’ve reached the top and further progress becomes increasingly difficult.” Especially in this job market, with opportunities thick on the ground, why not just get another job and start fresh somewhere else? “Looking for a new job takes a lot of energy,” says Jason Nazar, CEO and cofounder of Comparably. “Lots of people are feeling too burnt out to make the effort.” In that case, he adds, “you’re probably not bringing your best work, or your best self, to your job lately —so feeling stuck and ‘stagnant’ isn’t doing your employer any favors, either.” So what can you do about it? Nazar suggests trying these four steps to getting re-energized and charged up about work: 1. Talk to your boss. Part of any manager’s job is developing talent, so don’t be shy about bringing up the topic of your future with the person you report to —even, or especially, if that’s the CEO. “Ask for different opportunities outside the normal scope of your job,” Nazar suggests. “Collaborate with your boss to make a plan for what you’re going to do next. Most bosses now would be receptive to the idea of finding you a fresh challenge if it’s in line with the company’s goals.” Your natural inclination to start this conversation, Nazar observes, may depend partly on how old you are. “It’s a little scary to admit you’re feeling restless in mid-career, especially if what you’d really like to do next will require more resources,” he says. “Millennials and Gen Z tend to be more comfortable asking for stuff.” At any age, ask anyway. 2. Cultivate the right friendships at work. Nazar’s not talking about the kind of self-interested what-can-you-do-for-me gladhanding that often gives networking a bad name. He points out that people who are disenchanted with their jobs tend to gravitate toward coworkers who are too, which just reinforces feelings of boredom and stagnation. “Attitude is contagious,” Nazar says. “So try to connect and socialize more with people you know at work who are upbeat and positive. Besides being more fun, it will change your whole outlook on the day-to-day.” 3. Invest one hour a day in learning a new skill. As people live longer, with fewer defined-benefit pensions and a wobbly outlook for Social Security, careers are getting longer. “Unless you’re right on the edge of retirement, you probably have a long way to go in your working life,” Nazar notes. And, as technology advances at warp speed, the last thing you need is to get left behind while you’re still in the workforce. “The need for lifelong learning is real,” says Nazar. “Keep your skills current, because you can’t afford not to.” Learning something new —ideally something related to the goals you and your boss have set— is the antidote to obsolescence. It’s also a time-tested cure for boredom. 4. Know when to quit. Suppose you do all of the above and you’re still stuck. “Take an honest look at whether your employer is willing to give you interesting new opportunities and move you forward,” says Nazar. “Is the company investing in your growth?” More and more employers are trying to build cultures that encourage and develop talent and, even if the idea of a job search strikes you as exhausting, you’d be smart to start looking around for them. As Nazar puts it, “if you really believe you’ll never get anywhere at your current job no matter what you do, then you may really be in the wrong place.” One note of caution: If you do decide to change jobs, think hard about how you’ll avoid getting into a similar rut in your next one. “It’s important to get very clear in your own mind about what drives you, and what success looks like to you,” says Kathleen Pai, vice president of human resources at Ultimate Software. The company, at #8 on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For, claims a 94% employee-retention rate —extraordinary in an industry known for its high turnover. The main reason, Pai says, is that Ultimate trains its managers to coach employees on creating career paths, both upward and lateral, that emphasize constant learning —and minimal, if any, stagnation. “Lots of companies say they’re doing this,” Pai says. “But often, they’re not.” Too true. Before signing on for a new job that could turn out the same as your old one (or worse), check sites like Glassdoor, Comparably, and Vault, and ask around on LinkedIn, to get past and current employees’ take on whether the outfit you’re thinking of joining really walks the talk. |