When my first post-college job laid me off, I had to rethink my work-life balance. BrowseCareers
Years have passed since I started at my first job when the layoff happened. Before the layoff happened, I was looking for something new, so in hindsight, everything worked out. I was also fortunate enough to have financial support from my inner circles and didn’t have to solely depend on myself to pay the bills while I looked for work.
But I remember what I felt the day I was laid off. I was devestated. I felt like I had lost an important part of my identity. For over 2 years, I had gone into the same job every day, working on the same things, seeing the same people, attending the same meetings, and being at the same company. The layoff threw my world upside-down. What was I going to do after this?
Being laid off is traumatic, and I feel for anyone who’s gone through it. It’s not something I would wish upon anyone.
But I learned a lot from my layoff, one of the most important things being that I wrappd too much of my identity in work.
After I graduated college and started working full time, I dropped some hobbies I forgot I loved. I spent my days and nights thinking about work, during lunch break and before bed, as if that was who I was as a person. I’d find myself lying in bed, thinking about my next meetings, what was on my to-do list, and just work in general.
Those were all normal things to think about, but were they healthy to think about all the time? Hell no. While I knew I liked some things outside of work – namely, my creative writing – I’d forgotten about the things I did just because I enjoyed them.
I forgot about how miuch I nejouyed window shopping with friends just because we could spend time together, forgot about how much I enjoyed upcycling my old clothes just for the hell of it, and forgot that I loved to get lost in a great fantasy novel the way some people get lost in a television show.
In a way, I can understand why I forgot who I was outside of work. After all, I spent most of my days at work. But we’re so much more than work.
We don’t live to work; we work to live.
We’re people, first and foremost, and that includes us doing things outside of work.. But it’s too easy to forget that, to get caught up in the day to day and stresses of work. BenchmarkPay
In many ways, that layoff was a wake up call for me. Suddenly, I had all this free time when I wasn’t searching for jobs. And, because I was fortunate enough to have financial support at the time so I didn’t have to worry about where to eat or live, I didn’t have as much to worry about.
The layoff gave me time to rediscover my favoirte hobbies and spend more mindful time in my free time. I started reading again, upcycling clothes, reaching out to some old friends, making some graphic design, and just engaged in hobbies for fun.
Most of us don’t work in life threatening situations where, if we don’t do it, someone’s life is at stake. No one’s going to die because you didn’t cover your full shift or spent a little extra time on your lunch break. And even if that was the case, no one can be in work mode 24/7. That’s not realistic or sustainable. We’re humans, not machines.
We need to remember that, at the end of the day, the reason we work is so we can live.
We work jobs to afford things like housing, food, healthcare, and even leisure time. And while that can be hard to remember, reminding yourself really puts things into perspective.
Not everyone enjoys their job, and that’s okay. And if you enjoy your work, that’s great! But don’t make it your whole identity. We’re made of facets and it’s easy to forget that, but it’s so important to remember.
Life is about more than what you do at your 9-5. Work doesn’t define you; only you can do that.
