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December 15, 2006
Starting Over Job Fatigue
In the past few weeks, there have been a number of highly publicized and not-so-publicized upheavals at major companies. Some of my friends work at these places and I ask them how they are doing and whether they will leave.
One pattern that is starting to emerge for me, especially amongst the "job jumping" generation I've grown up in, is that people are getting tired. Tired of jumping to a new job and starting over. They've done it so many times that it is wearing them down and they don't want to do it anymore.
As loyalty to a corporation has waned over these last few decades - and I support the selfish behavior of the "job jumping" generation because companies have reduced or removed the reasons why people should be loyal to a company - people have been switching jobs at a huge rate. At one time, it was not looked favorably upon that a resume had a number of companies on it; now it is the norm.
As people have jumped jobs often, they are realizing that starting over in a new job and new company is not easy. The cost of integrating yourself into a new organization and culture is high. You need to rebuild your reputation. You need to rebuild your internal networks and maintain them. You need to learn new ways of doing things. You need to adjust to new styles of working. And the list goes on.
It wears you down to start over again and again. The first few times it is exciting and new; after a while, you get tired of going through the same motions to reestablish yourself in a new place.
It is wearing enough that people are willing to stay in a dysfunctional, negative, or the wrong company when they really should move on.
This bears watching as time goes on.
Posted by dshen at December 15, 2006 11:03 AM
Comments
Agree with everything you note. From your experience, what are some ways to deal w/ or minimize this fatigue? Will we see an increase in teams of people moving together or remaining more clannish in their efforts to start ventures together?
Posted by: hunter at December 15, 2006 06:51 PM
Some thoughts on this... First, I think this phenomenon is relatively new to me, so I don't know if I have experience to say there are time tested solutions. But I'll throw some ideas out there.
First, I think that people need to do the right thing. They need to be develop the self-awareness of when some job is not right for them, and that it is wearing them down or becoming a negative influence on their lives. It is at this moment that they should consider leaving, no matter how many jobs they've had or how tired they are.
Second, people need to be brave and embrace change no matter how scary or draining it is. It is in these situations that we as humans grow. Staying in the comfort zone (even if it is bad for you) just means you won't learn something new. I am a big believer in always learning and growing; it keeps us renewed as human beings in spirit.
Third, to avoid fatigue, one must constantly have an optimistic view of life. They must have faith that the next thing will continue to advance them positively in their lives and be psyched to move onto something new, knowing in their faith that the new thing will advance their lives. And thus, optimistic people will aggressively make and pursue changes in their lives which will accomplish this.
As far as teams moving together, I think this is a good thing. As I work on David Shen Ventures, I see people who have worked together in the past band together to work on something new. In startups there is nowhere to hide; everybody needs to pull their weight and any slacking is exponentially visible. You tend to work with people you know who will deliver and trust. So why not continue to work as a team in many different places if you can deliver every time?
Posted by: DShen at December 15, 2006 09:50 PM
