When conversation heats up in the work-world, we’re listening to learn and bring you the topics worth talking about. Here’s one you might want to think about!
There’s a Yiddish word, “shvach” which means to feel “weak, listless, enervated, slightly nauseated.” Without knowing the word, thousands and thousands of people are feeling shvach every day about the jobs and careers they used to love before the pandemic. Where once they felt excited and energized, now there are entire sections of the workforce today who have just lost their zest and passion for their work.
According to a recent article from Fast Company, it’s not a lack of motivation to blame that’s causing the shift, but something even deeper to the core. Instead, it’s a shift of someone’s value system.
Our value systems help us figure out what in our lives are important to us – they serve as our North Star. It’s normal for a person to find their value system shaken up after a major life event, life tragedy, or illness.
“The pandemic led all of us to face a significant number of significant challenges,” the article shares. “Just about everyone has either gotten COVID or knows someone who has. Indeed, many of us know people who have died from the disease. On top of that, disruptions to the workplace have led people to rethink the importance of their jobs relative to other ways they might spend their time.”
If the last few years have left you reevaluating what you want from your life and what’s important to you… you aren’t alone!
“One force behind the Great Resignation is a desire on the part of a large number of people to realign their work with their values. For other people, it has meant seeking additional education in order to open up new paths. For many others, this shift in values has led to a de-emphasis of work relative to other life goals”
Rae Hames, Sandy Chief Brand Officer and Co-Founder, shares her thoughts.
Of *course* our values are shifting – as a society, we’ve just weathered a global pandemic that shook us into realizing that work is just what we do, not who we are,” she explains. “Plus, it’s totally normal for one’s priorities to change over time anyway – if we all stayed the same forever, nothing would ever move forward! Personally, I welcome this collective shift in values that prioritize community and well-being, and I hope that wake-up call will lead to companies building better-resourced teams filled with people who are passionate about their industry, company, and role on the team. It’s kind of a no-brainer, but why would any company want to rely on employees who are only in it for the money? That’s not a recipe for long-term success for anyone involved!
Interested in learning more about this? Check out the full article on Fast Company here!
