Are you in the last third of your career? Are you fully satisfied with the work you do every day, or do you long for something more fulfilling? How do you feel about the idea of landing your LAST.BEST.JOB? Today is the perfect time to be intentional about your career and make that move.
Consider the forces impacting our work world right now.
- Coronavirus
The global pandemic has caused more disruption to work and businesses than anything we can remember. There’s a rule about disruption. It always – ALWAYS – creates opportunity. Out of GREAT disruption comes GREAT opportunity. Businesses that survived the last two years are still figuring out a new future. They need their people to be at optimum levels of productivity, engagement, and innovation. Yet people are leaving their employers in droves as the Great Resignation takes hold, and worker polls say an alarming percentage of additional employees have plans to join the migration. At the same time, the newfound acceptance for remote work has expanded opportunity geographically.
- Macro Demographics
Demographic shifts are also in your favor. Baby Boomers have dominated leadership roles for decades. The youngest members of that group are turning 58 in 2022. For many of them, the pandemic accelerated their plans to shift either fully or partially into retirement, and they are now, at last, more out of the workplace than in it. Maybe you’re one of the younger Boomers, or maybe you’re a member of Gen X, “Passed Over and Pissed Off” in the words of author Mia Mulrennan, PsyD. Other macro workforce trends show a continuing decline in growth of the working-age population, while the number of jobs continues to climb. After the temporary hiccup caused by COVID-19, the looming labor shortage is upon us.
- YOU
You’ve spent decades honing your skills; you’ve put in your 10,000 hours and then some. The wisdom and soft skills you’ve gained are desperately needed in the work world today, and they can only be built with time, focus, and exposure to the school of hard knocks. In the words of Chip Conley (Wisdom at Work: The Making of a Modern Elder): “…we workers ‘of a certain age’ are in fact less like a carton of spoiled milk and more like a bottle of fine wine of an especially valuable vintage.” And “…companies and investors are finally waking up and realizing they could use a little ‘wisdom insurance’: the humility, emotional intelligence, and wisdom that comes with age.”
With the shortages in the workforce, particularly of seasoned leadership skills, your best contribution is desperately needed! The stress level is likely to increase if you stay in your current unfulfilling role, as your employer struggles more and more to hire enough people to keep up with the work. Why not go find the place in the world where you can be part of the solution, and live the dream of contributing to your maximum potential every day?
NOW is your time! (If not now, then when?)
Lorri Anderson is an expert consultant to businesses and a powerful coach to individuals. After a long and rich career as a strategic HR executive, she is driven to give back by changing the Human Experience in today’s workplaces, one business or human at a time.