They’re Lucky to Have You: Four Conditions for Thriving at Work
TL;DR: You are more than what you produce. Your work can be a meaningful part of your life without becoming the center of it. We've found four conditions that help people thrive in a work context, even in an era of layoffs and AI anxiety: the right boss, agency, the right team culture, and a clear sense of values. Build those, and you make room for a life that's bigger than your job.
I was going to write about AI again for this post. Some additional thoughts that emerged from our Toronto Tech Week panel.
But then I saw this tiktok post. Watch it to the end if you can.
https://www.tiktok.com/@oldfashonedhussle/video/7649908966884953358
It reminded me why we created Re-Work. Yes, because we had healed our own burnout and wanted to show others how. Not because we wanted to work more and be more productive and help others do the same. But because we wanted to live more and help others do the same.
We want to help people live lives of meaning in which work is a part but not the centre. We want people to lean into the brief time they have on earth and enjoy it as much as possible. But we also know how hard life can be. Which is why we created the Re-Work equation in a way that invites in play and creativity and rest, things that help you move through those hard times. It’s why we want to help you detach your sense of self-worth from your job, title, or salary. Because you are more than your job.
We’re here to live. You’re here to live. Not to produce or consume. And it’s easy to forget that. To get caught up in the horrors oligarchs and their feeble technologies are trying to inflict on us as workers. But we are more than what we produce. Far more. We are people, human beings, who were born at this specific time with our specific gifts.
Photo by Alex Alvarez on Unsplash
So, yah. That’s why Re-Work exists. Not to lament the uncertainty of this time and the unfairness of incomplete technologies being celebrated as the ultimate solution to the corporate efficiency problem (that problem being people and having to pay them). But to remind people that they are more than what they do. To show them a path to meaning that engages them in the joys and beauties of life in addition to the work they do.
I often say the most important lesson we teach in our Recognize workshop is to remind people that they aren’t lucky to have a job (in any economy good or bad); their job is lucky to have them. The unique light and human who has lived and experienced things in ways only they can and brings that perspective and skill and special magic to any work environment. But you also have to be intentional about your work context in order to allow space for meaning in your larger life.
Here are four conditions we found to be necessary to survive and thrive in a corporate context in this era of uncertainty. One of our community members helped us refine this list based on her own experience of working and leading in a toxic corporate environment but finding a way to thrive.
Four Conditions for Meaning in Any Work Context
A boss who is both a sponsor and mentor
Agency and space to try, be curious, fail, and succeed
A team culture that suits your goals and needs (team, not organization, and suits you, not necessarily good or bad)
A strong sense of what you value and your goals.
These all allow for healthy boundaries and detachment from your job and title as the signifier of your worth. Also important is having a life outside of work.
THIS is what we try to teach through the Re-Work equation. And what we hope you get from us each time we share or teach. Take a moment to note which conditions you have in your work right now and what might be missing. The Re-Work community is here to help you gain them.
Because ultimately we want you to live lives of meaning whether your context is corporate, creative, or something else. And we hope that’s the goal you have for yourself too.
Because we aren’t here to just work. We’re here to live.
Easy Action Steps
How do you thrive at work in an uncertain economy?
Focus on the conditions you can shape rather than the ones you can't. The four conditions allow you to hold healthy boundaries and maintain your sense of self-worth, whatever the economy might be doing.
How do you stop tying your self-worth to your job?
Start by remembering your job is lucky to have you, in any economy. You bring a perspective, a skill, and a particular magic no one else can. Create a mantra you can use every day. Science says the more you use it the more you believe it.
What does Re-Work mean when we say, "you are more than your job?”
It means your value as a person is separate from your job, title, or salary. We're here to live, and that life is far more than producing or consuming.
