HOW DARE YOU
A CASE STUDY EXCERPT FROM GOOD BYE:
Maddy made a career choice she thought was going to be for life. It was a vocation, within a public service organization that many employees served in for life. The nature of the work relies heavily on close knit teams and working relationships that are about togetherness and having each other’s backs. Maddy embarked on this career (and at this point she believed it would be her lifelong career and was fully committed to that) full of excitement about what she would be learning and becoming and full of hope of how she was going to be of service.
The Reality that became apparent through her first year was that she didn’t enjoy the work. It surprised and unsettled her that the role didn’t use her skills in a way she imagined. Alongside this ran her experience of this being a hierarchical ranked organization in which she didn’t fully feel she could be her best self. She didn’t feel she belonged.
After two years Maddy took the brave decision to leave and pursue another career. The system which demanded loyalty, and was under pressure and under resourced, reacted with frustration and anger. They were initially unable to see the human experience beneath their sense of disappointment and betrayal. Despite being treated differently (and badly), Maddy continued to work hard right up to her last day. In doing so she won back some hearts and minds and there was some recognition not only of the great contribution she had made in a short time, but perhaps of the responsibility they shared for her experience.
DOES THIS SITUATION SOUND FAMILIAR? PRE-ORDER GOOD BYE.