In reading articles today from Forbes Magazine, NPR, and elsewhere about the recent massive walk-out of literally millions of employees, I can’t help but think of what it has taken for this vast number of individuals to simply walk off their jobs. Employee dissatisfaction has existed from the beginning of time, I am sure, but not with such a bold statement as this from a wide variety of companies and industries.
Causes such as Burn Out, wanting flexibility of work environment, wanting better compensation, better work-life balance, and a desire to be heard or valued, are frequently listed as primary reasons for job shifts or walk-outs. As I hear it, the bottom-line is that employees are asking to be seen and valued. When Walmart and Target are offering educational packages, you know things are changing…..
With all the trauma and crises that resulted from COVID and the resultant horrific death toll, as with everything, there is also another perspective. After adjusting to working from home, many now appreciate the work-life balance it brought. After spending 50-70 hours in the office each week prior to COVID, finding healthy work hours for 1-2 years has caused many to realize they have no desire to work so excessively and/or to not be compensated accordingly.
Using the terms of a relationship, which is really what employees have with their employers, we can say that the dependent employees who may have worked for an abusive, or unappreciative partner, have now grown up and want a more equitable relationship. They want to be valued, supported, and heard. The relationship dynamic has changed.
In many relationships, marriage or otherwise, when one partner grows or changes it is imperative for the other to do so as well or the relationship dynamic dramatically changes or ends. As values, expectations, and experiences shift and change so must everything else in the relationship for it to continue and grow.
How are you doing in your relationships? With family? Friends? Clients? Vendors? Have you or they changed since the relationships began? If so, who needs to change to catch up before the relationship ends?
Friendships take time, energy, and commitment. Are you providing those? Intimate relationships require truly seeing your partner, their needs, wants, and ever-changing sense of self. Have you kept up or do you still see them through the eyes of the past?
Work-life balance is an important reality, not just a concept, since in each relationship it is the basis for the commitment, the emotional and time investment, and the desire for longevity.
Is it time for you to do a reassessment?
Have you been dragging old friendships along that need to be released?
Have you neglected relationships that mean the world to you?
Do you and them a favor. Take the time needed to reassess, to catch up on the newer, hopefully more alive you.
What are your current needs, wants, and desires? Are you able to address them?
What are the current needs, wants, and desires of those you are in relationship with? Are you willing to meet them?
Knowing these answers makes the best relationships possible.
Don’t reach the stage of a walk-out unless it truly supports each of you.
Endings can hurt even if they provide greater freedom and opportunity yet recognizing it as an option can also call both of you to reassess, catch up, and flourish far more than ever before.
Always, it’s a choice.
