A white-collar job with at least a five-figure monthly salary is the representation of a fulfilling career for many people. However, now that people are starting to rethink their priorities, it seems this standard is about to change for many. To illustrate, Moneypenny revealed that 93% of professionals are pausing from pursuing their dream careers. This pause is driven by the fact that many Americans are unhappy within their own roles, and are struggling to find inspiration in their day-to-day work.
While it’s important to work towards a career goal, your definition of career fulfillment does not have to be limited to a job position or even a salary figure. To feel joy and satisfaction in your career, you have to look beyond the typical definitions of success.
You Should Seek More than Just Career Success
A high salary and an impressive job position can improve your life—but they won’t necessarily make you happy and satisfied at work.
You see, career fulfillment stems from the factors that are important and desirable to you. A career that provides enough money is important, but Dr. Rozanski of Mt. Sinai in New York points out that this also needs to be partnered with important psychological needs: your meaning and purpose. So if you have to sacrifice family time or your mental well-being for a high-paying job, you might end up feeling unfulfilled in the long run. Instead of subscribing to traditional definitions of success, experts recommend that you identify what’s significant to you in your work and personal life so that you can carve your own definition of career fulfillment.
3 Common Markers of a Fulfilling Career
Visible path towards progress
Career ladders are often treated like avenues toward success. However, professionals don’t experience fulfillment from these systems, unless they can see realistic steps and get actual support for their career progress.
An article by Ratna Sinha on career development states that competent managers and HR professionals play a big role here, since they’re in charge of handling succession and career development programs at work. These programs are crucial for your fulfillment because they enable you to understand the specific skills, knowledge, and abilities that you need for your goals. After all, your career is a lifelong journey, so getting guidance and directions on your next steps can make a world of difference in your career fulfillment.
Transformative work benefits
Work benefits are essential for the fulfillment of all workers, but these can also be transformative in the careers of professionals in high-stress professional environments, like medicine.
Rather than working long shifts in hospitals, more healthcare physicians across the US are turning to telemedicine. For example, there has been an accelerated adoption in Georgia of telehealth practices in the past two years. Telemedicine physicians in Georgia engage with patients through online services that can cover their primary and urgent care needs.
Not only has this helped plug the physician shortage in the state, a trend happening across all states, but also improved the lives of the physicians. This transformative work setup allows clinicians to fulfill their role as doctors and even pursue specialty fields, while having greater control over their schedule and practice. Likewise, flexible work setups and other work benefits can make your career more fulfilling because they directly improve the quality of your personal life.
Better employee well-being
Let’s admit it: careers are one of the greatest sources of stress. While intense workloads can be a good challenge for some, many professionals will only feel exhausted after experiencing too much pressure.
As such, it’s no surprise that you’ll feel more fulfilled in your career path whenever your well-being is supported. Our article entitled Getting Yogi With You emphasizes that self-care is a part of one’s healing process, so having time for these personal practices can help you recover from your responsibilities and bounce back as a healthier professional. As such, you’ll do better at work when your employers encourage and give you time for important self-care practices, like yoga or meditation.
It can be difficult to stray away from other people’s definitions of success. However, it’s crucial to evaluate your own desires and values because your career is a life-long journey.
Article contributed by Roane Juliano
Exclusively for
