Worshipping Your Desk
When work becomes too much of our lives, these book recommendations can help.
Ready for some summer book recommendations?
Recently, I read “The Good Enough Job: Reclaiming Life from Work” by Simone Stolzoff.
Gosh, even the title instigates anxiety. Good enough? What will I have to let go of? What would that mean about me?
Layoffs made us realize work isn’t “like a family”, you are dispensable and sometimes dispatched without much fanfare or dignity.
Work can make you feel accomplished or special (sometimes at great expense), so taking a look at the bigger picture is wise.
Makes sense that in our early careers we’re ready to take on the world. We usually have the time, space and energy to devote to work. Work provides regular reward, clear direction, financial benefits in ways that other areas of our lives don’t.
As young people, we need to grow skills and build expertise. We’re proud of our contributions at work (and should be!).
But over time, life changes. We may have new responsibilities of family or expenses. We have less energy (maybe), and we feel we have more at risk. With bigger salaries we tend to have bigger expenses, bigger financial responsibilities, and feel more and more beholden to our jobs. Our professional lives are far more than just a job. Our title becomes an identity. Who are we without it?
The Good Enough Job offers a different perspective on work and illustrates points with lots of case studies and real-life examples. It helps us understand why a career seems so important in the first place. By widening the lens on how we look at life and work, we may be open to more choice and new options.
If you’re going through a work crisis or moment of wondering about your worth or identity as it’s defined outside of work, this might be a good quick summer read.
My next recent read is The Search: Finding Meaningful Work in a Post Career World by Bruce Feiler . Bruce breaks down the jobs we have outside of our 9–5, as well as the career pivots that can seem devastating but are almost normal and expected at this point. The Search shares many examples of folks who experience radical professional shifts. It also includes research about how work had changed in the past decades and why.
The Search helps normalize some of the “workquakes” we experience professionally as life brings unexpected changes and new opportunities.
Frequently, my clients want to explore a big career change and this book offers stories of many people that do exactly that.
What are you reading this summer?
Hi! 👋🏼
I’ve got many more recommendations on my Bookshop Reading List.
Check out curated reading lists here.
Is this the summer you join us at RETHINK? Check it out here.. Let this be the time you commit to finding great support and growing your skills. I’ll be there! Hope to see you soon!
Your coach,
CK
