An average person in the UK works a whopping 1,730 hours per year or 84,365 over a lifetime. That is a significant percentage of your overall life expectancy and the numbers become even more important if you are doing something that you don’t really like!
Thankfully the pandemic which was largely a horrible experience at the time has left a beneficial legacy for many in the form of the rapid acceleration of the working from home phenomena. The main benefit that people discuss when talking about WFH is work-life balance and the gains to the quality of family life.
There is another major positive that is less talked about, but is also extremely important and quite literally opens up a whole world of opportunity. We are no longer so restricted by postcodes and limited to companies and occupations that are 1 hours drive from our front door.
Coaching is the primmest of examples and was predominantly a face to face interaction before COVID ripped up the rule book. I now have the pleasure of working with clients from all parts of the UK, Europe and even as far afield as South America and Asia.
Unfortunately the real world isn’t all Copa Cabana and Singapore Slings and in the wake of the cost of living crisis, pay still remains the biggest reason for people switching jobs and pursuing pastures new. The gap to second place has closed however and people seeking a better work-life balance comes in just a few percentage points behind. In third place and very interestingly the biggest mover and shaker is a dramatic rise in people changing companies and industries because they feel no passion for their work whatsoever In a 2022 global survey by Mckinsey and Company, 48% of people who had moved jobs had left to join a different sector altogether.
Yours truly is a prime example of this statistic and I feel extremely lucky to have been able to change sectors completely as my own values and beliefs have altered. As a young 20 something there was nothing more I wanted than to be a trader. I have no shame in saying that my motivations where money, excitement and status and I absolutely loved most minutes of it. It was a hell of a ride and I genuinely wouldn’t change any of it. The good was great and the bad contained some excellent life lessons that made me a better a person.
By my mid-thirties and having enjoyed one last massive hoorah, I was no longer motivated by money and wanted away from the mayhem of London and the city.
You can call me lucky if you like, but over 20 years I had earned the right to take some time out and evaluate my next career move and that’s exactly what I did. It wasn’t love at first sight, but coaching and mentoring seemed a reasonable fit for 40 year old me and I decided to take the plunge. I have been taken way outside of my comfort zone and back into education, but I am absolutely loving it and as I write I am very happy with my choices.
My main motivation now is to help people and to be successful in a different environment. Working with traders gives me the fix of my former life and is an area I feel extremely comfortable in. Helping people with their career development is an obvious win win and working with autistic children is quite simply the most rewarding job in the world.
As with anything worth having, getting a job that you consider worthwhile and matches your own values and beliefs will take a great deal of time, effort, determination and an element of risk. However any sacrifice and short term pain will result in upto 85,000 hours of gain and surely has to be worth the gamble?
When you are ready to explore your next career move, message me on LinkedIn or give me call and lets get planning for the future.
Rob