Rethinking Work: The COVID-19 Pandemic Gives Us All A Chance To Reflect…And Maybe Act

In the midst of this pandemic, there’s an opportunity to rethink some of the important things in life. Sometimes, we get a chance to pause and reflect—and it’s important we take it. Is the path that you’re on the best one for you?

Specifically, is your career and workplace working for you?

There are many different ways this could be applied to your situation, but today we’re just going to cover 3 of them: a word for the people who might not be satisfied in their workplace, some advice for people just entering the workforce, and a possible solution for business leaders looking to find the talent they need as the economy reopens.

1. A Word For People Who Aren’t Satisfied In Their Career

For many of us, either working from home, in a radically different workplace environment, or not being able to work at all, it brings into the light how things are going with our work. Is what we’re doing a passion? Or is it just what we need to do to pay the bills?

At Skillwork, we believe that work is a gift from God. Even when it’s hard, it’s something we as humans crave—being productive.

Some of us have been blessed to continue working, and others are just preparing to get back to work as the country reopens. Now’s a great chance to check in with yourself and reflect on how you’re feeling about your job. Are you happy to be getting back to work?

(Or, if you’re being honest, does it fill you with something a little more like dread?)

If it’s the latter, now might be the time to pursue something you’re more passionate about. Don’t settle. Take a look at where your passions are leading you—you might even find a new business idea where your passion and opportunity meet.

Love what you do but not feeling fulfilled in your current work environment? Skillwork offers skilled workers jobs all over the country. See the country and do what you love: work + freedom.

2. Advice For People Just Entering The Workforce

For many young people in high school and college, their school year was essentially put on hold out of the blue. If this applies to you, you might be staring at an uncertain economic future. College student loan debt has never been appealing, but now it’s looking even more so with the shifting economy.

Now might be the time to consider an alternative course—a future in the skilled trades instead of the traditional 4-year college or university. Between less debt and the huge demand for skilled workers, this could be a better path for you.

And whether you look into the skilled trades or elsewhere for your career, it’s vital to focus on opportunities to learn. Educating yourself and gaining experience is much more valuable in the long run than a bigger paycheck. It can be hard to make that choice but choosing a job where you have the opportunity to be mentored is critical for you feeling fulfilled in your career.

Typically, the first decade is for learning and the second decade is for growing and taking opportunities, so the rest of your career can be spent earning and ultimately mentoring others.

(Doing this can help you avoid being the person dissatisfied in their career in point #1—more money will not make a bad job better.)

3. A Solution For Business Leaders Looking For Talent

The economy is reopening. People are going back to work. This is a good thing, right?

(Yes, of course it is.)

However, if you’re having trouble finding the skilled talent you need to meet your organization’s objectives in this critical time, it’s probably causing you more stress than anything—and understandably so. As we talked about above, people are reflecting on their careers and looking to find fulfillment in their careers more than ever. They want to find the right fit, which can make things more challenging from a hiring perspective.

The traditional ways of finding talent aren’t going to work like they used to, especially in the skilled trade space. And while the unemployment rate is high currently, as people return to work, we’ll soon be right back to the same problem of a skilled worker shortage.

Take advantage of this time, the calm before the storm, to really evaluate how your company is doing finding the people you need.

The reopening of America is going to speed things up quickly—are you ready?

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