Finding Work/Life Synergy: Change Jobs

This is pretty straightforward. You like the work that you do, just not the company, so you take your existing skills and experience and move them to an environment that you hope will be more conducive to your work/life synergy. Your career remains the same; it’s where you earn your paycheck that changes.

You would do this because, for one or more reasons, you believe you cannot fix or make your present situation better. Reasons include:

No path upward. Here, while you may enjoy your work and have no problem with the company itself, you’re looking to the future. You’re probably at a small company with fewer than a hundred employees, and it may be family-owned or headed by the founder. Looking around you, it’s clear that either other people have been anointed as successors to the current leadership or the leaders are likely to sell the business when they retire.

In any case, your opportunities for career and income growth are slight. You can choose to stay with the company until you retire, which, if you’re happy, might be the best choice for you, or you can bail out and jump to another firm with better prospects for career growth.

In this scenario, you may not even be burned out. You’re just making a change to avoid becoming burned out in the future. You’re being smart; you can make the move while you have time to make the right choice. Take your time, continue to provide excellent service to your current employer, don’t burn any bridges, and leave on good terms.

Long commute. Commuting to work can be:

1. Incredibly boring because you must creep along a highway jammed with cars. You could almost get there faster if you walked!

2. Incredibly stressful because you’re forced to hurtle down the highway while pursued by crazy drivers who seem determined to win the race to get to work.

3. Both boring and stressful, depending upon the day and time.

For millions of workers, commuting is no fun, and changing jobs because of a long commute is increasingly common. In 2018, before the COVID-19 pandemic, global staffing firm Robert Half surveyed more than 2,800 Americans across 28 major U.S. cities and found that 23% of workers, surprisingly men more likely than women, had quit a job because of a bad commute.(1)

The drive is getting longer. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average commute time in 1990 was less than 22 minutes each way. By 2021, Americans were spending 25.6 minutes of commute time to work each way. These extra 3.6 minutes of commute time may seem trivial, but they add up to roughly 30 more hours per year sitting in your car or on the train.(2)

What could you do with 30 extra hours? You could watch 15 feature films, attend 10 NFL football games, read three classic novels, or even sit through one major league baseball game (just kidding!).

While the office’s overachiever who walks or bikes to work minds it the least, for most of us, time spent driving to work or riding the train is time wasted. A study by the University of the West of England, which analyzed the impact of commuting on more than 26,000 employees in England over a five-year period, found that each extra minute of commuting by car or train reduced the job and leisure time satisfaction of workers, increased their strain, and worsened their mental health.

The chief culprits for long commutes were boredom and being sedentary. “We know that regularly driving for more than two to three hours a day is bad for your heart,” commented Kishan Bakrania, an epidemiologist who worked on the report. “This research suggests it is bad for your brain, too, perhaps because your mind is less active in those hours.”(3)

A long commute can be a major contributor to workplace burnout — and a drag on your health. Studies have shown that people with commutes of 20 miles or more have greater rates of high blood pressure and high blood sugar than those with short commutes. While these negative effects may seem to be nothing more than the cost of our modern life, after sitting in traffic for long stretches of time, many people lose their willpower to exercise. One study found that people who spent more time commuting consistently spent less time exercising, sleeping, and making food at home. They were also more likely to buy “non-grocery food purchases” (that is, fast food or takeout).(4) Not good for the health!

To shorten your commuting time while staying at your present job, you might ask your boss whether any part of your job can be done remotely. Shortening the workweek, even periodically, can reduce your weekly commute time and, as a bonus, shrink your global carbon footprint. According to a U.K. study conducted by Platform London, implementing a four-day workweek by 2025 would reduce Britain’s carbon emissions by more than 20%. It would reduce energy use in the workplace and slash vehicle emissions by cutting back on commuting. It also found that giving people an extra day off increased the amount of “low-carbon” activities they enjoy, including resting, exercising, community-building, and seeing family, thus reducing overall consumption.(5)

It’s a personal decision, but if by working at or near your home helps you achieve work/life synergy, you may not only be happier but also healthier.

Intolerable culture. People often change jobs because, despite their best efforts, they simply cannot tolerate how they’re treated at work. For them, working happy with good work/life synergy is not possible at their present place of employment.

You’ve heard the saying, “Employees don’t quit their jobs; they quit their managers.” Of course, while not an exact science, there’s evidence to suggest this is a credible adage.

In 2021, Gallup published its State of the American Workplace report based on data collected from more than 195,600 U.S. employees, more than 31 million respondents, and insight from leading Fortune 1000 companies. In the report, Gallup CEO Jim Clifton underscored the importance of managers in creating a positive company culture that promotes employee retention. Speaking to CEOs, he wrote, “The single biggest decision you make in your job — bigger than all the rest — is whom you name manager. When you name the wrong person manager, nothing fixes that bad decision. Not compensation, not benefits — nothing.”(6)

Among the many relationships you’ll develop at a company, those formed with your manager have a significant impact on your overall workplace experience, even more so than your relationships with your peers.

But the fact is that while most leaders want their team members to learn and thrive, others may feel threatened by those they believe are too competent and could probably do their job better than them. Research shows that in such cases, managers can react aggressively and say or do things that make their jealousy evident. Such a manager might:

• Belittle your accomplishments in front of your team.

• Enjoy pointing out your mistakes.

• Interrupt you during meetings or one-on-ones.

• Ignore you.

• Frequently find something to criticize about your work.

• Assign you projects no one else wants to work on.(7)

If this is your situation, your manager may have identified you as a threat to them. If you cannot “manage up” and reduce the tension, your only choice might be to leave.

You cannot use your best skills. This is very common. The job isn’t challenging, and you're simply bored. This may not be the fault of the company; you may have reached the limit of what the company can offer, and the leadership is happy with the status quo. However, you feel the burnout creeping up on you, and you decide you need a change.

According to the Gallup report, 60% of employees say the ability to do what they do best in a role is “very important” to them. Workers want employers who allow them to make the most of their strengths in their roles. They do their best in roles that enable them to integrate their knowledge (what they know), skills (what they can do), and talent (the natural capacity for excellence).

It’s a two-way street; “what I do best” means matching the role and culture with the right person. When an employee is a mismatch for their role and organization, they often become bored and restless, or the opposite: they struggle to succeed. Their workdays, even their entire careers, can feel wasted, with no emotional reward or sense of purpose.(8)

If you find yourself “quietly quitting” or feeling like your current job is unfulfilling or a dead end, you owe it to yourself to seek greener pastures elsewhere.

FINDING A COMPANY YOU LIKE

Should you decide to make a change, your challenge is to find an organization where you’ll be a good fit, and you’ll be working happy. If you’re not careful, you may jump from the frying pan into the fire and find yourself in a situation just as unpleasant, if not worse, than the one you left behind.

Unless your reason for switching companies is a straightforward one like a shorter commute or because your manager has switched companies and wants you to follow her, you need to proceed with caution and try to find out as much as you can about the firm you’re interested in.

The plain fact is this: Just as job applicants put their best foot forward when selling themselves to their prospective employers, hiring managers do the same thing. They’re not going to tell you the company has a horrendous employee turnover rate or is fighting multiple race discrimination cases, or the previous CEO was quietly given a golden parachute and shown the door because of some sort of misconduct.

Such firings happen, as in 2019, when fast-food giant McDonald’s dismissed CEO Steve Easterbrook for violating company policy by having a consensual relationship with an employee. But he was not fired “for cause,” which meant he was still able to walk away with a severance package estimated to be $105 million.

How can you peer behind the culture curtain of the company you might be joining and have some assurance you won’t get burned out in a year or two? You need to put on your investigative hat and do some research.

Google Them!

The first thing to do is the most obvious: Google the company. (Or Bing, Baidu, or Yahoo! — your choice.) See what you find in the “news” category.

For example, in February 2023, I Googled “Twitter” because the company had been in the news for the past few months. Hypothetically, if someone had offered me a job there — which was not going to happen — what I saw would not have been encouraging. The headlines blared:

• “In Latest Round of Job Cuts, Twitter Is Said to Lay Off at Least 200 Employees.” – The New York Times.

• “Elon Musk lays off more Twitter employees, including hardcore loyalists: ‘Looks like I’m let go.’” – Yahoo Finance.

• “Esther Crawford, Twitter exec who slept in office overnight, is fired: report.” – The New York Post.

• “Twitter Glitches Pile Up as Key Features Fail.” – The New York Times.

In terms of the employment outlook and company culture, nothing in the news was encouraging. In all fairness, companies can change, and if you’re really interested in working there, you have little to lose by interviewing and seeing what they tell you.

Big companies like Twitter, now X, are newsworthy and covered by the press, but your Google search for a small company may not bring up anything other than the firm’s website and a few routine press releases. Either way, you have additional investigative tools at your disposal.

Glassdoor

The next place you can look is Glassdoor. This website is the leading “town square” where real employees of real companies provide insight into what it’s like to actually work there. The service it provides is worthwhile because the gap between what the company wants you to believe and what employees experience can be wide.

A survey by Glassdoor revealed that 61% of respondents found aspects of a new job different than what they had expected based on the interview process. Company culture, employee morale, job responsibilities, and boss’s personality were cited as some of the factors that differed most between the interview and the actual work site.(9)

Of course, you can’t believe everything you read on the internet, including anonymous postings, but you can get a feeling and a “vibe” from big sites like Glassdoor. The site also ranks companies based on employee reviews; the company claims, “Winners are determined solely based on feedback provided by those who really know a company best — the employees. There is no nomination process, no employee surveys or questionnaires and no costs or fees involved.”

The website lists over 450,000 companies, including more than 380,000 that have been rated in the category of work/life balance.(10)

Indeed

Indeed.com has over 300 million unique visitors every month. The site provides free access to job searches, posted resumes, and research companies. Uniquely, it provides the “Work Happiness Score” based on 15 dimensions of work happiness, which helps you “find a place where you belong.”

Just for fun, I searched for ABC Supply Co. Inc., headquartered just down the street from where I work in Beloit, Wisconsin. It’s the largest wholesale distributor of roofing in the United States and the nation’s largest distributor of select exterior and interior building products, tools, and related supplies. With over 860 locations in 49 states supported by more than 17,000 employees, ABC Supply has a reputation as one of the most desirable workplaces in the world.

I was delighted to learn that as a 14-time winner of the Gallup Great Workplace Award, it’s one of only three companies across the globe to receive the honor each year since its inception in 2007. ABC Supply is also a Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Award winner.

While I was aware of the company, little did I know that it was so highly regarded!

Excerpted from Working Happy! How to Survive Burnout and Find Your Work/Life Synergy in the Healthcare Industry by Roger Kapoor, MD, MBA.

References

1. Robert Half. Nearly One-Quarter of Workers Have Left a Job Due to a Bad Commute, According to Robert Half Survey. Press Release. Robert Half. September 24, 2018. https://press.roberthalf.com/2018-09-24-Nearly -One-Quarter-Of-Workers-Have-Left-A-Job-Due-To-A-Bad-Commute-According-To-Robert-Half-Survey

2. U.S. Census Bureau. Average Travel Time To Work. U.S. Census Bureau. 2022. https://www.census.gov/search-results.html?q=commute&page=1&stateGeo=none&searchtype=web&cssp=SERP

3. Stillman J. Your Terrible Commute Is Making You Dumber, New StudyFinds. Inc.com. August 1, 2017. https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/yourterrible-commute-is-making-you-dumber-new-stu.html

4. Christian TJ. Opportunity Costs Surrounding Exercise and Dietary Behaviors: Quantifying Trade-offs Between Commuting Time and Health-Related Activities. SSRN. October 21, 2009. https://ssrn.com/ abstract=1490117.

5. Reed B. Four-Day Working Week Would Slash UK Carbon Footprint, Report Says. The Guardian. May 27, 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/27/four-day-working-week-would-slash-uk-carbon-footprint-report

6. Gallup. State of the American Workplace. Gallup. 2017. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/238085/state-american-workplace-report-2017.aspx?thank-you-report-form=1

7. Sinha R. How to Deal with a Jealous Manager. Harvard Business Review. December 18, 2020. https://hbr.org/2020/12/ how-to-deal-with-a-jealous-manager

8. Gallup. State of the American Workplace. Gallup. 2017. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/238085/state-american-workplace-report-2017.aspx?thank-you-report-form=1

9. Glassdoor. Job Expectations Graph. Glassdoor.com. August 2, 2018. https://www.glassdoor.com/employers/app/uploads/sites/2/2018/08/GD-Survey-Job-Expectations.png

10. Glassdoor. Top Companies for Work/Life Balance. Glassdoor.com. https://www.glassdoor.com/Explore/top-companies-work-life-balance_IF.14,31_IFID104.htm