Jump and Run

MILLENIALS, per Wikipedia, are known to have too great expectations from the workplace, “look for the versatility and flexibility in the workplace, and strive for a strong work-life balance”.    I indeed belong to this generation.  In 12 years after I graduated from college, I jumped from 1 employer to another, and now on my fifth employer.  

My work life started as an auditor, where I gained experience and increased my market value.  Those were also the years of sleepless nights and weekends were weekdays.  I never regretted working in this firm, as I carried on its prestigious name in my CV.   After three years, I jumped to another audit firm outside the country.  Workload was the same, except that I was earning much higher but away from my family.  I cannot count the nights when I have to go home just to get some clothes, sleep in the office alone, take a bath in a nearby gym, and go back to office.  I may have struggled to have a work-life balance, but I was very thankful that God allowed me to work in these two firms during my first 5 working years.  Aside from being able to support my family and save something for my wedding, I have also learned to be more independent, stronger and resilient.  

I went back to Philippines to get married.  I started having my own family and worked in my comfort-zone company, but it did not last for long.  I may have achieved a work-life balance, but my earnings were not sufficient to support my growing family.  It was really hard for me to leave the job that I loved.  I jumped again to another company, with a higher income, but again struggled with a work-life balance.  I usually go home at 10 – 11pm, and there were times when my son did not want to sleep beside me, and chose to sleep with his Tita instead.   Those were my turning points, and my husband requested me to look for another job where I could spend more time with him and my son.  

Thankfully, God led me to my current job, where everything fell into the right place.  In my current job, I have managed how to balance my life.  In my first year with my current employer, I gave birth to our second child.  In my second year, I got hooked into fitness and running with my husband, and have also enrolled in a dressmaking course.  In my third year, I started with my MBA, got into ultra-marathons and got promoted.  Despite these various activities and busy lifestyle, I have still managed to regularly spend a quality time with my family.  

Looking back, now that I have achieved the kind of work and the kind of life that I wanted, I came into the following realizations:

• The main reason why I jumped from one organization to another, is really not about the money or the time that I wanted.  The main reason is that I was always trying to compare myself with others, who had a higher paying jobs, higher benefits, and a lot of time to spend on extra curricular activities.  It was actually the "envy" comparing my employer with their employer.  I have set very high standards, on what's the ideal job and company for me.  
• Balancing work, life, family, and relationship with God, really depends on a person's values, choice, strategy and outlook.  Probably in my early 'working' years, leisure or work-life-balance was not really my priority.  Perhaps my priority back then was really to be recognized for my work, and a sense of completion or achieving something.    
• Being in the right organization has a factor of prayer, luck and listening to someone else's advice.  Before I got employed byit  my current employer, I thought of accepting the offer of another organization, a start-up company.  Between the two, I preferred the start-up company but my husband let me realize that I may again struggle in juggling my role as an employee and as a family woman.  He let me to a more stable company, and I'm glad I listened to him.  Just recently, I heard that the start-up company is now closing and has laid off a number of employees.  
• Tone at the top and company's culture really matter in ensuring that employees achieves a work-life balance.  My previous superiors in prior organizations used to stay late in the office, and this was actually normal with the rest of the organization.   With my current employer however, at least 95% of the directors, managers, supervisors and staff, go home sharply at dismissal time.  This proves that an average person does not need to exert excessive effort to achieve the "ideal"balance between life and work. 

I may have jumped several times looking for a flat and safe ground...and when I got there, I started running to God's chosen path for me.