What better time to reflect on past performance and set new goals than a new year? Our profession allows us insight into a vulnerable time in someone’s life where they reflect on late positions and what led them to where they are now. A ‘habit,’ by definition, is a regular tendency, often hard to give up and unfortunately, habits, though easily adaptable, are not always conducive to our goals and ambitions. Oftentimes, habits both good and bad are identified in a job search which leads you in the right direction in finding a better opportunity. We’ve compiled a list of 4 (common) habits that you should say goodbye to in 2022.

Hustle Culture

Subscribing to hustle culture, is subscribing to the idea that you must work longer, more arduous hours, to achieve proper acknowledgment. It means devoting as much time of your day as possible to working – “hustling.” While some choose to fill their spare time with work, work, and more work, they should also accept the fact that they’re closer to burnout than someone choosing to respect their schedule. Like Allen F. Morgenstern once said, “work smarter… not harder.” Someone who is practicing hustle culture is likely to experience increased anxiety and lesser mental health ultimately hindering their performance. An article in the Australian Financial Review quotes David Heinemeier Hansson, co-founder of Basecamp, a software company as saying, “The vast majority of people beating the drums of hustle-mania are not the people doing the actual work.”  In other words, an exploitative culture that encourages superiors to succeed off the back of their employees.

Putting Mental Health on the Backburner

If you’re choosing to put your mental health behind your work, you’re only hurting yourself, and likely, your future. There’s a valid reason why you must put your mask on in the event of a plane crash before you can help anybody else – you need to feel your best to perform your best. This parallels your work life. If you’re not feeling it now, you will feel it later. Avoiding burnout Is the name of the game for 2023 and that will come with prioritizing your mental health.

Barreling Through

It’s just as, if not more important, to pause and evaluate as it is to keep your head down and work. Though you set goals for yourself in the new year, don’t forget to pause every so often. Reevaluate. What’s working? What’s not? Is there a more efficient way to complete your tasks, or have your goals shifted entirely? If you’re blindly plowing through your years, you may look back to realize you could’ve used your resources more wisely. Hindsight is 20/20.

Not Respecting Your Schedule

If you’re on the clockwork. It’s that simple. Leave it all at the door. There are two types of fatigue – work and rest. Work fatigue is when you can reflect on the day knowing that you gave 100% of your effort. Though you may not have completed all your tasks, you came close and are proud of what you did accomplish. Rest fatigue is when you’re lying in bed, and your brain can’t stop going through your to-do list because rather than running your errands quickly on lunch you chose to sit and scroll TikTok for the 4th time this week. How do you want to feel at the end of your day?

Aside from the list above, there are habits you may choose to leave in 2022. The goal is to be better than you were the day before, even if only by a small amount.

If you need assistance in your job search or your search for qualified candidates, please contact us at (518) 275-4816.

 

 

LATEST READS FROM WALRATH RECRUITING: