There should be no question about how to access resources. There should be an expectation that there are people you can reach out to who would help you navigate those resources and that managers are supportive of basic mental health activities that help avoid burnout.
Anything less just isn’t good enough.
Do we approach training from a “just in case” mindset, where we teach employees everything they might need to know before we get them started doing any productive work, or should we be approaching it from a “just in time” mindset, where they continuously learn new skills as they are needed?
Good employees want to learn new things and utilize technology to be more efficient, and that’s what we want from our employees. AI is all over the media right now. It’s the hot topic if every tech conference and a ton of legal tech webinars. According to this survey, they appear to be out there doing it on their own with little direction from their employer. That might become a problem, but it shouldn’t be a surprise. User have been finding creative ways to find the tools they need to get work done instead of waiting for the IT team and training to tell them they can. AI is just one more to add to that list, and one more that the talent development folks are going to have to play catch up on, quickly.
We’ve lost this idea. We’ve bought into the fallacy that being engaged at work, having best friends at work, and bringing our full selves to work is the “correct” way to function and get ahead in life. That working 60-80 hours per week at our jobs is somehow going to change the world. I think Toni’s father had it right.
Get your money, then come home. Nothing less, nothing more. Work is not home, your life isn’t there.
If you work somewhere that this is an issue, it might not be you. It could very well be the workplace. A workplace that can’t keep right on rolling when one of the team is on PTO is a workplace that hasn’t planned staffed or done talent development well. A workplace that is truly looking out for the well-being of its employees would not leave anyone in a situation where taking a break is more stressful than not taking one.
So after 12 years, I’m back, but it’s very different. Because 12 years is a long time and things change fast around here. This opportunity only came about because I’ve been changing and now have something different to offer, that matches up with how the firm has been changing. I could have resisted learning all these new things over the years, but that would have also limited what I could do going forward. I’m really happy I didn’t do that. It might be the best career move I’ve ever made.