When many of us start out in our careers we envision ourselves growing our knowledge dream of one day becoming a manager within our field of expertise. At some point, we realize that, in order to continue to develop our level of expertise and become an authority, we must take on a higher level of accountability. I know that for me, as a young professional, I saw being a manager as a mark of distinction.
When we think of growing in our respective profession, we sometimes don’t consider all of the tradeoffs that we may have to make along our journey to continued upward mobility. So, this post looks at some of the tradeoffs related to 1) Family; 2) Friends; 3) Time off; 4) Wellbeing; and, 5) Spirituality.
- Family – Ask almost anyone to describe the most important part of their life, and without hesitation, they’ll likely say that their family is it. Our family is often the number one reason why we pursue upward career mobility. We dream of giving our spouse and children nice things and sometimes helping our extended family when they need it. Yes, along with upward career often comes welcomed increases in pay. So, it should not be a surprise that along with the larger paycheck comes a greater demand for our time. That means that there may be fewer opportunities to attend your child’s little league, soccer, basketball, or football games. You may not make all of your date nights with your spouse. Or you may not be able to make it home two states away to see your sick parent. Instead, you may sometimes have to rely on updates from siblings and other family members. The larger paycheck will likely allow us to live a more comfortable lifestyle, like buy a better house, drive a better ride, take that dream vacation, save more for retirement, afford a better education for our children, buy our mom that new washing machine when hers goes out, or pay for our dad’s car repair. I’m just sayin’. Some would consider that a pretty nice return on your time investment.
- Friends – Before we became a manager, we hung out with the work gang for lunch every day. Now, we may consider ourselves fortunate if we get to take a lunch break at all. When we do get to take a lunch, it may be with our new peers within the organization, or with the boss. Guess what, though, we likely will not be back within the hour. We can no longer share little business secrets that we learned at the water cooler with colleagues whom we consider close friends. Also, we should not be surprised if some of our former close friends are not happy for our new-found success…especially if we are now their manager. Our higher level of accountability will require the relationship to change a bit. It does not have to be an unpleasant change, though, if everyone treats each other with respect, keeps the lines of communication open, and the staff meets performance expectations.
- Time Off – As a manager, especially those in higher-level management positions, such as department/division heads, Presidents/CEOs/COOs, we are expected to be available at a moment’s notice to address the organization’s needs. This means that we may have to postpone our planned time off on occasion. It also means that we may forfeit leave time each year that we were unable to take off due to work demands. The tradeoff may be that as managers we may accrue leave at a higher rate than we would be able to take off in a year anyway. Also, hopefully, when we are ready to retire, hopefully, we can use that left-over leave time as a service credit to get us enjoying the fruits of our years of labor even earlier.
- Wellbeing – We’ve always heard of the stresses that men face on their jobs each…especially those in executive positions. Well, in March of this year Good Morning America (GMA) reported on a study conducted in France that linked stressful jobs to the development of Type 2 diabetes in women. It determined that women who considered their jobs to be mentally tiring should a 21% higher of developing the condition over a twenty-two (22) year observation period. Dr. Ashton, GMA’s medical editor, shared that the study recommended that study participants meditate daily, exercise regularly, eat a low-fat diet, and let go of guilt. People, regardless of gender, or career level, it is imperative that we live a healthy lifestyle. I have struggled with my weight for most of my life and now that I am in my early fifties, I want to win this battle in hopes of being around to spend time with my grandchildren. I try to be more conscious of my food choices. I wear a fitness tracker that reminds me to take a short walk away from my office each hour. I also make time to exercise more often. I have not perfected my routine, but I do better now than before. Those of us who have a demanding job should be intentional about our wellbeing and get regular medical checkups, or we may not be around long. Even if we are, remember that money cannot buy health.
- Community/Spirituality – When we begin to climb the corporate ladder, one of the first areas to suffer can be our spiritual life. Whereas we used to actively participate in ministries and on committees, we may now miss meetings and soon, even miss attending worship services with our family. In addition, taking work home often may also start to interfere with our prayer and study time. Before long, we could find ourselves feeling disconnected spiritually, which is definitely not a positive trend. We must be vigilant and take action quickly to restore balance in our lives.
These are some of the trade-offs that career advancement can present. It is not impossible, though to maintain or get back in balance and enjoy our career and personal lives simultaneously. I recommend that we become as intentional about our family, other relationships, downtime, wellbeing, and spirituality as we are about our career success. After our son’s grades dropped a bit 4th quarter of last school term, my husband and I realized that we had been unfair to him. I had recently been promoted and my husband was studying for another professional certification. It’s funny, that during a drive to church one Sunday morning while our son spent the first part of his summer break with my mom and sister, my husband and I discussed our plans to do better by our son when he returned home. Then, during church service that Sunday, our pastor, Dr. Tar-U-Way RA Bright, Sr., shared with the congregation that he had made a similar promise regarding his children after his son, “Jr.” expressed his appreciation when his dad attended football camp with him. So, even spiritual leaders experience the same life struggles that we everyday people do.
Just remember, that just as we psyche ourselves into believing that we can attain the next career goal, we can psyche ourselves into managing our time better so that we can be fair to other commitments that we have as well.
Career Success to you!
