One of the biggest misconceptions about the career path that people had in the past is this crazy idea that your personal life has to suffer. The flaw in this idea lies in the fact that it’s conceived and used mostly by people who aren’t that good at scheduling and organizing their free time. Sure, in order to advance in your career, you need to constantly self-improve (which takes time) and you need to work harder and longer (which, also, takes time).
On the other hand, it’s how you use the time that you have that matters the most. Also, if you pick something you love as a career path, you won’t work a day in your life. Well, at least you won’t see it that way (in a working-grinding manner). Millennials, as a generation, have a completely unique view of this situation and here are some of the things that can be learned from it.
- Using one’s private life to define success
The reason why the work-life balance was in danger in the first place is due to the fact that a lot of people lost from sight why they work in the first place. In reality, your work should be used to improve your quality of lifestyle. Your paycheck should be big enough to cover your expenses and allow you to afford that device, vacation or a home that you’ve always wanted to have.
A position in a company is supposed to give you self-esteem and respect of others, even though it might not be that healthy to use it in order to give yourself a sense of worth. You can also use this to make people that you care about proud. Therefore, what you need to do is make sure that your professional accomplishments are reflected in your private life. If not, they’re not as meaningful as you would want them to be.
- Avoid pushing yourself too hard
The next thing that millennials understand is the importance of the concept of flow. You need to be in a state where you enjoy what you’re doing in order to give it your best and achieve optimal performance. The key thing to avoid is getting yourself overworked. Imagine a scenario where you just start working out. If you go out and do your maximum on the first day of your training, chances are that you’ll be completely sore for the remainder of the week and will only be able to work out at 50 percent of your full capacity. Also, chances are that you’ll give up, sooner rather than later. If you were to start off easy and gradually increase the volume, you would have much more consistent growth.
Getting overworked will ensure that you’re nervous and stressed out when you get home. This will make you turn into not a good of a company, which will make your social life suffer. Make sure that your work doesn’t take more than you’re willing to give and this will ensure that you’re both happier and performing at your full potential. Also, working too hard will increase the probability of an injury. By being careful and having a contingency plan even for this scenario, you’ll ensure that this causes you less stress than it normally would. As for the contingency plan, knowing the process of making a workplace injury report in advance can make you feel a lot more secure.
- Growth through feedback
The biggest fear of millennials is the idea that they, somehow, aren’t making a difference in their company. Needless to say, this fear can be overcome through accurate and honest feedback. This way, millennials can rest assured that they are, indeed, making a difference. Not just that, they can see exactly where they are on their career path, maybe even get a hint of the right move to make in order to continue in the desired direction. You see, it’s the inevitability that causes self-doubt. Even with the most efficient work-life balance achieved, you’ll still have to sacrifice some of your private life in order to progress in your career. By receiving this feedback, you’ll at least be able to see that it wasn’t for nothing.
- Dual income
The last thing you need to understand about millennials is the fact that they’re the first generation where the vast majority of people have a spouse with their own income. Two people working one job each is much easier on one’s schedule than being a single person working multiple jobs. Needless to say, this is a financially sustainable model that allows millennials to be more relaxed and more co-dependent. Also, this regulates the power dynamics within relationships, as well, due to the fact that there’s no dominant breadwinner in the household. Needless to say, this kind of egalitarian system more than makes the difference.
In conclusion
As you can see, the advantages that millennials experience come in many different forms and formats. They are massive advantages career-wise that translate to their professional world and the other way around. Therefore, if we were to oversimplify things, it would be safe to say that instead of keeping these two aspects of their lives separate, millennials are finding a way to help them develop a symbiotic relationship. This alone makes things that much easier.