are you a city or country mouse?
My hubby and I were with some friends this weekend driving from San Francisco to Sonoma for outdoor wine tasting.
While we were driving through SF we were super talkative.
We were making jokes, sharing our friends’ travel plans to Europe, and our daughter was in her carseat singing a song I made up for her last week.
The energy was high. And fiery.
As soon as we hit the Golden Gate Bridge we pointed out the bridge to our daughter and took the requisite photos and videos. (see below) 😉
It was a rare day where you could actually see the entire bridge.
I stared out at the sailboats in front of Alcatraz and Angel Island.
We drove over it in complete awe.
Upon passing the houseboats in Sausalito I noticed a huge energy shift in the car and mentioned it to the group.
On the SF side of the bridge it was radiant, buzzing, and energetic.
On the other side of the bridge, within just a few minutes, the five of us were calm, relaxed and quietly riding in the car taking in the scenery.
This reminded me of ever-evolving and powerful cultures inside of workplaces.
Sometimes the workplace culture is busy, hustling and scrappy.
Other cultures are more inclusive, customer-focused and allow for more work-life balance.
I’ve found that most of my clients are now seeking workplaces with parent-friendly policies, flexibility, work-life balance, slow mornings, and saying no to the hustle and grind.
Just like the cultures of SF and north of the Golden Gate Bridge, your energy can be shifted by where you are each day.
And if you don’t shift your energy it feels like you are in the wrong place.
Like you don’t have a sense of belonging and sometimes lack direction or motivation to even be there.
You become resentful of your manager who messages you at 4pm on a Friday.
Or a colleague who sets an 8am meeting on your calendar at 9:45pm the night before.
You begin hating your job because you see everyone answering slack messages on the weekend.
Your team is forced to work nights and weekends on projects that don’t excite you.
You aren’t taking your vacation days because it’s not like you’re going anywhere right now and you’d have to make it up anyway.
Your job has lost its charm from when you first started and you don’t understand why you’re so sleep-deprived and burned out.
You almost never get excited to go to work anymore and you’re wondering why am I still in this position?
You find yourself second-guessing your decisions more and more because everyone around you seems to have it all figured out.
The truth is all companies (and cities) have a culture. You just have to know what culture YOU want and where you would feel like you belong.
This can be figured out when you interview (what questions to ask to make sure you find the right place for YOU) and also in knowing the signs of when you should stay or go.
It’s so important to me that you have a workplace that supports you.
Are you ready to find a workplace that is right for you?
I’d love to help you figure out what kind of culture would help you to thrive and have fulfilling work so that you can love your job and work with people who love you.
Message me and let me know what your perfect workplace culture would be and feel like.
Love,
—Nic
PS. Recently, I talked about the Value of Values in a Job Search on the Career Dojo podcast. Please take a listen and let me know what your favorite takeaway was. It was a really fun conversation with Suman and I hope you find it helpful.
PPS. Interested in hearing more conversations? Check out my appearances and speaking engagements at nicfrick.com/press.
