My Reprioritized Job resonates with me on several fronts.
The user community of MyBlankJob votes on the name of the website. The name changes to the buzzword with the most “up votes” at any given time. I find it interesting that the site name is often something that is top of mind for me from my own work experiences. Without a doubt there are trends that we all experience in our corporate lives. Today’s site could not be more appropriate:
My Reprioritized Job resonates with me on several fronts.
First, there is the shift in life priorities brought to us by Covid. Before Covid, my job dominated my life. The answer to virtually every social invitation and potential commitment to an activity for my kids was, “I have to work.” Like many, I learned during Covid that I could be a high performer at work, and still make time for my most important job – being a mom. I shifted myself to focus entirely on delivery and outcomes, rather than being the person that was always first to arrive at the office and last to leave.
Second, consumer demands reprioritized themselves seemingly over night. Successful corporations in turn needed to shift their business models to meet the shift in demands. In my own world, negative oil prices led to huge cuts in spending for my clients, which produce oil. This led to reductions in staff. As the markets have recovered, corporations are having difficulty ramping up their staff again as hiring takes time, and many left the energy sector all together. We in turn added staff augmentation to our service offerings. I have enjoyed this as I have gotten a taste of what it is like to work in industry again as a risk analyst.
Third, there is the on going shift in day to day priorities at our own jobs. For me, I wake up every day with clear objects and a plan of activities for meeting those objectives. Virtually, everyday is derailed with a reprioritization of activities. I appreciate that being effective at a director level means being able to handle competing priorities. Still, I sometimes work an entire day on a weekend, just so I can have a solid day of productivity without reprioritization.
I do everything in my power to avoid reprioritization of my staff members’ work loads. Developers are perhaps the world’s worst at managing shifts in priorities. Give a developer three things to do that takes a total of eight hours, and it is doubtful it will happen in a day. Give a developer one thing to do that takes a total of ten hours, and there is a high likelihood they will finish it in a day. Understanding how an individual handles reprioritization is key to successfully managing them.
As I sit here with my morning coffee and reflect on the words, My Reprioritized Job, I accept that my priorities will always be shifting on many fronts. I will never again let my priorities shift so far away from my family. Sadly, this is far too easy to let happen. God planted a little reminder of this for me as I spent the day at the hospital yesterday. When I finally got home, all that I wanted to do was crawl in bed and go to sleep. Instead, I took my kids for the nice dinner that I had been promising them for months. I have a long work day ahead, but the time with the kids yesterday afternoon was totally worth it.
What do the words My Reprioritized Job bring to mind for you? Sound off with me at Workplace Rants | My Blank Job. I look forward to hearing your thoughts. In the meantime, my next priority is a second cup of coffee.