Not all career advice is good career advice. In a constantly evolving workplace, some of the career advice you have heard in the past has become a little old fashioned. Here we show you how these rules are adapting to a more modern working environment.
Keep your work and home life separate
Before: Traditional careers advice dictates that in order to be professional, during work hours you don’t do anything personal or non-work related. During your non-work related hours you don’t check your emails or think about work after you leave.
Now: The lines between work and home life are becoming blurred – and that’s a good thing. Instead of pretending families and friends don’t exist, employers and employees are starting to see each other as real human beings with lives outside of the workplace.
Human beings lead complicated lives and it’s not always easy to keep everything rigidly separate – and why should you, when it could benefit you to mix the two up a bit, as long as neither your work nor your life is taking too much priority over the other.
For example, if it helps you sleep better at night to make a to-do list for your next working day, go ahead. If you need to accept a call from your partner in the afternoon about the evening’s plans, that’s fine too (of course, you need to make sure this is okay with your boss first). If you get an amazing work idea during your morning jog, feel free to make a note of it
Never say no
Before: The advice used to be to always say yes to new responsibilities in order to impress your boss and colleagues.
Now: The days of being a ‘yes’ man at work are numbered. Today, employers and employees are becoming more aware that employee wellbeing is important, and your capacity to take on more tasks is not limitless. Saying yes to everything in order to impress your boss and not let them down, eventually leads to high stress and/or failure. It’s important to set boundaries and learn to say no, prioritise your most urgent tasks and delegate what you can.
Don’t jump from job to job
Before: The general consensus used to be that you should stay in one job for several years in order to build experience and climb the career ladder. Jump from job to job too quickly and risk looking unreliable and disloyal to future employers.
Now: The perception of job-hopping has now changed. Moving jobs every one to two years is a great way to maximise your potential, get varied experiences and build your skills in different environments and areas. The average person can now expect to change careers at least once in his or her life - often in search of better job satisfaction or a higher salary.
The new job market is all about balance and creating a way of working that suits you, not sticking to a set of rigid and out-dated rules. Get the balance right and you could see yourself benefiting from a tailored work-life balance where your work responsibilities and your personal commitments work together in harmony.