^ Separating the Professional and the Personal
In considering job changes, I was never anygood at separating professional concerns from personal ones. Maybe because I’mso WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get), so transparent. I don’t have a WorkFace that’s any different from my Home Face. I’m disinclined to play games atwork; I don’t enjoy political intrigue on the job, nor do I think it’s anenjoyable pastime to rattle people’s cages just to gauge or observe theirreactions. In this sense, I’m pretty simple.
But it could also be that without childrenor a demanding spouse, I very much define my self not so much by what I do but where I do it. Thus, my work environment is almost as important tome as my home environment. I certainly spend a lot of time there, and I tend tocarry the same baggage back and forth – meaning, what vexes me at work issimilar to what vexes me at home and vice versa. And I make lasting friendshipsin the workplace that frequently outlast the job. (No lazy bones or “out ofsight, out of mind” here – if we become friends, I will remain your friend,even after we no longer have the job in common.)
So when I contemplate taking a job, knowingmore about the WHO is critical. Of less importance is the WHAT. Lately, myprofessional and personal lives have become so intertwined, I find it difficultto make a clear choice on what I should do for me and what I should do for theteam. This "team" has become close friends, and it’s polluting my perspective onwhat my next steps should be. Part of me castigates myself for this situation;I do contract work, and contractors shouldn’t invest themselves in theworkplace. That is supposed to be part of the joy of contracting. But I’vemuddied it up, and now I care about the people and future outcomes, and how Iplay a role in that future outcome. Which leaves me in a pickle.
I eye my Magic Eight Ball, and I thinkmaybe it would be easiest to just let it make my choice. So I ask it my jobquestion, and what does it tell me? “Outcome uncertain.”
Well, that was helpful.
