F*ck an “unlimited” PTO policy.
Corporate employees want TRUE flexibility/freedom–not a pseudo benefit they’re politically punished for using.
The discrepancy here is just 1 example of how companies are seriously missing the mark in meeting employees’ values.
Surface-level, people feel underpaid and overworked. Their lives lack balance. They’re struggling to find fulfillment in the work. They’re tired of endlessly job hopping to find the grass that’s as green as advertised.
They’re scratching their heads, because wasn’t this what they worked so hard for? Why else would they have strived for the 4.0 GPA? Completed 6 unpaid internships? Busted their ass for the law degree and to then pass the bar?
The truth is that the facade of corporate prestige has been shattered.
We are collectively waking up to the reality that companies can’t hold true to their promises of fulfillment, inclusivity, and happiness.
But beyond this fact is the reality that it’s actually ON US to make the changes we want to see in our careers.
As much as it’s easy to blame shitty salaries, political BS, and micromanagers for our unhappiness, the truth is that happy hour shit-talking doesn’t do much to get us what we want.
When we deny ourselves accountability over our careers, we lose sight of our power and we become victims of our lives. We resign ourselves to complacency – where we live for the weekend and waste 40+ hours of life force in resentment & resistance every week.
To attain true career freedom, we have to own our role with radical honesty.
We have to get real with ourselves that our companies will probably never give us everything we dreamed our careers would be. It’s time we started trusting ourselves that WE can build those dreams into reality.
The freelance revolution is among us, and it’s a brave new future of work:
+ “Brave” because it requires backing yourself on a level you likely never have before. Freelancing requires self-belief, blind trust, and a mindset of decision of how things get to work for you.
+ “New” in that it’s never been more seamless to win work as an independent expert–because companies are just now recognizing the benefits of freelancers in augmenting their full-time teams.
