What are you Giving Up for Work?: Workplace Multiplier October 25, 2024
Oct 25, 2024 3:19 pm
Workplace Multiplier by Tola Akinsulire
Friday Edition: October 25, 2024
Welcome to the Workplace Multiplier newsletter. Published every Tuesday & Friday, we discover something crucial to help us on the way to winning at work and in life.
What are you Giving Up for Work?
Recently, I was speaking with someone who works at an international multi-national agency. His work takes him to different countries. So far, he has lived and worked in 4 continents.
Our conversation went into the matter of family. He shared his thoughts on some of the foundational decisions he and his wife had agreed upon when it came to work.
They had decided he would never take a job posting that does not allow him to bring his family along.
This meant he said “No” to a couple of higher-paying postings. But he did with a sense of fulfillment.
At some point during our conversation, he shared the story of a colleague who was not passing on those higher-paying no-family postings. Twelve years later, he has a richer income but is now on his fourth divorce.
A case of things that the job will take away from you if you let it.
But it is not always a case of the big stuff that work takes. Sometimes it’s the small insidious approach it makes to the rest of all of you.
A while back, I was speaking with a client and we were doing a review of her state of work. She was in a role where she believed she could make a monster-sized contribution to the company.
The cost?
At that time, she was feeling emotionally worn out and experiencing multiple sickness bouts.
What won’t the job take away from you if you let it?
In the tale of Odysseus in The Odyssey, his encounter with the Sirens is fascinating.
The Sirens in The Odyssey were creatures that appeared as beautiful women who had angelic voices. Upon closer look, however, they were monsters much akin to a hawk-like bird with the large head of a woman and sharp teeth. They used their powers to entice sailors to their deaths, by drowning them while immobilizing or hypnotizing them with their melodies to stay on their island forever. The sirens were one of the first ordeals that Odysseus and his crew had to pass through to continue their journey home to Ithaca.
The immortal goddess Circe warned Odysseus about the dangers they possessed and gave him the inside scoop on how to safely bypass their way without giving in to the temptation.
She told him to stuff his crew’s ears with softened beeswax so that no one in his crew could hear their call. She also included guidance for the hero: if he wanted to hear what the sirens had to say to him, he had to ask his men to tie him to the mast of their ship, so that wouldn’t fall into danger. If he were to plead to be set free, his men would have to secure him and tighten the ropes further, while the others rowed the ship faster away from sirens’ island.
And that was exactly what they did.
Since Odysseus hadn’t covered his ears, he was instantly enthralled by the sirens’ call. He lashed and struggled against his restraints, and even ordered his men to release him. Sticking to his previous instructions, the two crewmen responsible for him, Perimedes and Eurylochus, only tightened the ropes, while the rest rowed the ship away from the sirens’ reach.
As soon as they stopped hearing the siren songs, the crew unplugged the beeswax from their ears and then released Odysseus from his bonds.
Work can play a sound as alluring as the siren sounds. It calls you to give more because it promises more rewards.
More than just rewards, it promises to bestow you with boons, boons which you believe you will also bestow on the rest of humanity.
Allow me to be Circe, to bring you warning and advice.
Work can be a happy experience, the opportunity for us to live as creators like God. We take what exists and bring out something that did not exist.
But it is just one component of why we exist.
In the Biblical story of creation, four key principles were established in the Garden of Eden. The principles of Work, Relationships, Worship & Rest.
I believe we need to live our lives with all four in harmony and not under the tyranny of any of the four.
To do that for myself, I developed a simple structure which helps me put all the various life areas in their right place.
I have The Life Triangle. The Life Triangle is broken into three layers. The most important layer is the one on top and they go in sequence afterwards. I’ll summarize all three layers here:
1 - Relationships that Define me: These give me a clear sense of my identity. They are the aspects of my life that deal with my spiritual, physical and personal leadership life areas
2 - Relationships that Refine me: These relationships help me become better at living life. They are the aspects of my life that deal with my marital, parental and accountability cycle life areas.
3 - Relationships that Experience me: These relationships show how well I play my part in the field of life. They are the aspects of my life that deal with my work, finance, faith community, social and public community life areas.
Using the Life Triangle, I set goals downwards and make choices going upwards.
This has helped me to eliminate a lot of normal conflicts when making decisions about not just my work and how much space it should occupy, but it has also helped all the other areas of my life.
Not long after I started using it for myself, I shared it with a couple of friends. It helped them. To make it easier, I put together a video training which you still access here - https://www.tolawrites.com/3-relationships-for-wpm/
The siren songs of work can be powerful, promising rewards and playing a part in creation. Yet, it's just one facet of a fulfilling life. We, like Odysseus, must resist the seductive sirens of careerism that threaten to drown out other essential aspects of our being.
Let the Biblical story of creation remind you of four pillars: Work, Relationships, Worship, and Rest. Live in harmony with all of them, not under the domination of any single one - especially work.
Remember, work is a gift, but only when balanced with the other pillars of a meaningful life. Take control of your priorities, and don't let the seductive whispers of work drown out the symphony of your existence.
You can win at work and in life.
Tola Akinsulire
I am a Workplace Multiplier
P.S. For a deeper dive into the Life Triangle framework, access the free video training here: https://www.tolawrites.com/3-relationships-for-wpm/