What Happens When Your Career Becomes Your Whole Identity Many people with high-pressure jobs find themselves unhappy with their careers, despite working hard their whole lives to get to their current position. Hating your job is one thing – but what happens if you identify so closely with your work that hating your job means hating yourself? Psychologists use the term “enmeshment” to describe a situation where the boundaries between people become blurred, and individual identities lose importance. Enmeshment prevents the development of a stable, independent sense of self. While identifying closely with your career isn’t necessarily bad, it makes you vulnerable to a painful identity crisis if you burn out, get laid off, or retire. Individuals in these situations frequently suffer anxiety, depression, and despair. By claiming back some time for yourself and diversifying your activities and relationships, you can build a more balanced and robust identity in line with your values.
Che Goijaerts’ Post
More Relevant Posts
-
The confluence of high achievement, intense competitiveness, and culture of overwork has caught many in a perfect storm of blurred boundaries and burnout .Many people with high-pressure jobs find themselves unhappy with their careers, despite working hard their whole lives to get to their current position. Hating your job is one thing – but what happens if you identify so closely with your work that hating your job means hating yourself?Psychologists use the term “enmeshment” to describe a situation where the boundaries between people become blurred, and individual identities lose importance. Enmeshment prevents the development of a stable, independent sense of self. While identifying closely with your career isn’t necessarily bad, it makes you vulnerable to a painful identity crisis if you burn out, get laid off, or retire. Individuals in these situations frequently suffer anxiety, depression, and despair. By claiming back some time for yourself and diversifying your activities and relationships, you can build a more balanced and robust identity in line with your values https://lnkd.in/dR2y9ddE
To view or add a comment, sign in
-
The confluence of high achievement, intense competitiveness, and culture of overwork has caught many in a perfect storm of blurred boundaries and burnout. What Happens When Your Career Becomes Your Whole Identity Many people with high-pressure jobs find themselves unhappy with their careers, despite working hard their whole lives to get to their current position. Hating your job is one thing – but what happens if you identify so closely with your work that hating your job means hating yourself?Psychologists use the term “enmeshment” to describe a situation where the boundaries between people become blurred, and individual identities lose importance. Enmeshment prevents the development of a stable, independent sense of self. While identifying closely with your career isn’t necessarily bad, it makes you vulnerable to a painful identity crisis if you burn out, get laid off, or retire. Individuals in these situations frequently suffer anxiety, depression, and despair. By claiming back some time for yourself and diversifying your activities and relationships, you can build a more balanced and robust identity in line with your values https://lnkd.in/dHKEukm5
To view or add a comment, sign in
-
Many people with high-pressure jobs #find #themselves #unhappy with their careers, despite working hard their whole lives to get to their current position. When one's #identity #becomes closely #intertwined with their #career, disliking their job can lead to a profound sense of #self-#rejection. While it's natural to feel a strong #connection to one's #profession, this deep identification can render individuals vulnerable to an #identity #crisis if they experience burnout, job loss, or retirement. In such situations, individuals often struggle with feelings of #anxiety, #depression, and #hopelessness. Here are some #great #tips how you can build a more #balanced and #robust #identity in line with your #values. https://lnkd.in/ePBdvmY5
To view or add a comment, sign in
-
While identifying closely with your career isn’t necessarily bad, it makes you vulnerable to a painful identity crisis if you burn out, get laid off, or retire. Individuals in these situations frequently suffer anxiety, depression, and despair. By claiming back some time for yourself and diversifying your activities and relationships, you can build a more balanced and robust identity in line with your values. #resilience #mentalhealth #selfleadership #selfmanagement
To view or add a comment, sign in
-
Have you ever thought..."What happens when your career becomes your whole identity"??? Here is an article from HBR explaining it .... Many people with high-pressure jobs find themselves unhappy with their careers, despite working hard their whole lives to get to their current position. Hating your job is one thing – but what happens if you identify so closely with your work that hating your job means hating yourself?Psychologists use the term “enmeshment” to describe a situation where the boundaries between people become blurred, and individual identities lose importance. Enmeshment prevents the development of a stable, independent sense of self. While identifying closely with your career isn’t necessarily bad, it makes you vulnerable to a painful identity crisis if you burn out, get laid off, or retire. Individuals in these situations frequently suffer anxiety, depression, and despair. By claiming back some time for yourself and diversifying your activities and relationships, you can build a more balanced and robust identity in line with your values. #follow passion #Take time for yourself
To view or add a comment, sign in
-
The confluence of high achievement, intense competitiveness, and culture of overwork has caught many in a perfect storm of blurred boundaries and burnout. Harvard Business Review Home Sign In Careers What Happens When Your Career Becomes Your Whole Identity by Janna Koretz December 26, 2019 Caspar Benson/Getty Images Summary. Many people with high-pressure jobs find themselves unhappy with their careers, despite working hard their whole lives to get to their current position. Hating your job is one thing – but what happens if you identify so closely with your work that hating your job means hating yourself?Psychologists use the term “enmeshment” to describe a situation where the boundaries between people become blurred, and individual identities lose importance. Enmeshment prevents the development of a stable, independent sense of self. While identifying closely with your career isn’t necessarily bad, it makes you vulnerable to a painful identity crisis if you burn out, get laid off, or retire. Individuals in these situations frequently suffer anxiety, depression, and despair. By claiming back some time for yourself and diversifying your activities and relationships, you can build a more balanced and robust identity in line with your values https://lnkd.in/dRP8F4bv
To view or add a comment, sign in
-
By claiming back some time for yourself and diversifying your activities and relationships, you can build a more balanced and robust identity in line with your values.... 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eVYQxsrN #career #worklifebalance
To view or add a comment, sign in
-
How often do you wake up in the morning and wonder "What in the world am I doing?". You might start to question the work you are doing, why you are doing it, and worst of all, if you have ever really found fulfilment in it. But you're not sure what to do, as your job has become YOU. This article talks about exactly this: enmeshment. When your career has become your life. https://lnkd.in/eyXbV7Ju I have been there too. The particularly dangerous part was when my whole identity was connected to my job, so that I didn't really exist or have a perceived value out of my work accomplishments. Over the last 10+ years, I have been building a life apart from my career. If you would like to learn more about how I did it and have a chance to both learn and discuss, consider joining my next offering of Guided Interpretation to the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. PM or Comment and I'll provide you more information on it.
To view or add a comment, sign in
-
How often do you wake up in the morning and wonder "What in the world am I doing?". You might start to question the work you are doing, why you are doing it, and worst of all, if you have ever really found fulfilment in it. But you're not sure what to do, as your job has become YOU. This article talks about exactly this: enmeshment. When your career has become your life. https://lnkd.in/eyXbV7Ju I have been there too. The particularly dangerous part was when my whole identity was connected to my job, so that I didn't really exist or have a perceived value out of my work accomplishments. Over the last 10+ years, I have been building a life apart from my career. If you would like to learn more about how I did it and have a chance to both learn and discuss, consider joining my next offering of Guided Interpretation to the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. PM or Comment and I'll provide you more information on it.
To view or add a comment, sign in
-
How often do you wake up in the morning and wonder "What in the world am I doing?". You might start to question the work you are doing, why you are doing it, and worst of all, if you have ever really found fulfilment in it. But you're not sure what to do, as your job has become YOU. This article talks about exactly this: enmeshment. When your career has become your life. https://lnkd.in/eyXbV7Ju I have been there too. The particularly dangerous part was when my whole identity was connected to my job, so that I didn't really exist or have a perceived value out of my work accomplishments. Over the last 10+ years, I have been building a life apart from my career. If you would like to learn more about how I did it and have a chance to both learn and discuss, consider joining my next offering of Guided Interpretation to the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. PM or Comment and I'll provide you more information on it.
To view or add a comment, sign in