words by Angela Burke
We’re becoming more and more familiar with the term ‘wellbeing” and what it means for our life, but what about what it means for our career? Our career can be one of the biggest stressors in life and the aspect most in need of wellness, but where do we start with cultivating career wellbeing? In my opinion, it’s a topic that has been neglected in the wellness world yet one that we really need to start talking about.
A great first step is becoming aware of how we feel towards our working day. Some of us will tap into feelings of resentment as work takes us away from valuable family time, some will notice a lack of fulfilment while others will feel overwhelmed and stressed. These feelings have a huge impact on our overall wellbeing and with time can affect both our performance and attitude at work. I recommend having a quarterly career check-in so that you’re in a position to catch these feelings early and decide the best course of action navigating forward.
When it comes to assessing our general wellbeing we can easily assess whether we’ve been exercising enough, drinking enough water and getting adequate down time. We can apply a similar approach when assessing our career wellbeing by identifying what we’re lacking and what we need more of. This will look different depending on your life stage, your financial needs, your overall wellbeing and how much experience you have under your belt.
During my workshops, I regularly discover that those who have a greater level of career wellbeing feel supported and appreciated at work, have the flexibility and work-life balance they desire to pursue their lifestyle needs and feel engaged in the work they’re carrying out. Those with lower levels tend to be highly stressed, lacking work-life balance and feeling underappreciated.
It’s all good and well understanding what we need more of in order to improve our career wellbeing but the harder part is putting plans in motion to achieve this. Setting healthy boundaries and having honest conversations both inside and outside of work are key to achieving more of what you need. Habit-stacking can support you to implement change and checking in with yourself each Monday morning will make it clear which batteries are running low and need a little extra focus.
For more career advice and support, including workshops, webinars and resources
visit angelaburke.ie @angelaburke.ie Photography: Susie Kelly.
Read more in The Spring Edit of GalwayNow, on shelves now.
