Professional Growth and Well Being
Professional success is often measured using business metrics, such as volume of work, quality of work, earnings, level of impact and notoriety. While these metrics quantify how we work, they do not address whether our personal values are aligned with professional objectives or the quality of our social connections at work, which seem to be the single most important factor for job well being [1] and job retention [2] . Let's review the above metrics and introduce a new metric surrounding quality of working relationships.
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Volume of work
This metric is concerned about how productive we are. It is often measured in number of customers served, number of goods produced or services performed. Sometimes this metric is imposed by economics, meaning that we need to serve a certain number of customers in order to achieve financial sufficiency. Other times, it is imposed by agreed expectations, such as a delivery plan. In an ideal scenario, the volume of work should be such that the time is sufficient for the person to perform the tasks without rushing or working in a stressful environment.
Quality of work
This metric measures the quality of the task, the final product or service offered. It is by definition subjective as it may be an opinion from your manager, a review from a client or internal judgement. Given that some people are susceptible to assessment of their work, it is important to remember that:
There is a separation between your worth and your work. We sometimes mistake our professional successes with our personal worth. This means that it's healthier to put work in the bigger context of your life and not the other way around. Hence, when things happen at work, we want to be seeing these events from a distance, rather than them touching our very essence.
Learning from professional criticism promotes career growth. While other ways of learning exist, it is highly effective to learn from people surrounding you. They are likely to know your limitations and provide valuable insights and feedback. If the way the feedback is delivered is not to your liking, you can address this in a conversation with the relevant colleague. It is worth building a culture where constructive professional criticism is encouraged.
Our own judgement of our work performance is often biased. If you read my article on the ego, you will find out that most of us have a tendency to distort reality through our subjective lens. We can shift the focus in either direction through exercises yet it is important not to use self-assessment as the sole source of truth.
Earnings
Levels of retribution tend to be one of the metrics people pay attention to. While being important because of the capitalist economy, monetary earnings are not most important for well-being. It is important to have sufficient means to live with self-respect and that definition varies from individual to individual, given their family and social background. A popular 2010 study [3] by late Daniel Kahneman showed a plateau at a certain salary value. A later study [4] found no such plateau in reported levels of happiness. It seems that there is a lot of variability in the data and potentially two sub-groups emerge. One subgroup exists which keeps enjoying increases in income and another group who's happiness is immune to further income increases beyond a certain value. Even though the verdict is still out on this point, we can hypothesise that incremental income has high value for those on low incomes and subjective value for those on higher incomes.
Impact
This metric measures the influence your work results have on your community, company, society, state or any other level. How does the product you sell influence the customers? Does the service you provide simplify someone else's work flow or help make them more productive? Fundamentally, the question to ask is "Do your personal values align with the impact of the work you are doing?" If yes or partially yes is the answer then you are on a path to fulfilment at work. If the answer is no, then can you answer the question of why you have picked this job? Does it simply pay the bills? Does it give you enough free time to focus on priorities outside of work? Having answers to these questions is essential in order to find meaning and fulfilment at work and steer career changes.
Notoriety
In the era of online jobs and social media, a frequent metric cited is the number of followers on social platforms. In the knowledge-based industry, such as consulting, research, politics or advocacy, a following helps to extend the impact of the work and is hence vital. A large social following also tends to add credibility and point to authenticity and creativity [5]. People are more likely to trust well established personalities over new comers in the field, as experience is valued. Remaining authentic and true to one's core values is the challenge with increasing notoriety. The focus of a career should not shift to merely increasing notoriety. Chances are that notoriety does not come to those who actively seek it in the first place. Keeping in sight one's core values and being authentic is just as important at the start as during a flourishing career.
Quality of working relationships
A metric often missed by traditional business metrics is the quality of interpersonal relationships between colleagues. It appears to be the most important factor determining well-being at work. A large scale US-based survey [2] found that new starters at companies want to:
Become valued resources.
Engage with similar level colleagues and develop a sense of belonging.
Add key opinion leaders to their professional network.
The survey found that in years 2-5 of their employment, employees want to deepen their sense of purpose and build a network which drives collaborative efficiency. A key component to this is that the professional networks remain open and evolving, not insular. Assessing the quality and quantity of our professional network is beneficial. If there's appetite for career evolution, one can establish and nurture the connections which will help the transition. Going even further, in order to develop fulfilment and happiness it is a great habit to nurture connections with those around us without a particular expectation of returns.
The notion that professional growth can bring fulfilment is a long standing idea, especially in Western cultures. This review finds that professional growth can certainly contribute to our sense of well-being, through a sense of self-realisation, establishing meaningful connections, belonging to something bigger than the self and monetary stability. This review finds that the focus should shift away from traditional productivity metrics and move towards inter-personal and well-being centered metrics.
The working life is an aspect of one's life. As such, it is important to consider the impact that professional growth has on other life spheres. Achieving fulfilment through work alone is not advisable as an individual needs more than work to find well-being and a deep sense of fulfilment [6]. While this article emphasises the value of social connections at work, a similarly important value is held by personal social connections. Balancing personal and professional development is hence an imperative for overall wellbeing. Ultimately, fulfilment is found in the process, in the how and why we operate, and not in the quantity or quality of results we achieve.
References
[1] Huppert, F. A., N. Baylis, B. Keverne, John F. Helliwell, and Robert D. Putnam. ‘The Social Context of Well–Being’. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences 359, no. 1449 (29 September 2004): 1435–46. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2004.1522.
[2] Cross, Rob, Tina Opie, Greg Pryor, and Keith Rollag. ‘Connect and Adapt: How Network Development and Transformation Improve Retention and Engagement in Employees’ First Five Years’. Organizational Dynamics 47, no. 2 (1 April 2018): 115–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2017.08.003.
[3] Kahneman, Daniel, and Angus Deaton. ‘High Income Improves Evaluation of Life but Not Emotional Well-Being’. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107, no. 38 (21 September 2010): 16489–93.
[4] Killingsworth, Matthew A. ‘Experienced Well-Being Rises with Income, Even above $75,000 per Year’. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118, no. 4 (26 January 2021): e2016976118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2016976118.
[5] ‘Top 6 Benefits of Having a Large Instagram Following In 2024 - Viralyft’, 20 January 2024. https://viralyft.com/blog/benefits-of-having-a-large-instagram-following.
[6] Lorena Bernal ‘Finding Balance in Personal and Professional Development’. Accessed 19 October 2024. https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1889389?utm_source=website&utm_medium=social.
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