A Case Study: Niamh’s Story: Your very existence is threatened when you’re not living your WorkLife true to who you really are, as Niamh painfully realised.
Niamh had worked in Employment Law for three years. She had chosen law as a profession because she believed by helping people, she could play her part in making the world a better place. This was important to Niamh. She chose this particular area of law because she wanted to help to make people’s WorkLives better.
And she did. She had done really good work in helping individuals and organisations achieve better working relationships and conditions. She felt good about that. But, and there was a but, a very BIG BUT - her own WorkLife wasn’t reflective of the good WorkLives she had helped those individuals and organisations achieve together.
Niamh worked long hours and found it hard to do or plan anything outside of work because she was at the firm’s beck and call. She felt they owned her. She didn’t like that, nor did she like that her work demanded being desk-bound for hours on end. She tried to speak to Karen, the managing partner who oversaw the development of associates, about what was important to her in her WorkLife. Niamh told her she loved outdoor pursuits and wanted to make time for this because she believed it was integral to her mental and physical health and wellbeing.
Karen replied by saying she could make time for her hobbies, provided they don’t require firm weekday or long-term weekend commitments because she needed to be available at all times to cope with the ebb and flow of her work. She suggested that Niamh needed to be more efficient with her time and that she could use the company’s onsite gym to maintain good mental and physical health and wellbeing if that was a concern. She finished by saying that would allow her to squeeze in an hour most days, and on really busy days, it would just mean she didn’t take any other breaks and could eat at her desk.
Niamh wasn’t happy about how the conversation had gone, but she didn’t know what else she could do, and so, she continued as she had been doing—working long hours, grabbing time when she could for the outdoor pursuits she loved.
In this lesson, you will learn how her love of outdoor sport not only helped Niamh to maintain her mental health and wellbeing but also helped her to figure out her escape plan.
In this lesson’s WorkLife Learning Assignment, you will learn the three steps to help you escape when you need to.
In this lesson’s Continuous WorkLife Learning Assignment, you will learn the art of journalling to help you tap into your truth and reflect on your WorkLife.