24 Months Into The Workforce — Here’s 24 Things I’ve Learned

It’s only a matter of time. Some of us do it at 16, some at 22, some at 30 — and no, I’m not talking about sex. The day we choose to or have to enter the workforce comes for us all. This day… The day our alarm goes off, we put on our job appropriate outfit, eat half a granola bar and wash it down with a cheap cup of coffee, then rush out the door toward a new reality — this day brings a watershed of emotions.

It’s hard to put into words what work means to humans.

For some, it is freedom — excitement.

For some, it is money — power.

For some, it is necessary — exhausting.

For some, it is debilitating — painful.

Many humans have jobs, but few have meaning.

In a lot of ways, our relationship with work is defined as a necessary evil. We have debt to escape. Bills to pay. Mouths to feed. I think behind the atriums and ventricles of our hearts, we wrestle on a daily basis with the ever stabbing question:

Am I working to live or living to work?

We want to answer one way, but how many of us actually, (honestly), can say that answer without lying to ourselves? I can’t.

When I entered the workforce, it took me nine months to find a job post-graduation. At the time, it seemed like an eternity. HA! Little did I know that this thing called a 9 to 5, Monday - Friday, would rewrite my definition of that word. Ignorance is bliss they say — in this case, it was a wake-up call. Do I hate my job? No. Here’s what I hate… the funnel in which the modern workforce exists within.

On average, you’re likely to spend 13 years of your lifetime at work. That’s actual time on the job, doing what you’re paid for. No commuting. No Sunday night preplanning. Just time at the “desk.” The thing about funnels is that they are meant to help put large quantities into “containers” — it’s a system not designed to be put in reverse. A funnel isn’t an equitable relationship. It’s onesided, where one benefits and the other exhausts their surplus of resources.

We pour ourselves into the workforce, and can’t escape — the funnel doesn’t flow that way. So what am I getting at? First off, the workforce needs a major overhaul. It isn’t designed for the 21st-century or the modern worker — regardless if you work with a shovel or trackpad. Secondly, for all of us about to enter, re-enter, or still in the workforce, we need to reframe how we look at our relationship with work. Be conscious and realistic of how the workforce treats you. You pump its blood, it doesn’t pump yours.

So without further ado, 24 things I’ve learned in 24 months.

1. You’re doing a better job than you think.

2. Eight hours of work isn’t healthy.

3. Take your lunch break and actually EAT.

4. Be kind. It’s always worth it.

5. Question standard operating procedures.

6. Employee turnover is hard to handle.

7. You’re going to need to advocate for yourself.

8. Use PTO. (Read that again… )

9. Mental health sick days are a real thing.

10. Don’t sit for longer than 60 minutes at a time.

11. Working remotely creates a better work-life balance.

12. Most of your bosses will be good people.

13. Unmentioned ideas don’t help anyone.

14. You are “insert name.” Not a job title. (Read that one again… )

15. Your personal life affects your work life just as much as your work life affects your personal one.

16. Call your family. Tell them you love them.

17. Start your morning slow.

18. Bad days are unavoidable.

19. Be careful at work happy hours.

20. Your co-workers can disappear overnight.

21. Don’t water down your personality.

22. Don’t invest more into your employer than they invest in you.

23. Rome wasn’t built overnight.

24. Time in a job you hate isn’t wasted.