Are you struggling with career challenges as a leader? You are not alone. Developing a work-life balance and navigating career challenges have become our daily challenges.
We are now living in an unsettled era. We are experiencing many difficulties in the office, such as keeping up with new technology changes and keeping everyone happy. And at a personal level, managing many unique life challenges, trying to allocate quality time for taking care of your health, and time with your loved ones too. Finding balance is difficult if you let your current situation get the best.
Most of us constantly have mental conflicts between career development and following our life passion. Here are some common factors that may be bothering you lately. Here are the three ways to navigate career challenges and solutions to help you navigate these obstacles:
- Job promotion challenge
- Burnout challenge
- Me time challenge
1. Job promotion challenge
The conflict:
When promoted to higher positions, individuals may need to contribute more working hours. It is a challenge because the company need leaders to be productive and efficient immediately.
The solution:
It’s essential to address this career development challenge early. You can do this through mentoring or coaching. Seek feedback from your superiors and colleagues, and use it to guide your professional development.
Find a mentor that has been where they are. The mentor can guide them to success with their experience. Better yet, introduce the individual to this mentor before they promote them so they start to hit the ground before officially advancing to the next level.
Coaching is another option to help newly promoted individuals. Coaches provide leadership or communication skills training to boost the individual’s confidence. Like mentoring, you can also implement coaching before the promotion to give them a head start.
2. Burnout Challenge
Are you currently feeling burnout and need a career break?
The conflict:
You are fully stretched thin, not having enough rest or sleep. You cannot change your current job stress except for one option: leave the job or take an extended vacation break. Burnout occurs when professionals experience prolonged stress related to their work. It may cause you to feel tired and frustrated about your career responsibilities and become unmotivated to reach another level of your career goals.
The solution:
If you experience burnout, evaluate the factors causing it. For example, if you’re experiencing burnout because you started a new responsibility at work, realize it may take time to develop the new job requirements.
Burnout can be managed by recognizing the signs, taking a break, practising self-care, setting boundaries, and seeking support from friends, family, or professionals.
Emphasizing work-life balance helps you combat burnout. When you mitigate burnout, you can improve productivity at work. Try practising these between breaks:
1. Reflection Time
Taking time to reflect, see what is happening around you, and control the situation can make much difference! But it would help if you allocated time to do this at least once daily.
2. Practice mindfulness
Mindfulness is the ability to maintain awareness and focus on what you’re doing at any moment. Achieving mindfulness is difficult when you are distracted by other obligations and concerns.
Mindfulness is also tricky when you expect to multitask during work.
At the same time, you accomplish your share of the workload. And, of course, you must get the support of your team when you need it.
3. Me time challenge
Getting some quiet time just for yourself these days is hard. An uninterrupted “me” time helps our tired brains to unplug and unwind. We can relieve stress, and it helps us sleep better. Having enough sleep can control our moods and allows us to live in the moment.
The conflict:
With time commitments in the office, you may have little time to do what you always wanted. For example, taking up a new interest or learning new knowledge you are curious about. You are unsure when you will have the time for those things, the “me” time to learn and explore.
The solution:
The “Me Time Challenge” involves taking control of your time and making time for yourself regularly to prioritize self-care and handle a more balanced and energized life.
- Schedule time for yourself: Set aside a specific time each day or week for “me time.” It could be as little as 15 minutes or as long as a few hours. Be creative outside of work and be intentional with investing in yourself. Your newfound knowledge can be a competitive advantage for your career and organization — and help inspire others to find new solutions to your current work challenges. Be that problem solver!
- Control your time: Consider what activities make you feel relaxed and rejuvenated. Spend off working hours like the weekend to indulge in your passion, or take an online learning course to enhance what you want to learn. You will feel life is more fulfilling by investing time in doing some of the things you love.
Conclusion
All of us have a career, whether we are a freelancer, business owners, an entrepreneur, or working in a corporate. Developing a work-life balance and navigating career challenges have become our daily challenges. Coping with stress and challenges is essential.
Do you find these tips helpful? If you want a course on managing career stress, contact me for more information.
About Author
Jacinta Thein is a Certified Trainer and a Chartered Accountant registered with the Malaysian Institute of Accountants since 2004. She is also a Microsoft Certified Data Analyst Associate. Jacinta has more than 25 years of experience in management consulting data analytics, management reporting, and financial data analysis from multinational companies. Jacinta has worked in the retail, manufacturing, education, shared services, venture capitalist, and advertising industries. She has in-depth knowledge in data and financial analysis, business intelligence, financial reporting, and system implementation.