Last week we delved into the emotions around a job transition, and we touched on how a job change falls within the top five life event stressors we might find ourselves facing.
This week I’d like to go deeper into the “WHY” behind the myriad of emotions we experience when we find ourselves in job transition. And not only when you might be in an active search, that is, you’re unemployed and actively looking for work, but even when you’re a passive candidate. That is, you’re employed, but you’re interested in considering other new opportunities.
Career Changes and Stress Levels
In an article titled, “The Science and Psychology Behind Job Search” (Indeed, 10/22/15), the authors highlighted the Holmes-Rahe Stress Scale (see below) where various elements of change within employment cause different levels of stress.
This chart lists a number of common changes that occur throughout one’s career, alongside other life changes unrelated to one’s career, both paired with their coordinating levels of stress defined by the Holmes and Rahe stress scale.
A quick scan of this scale reveals that it’s not only the actual decision to leave an employer that causes stress (whether it’s a voluntary or involuntary termination), but also multiple work experiences potentially leading up to a decision to leave which causes different levels of stress.
The authors also pointed out further detail behind the WHY of the Stress Scale. That is, a person goes through a seven step process when considering a job change. They are as follows:
- Consider a change – Should I stay or should I go?
- Consider your company – Can my current organization meet my needs?
- Consider a position – Hey, perhaps this new role at another organization might be better?
- Apply – I’ll find out if they’ll talk with me about it.
- Commit to the process – I better apply myself if I’m going to be in it to win it!
- Accept the offer – Awesome, I got the offer! Oh no, now I have to truly decide!
- Appear at new job – I wonder how this is all going to work?
Just pause for a moment and re-read that list with my statements / questions following. Think about the emotions and wrestling you may have done yourself as you went through the various steps. How did it feel? How were they resolved? If you’re like me, you start to see WHY a job transition is so stressful!
But wait, there’s MORE! Check this out!
The Errors We Make
“When weighing up the costs and benefits of a decision, we make two errors. First, we overestimate the probability of failure in a new direction because of our negative bias. Second, we underestimate the benefits of change because we fail to imagine or visualize the results of that change in much detail.” —The Career Psychologist
In summary, play this through and see if this adds up for you like it did for me:
- Job transition is in the top 5 life event stressors.
- In addition, the events leading up to an actual job transition are stressful (see Holmes-Rahe Stressor Scale).
- On top of that, the decision process you go through to actually make the change is stressful.
- AND FINALLY, our minds can roll all over the place when forecasting the future, and usually not in a positive way!
If there’s ever an opportunity for you to lose your self-confidence, it’s in going through a job transition. And, even more importantly, when we are under stress that undermines our confidence, it’s very easy for Satan to step in and start to throw accusations your way. Statements like:
- No wonder you lost your job! You’re not that talented!
- I knew Mary didn’t like me. She had it out for me for a long time!
- Why doesn’t anyone ever call me back? I feel like such a loser!
- I hate networking and having to meet new people! Which one will have the job connection I need?!
- You were a poser in your old job, and no one is going to hire you for a new one!
- This whole job search process is so overwhelming!
Our Hope in the Gospel
Thankfully, we have THE TRUTH in Scripture to help us overcome those and other lies from our enemy! Our identity isn’t bound up in what we do but WHO Jesus is! And if you’ve accepted His loving gift of salvation, you are HIS child, and He has many, many promises for His children! Here are a few:
- Deuteronomy 31:8 “Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”
- Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not, for I am with you, Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand!”
- Hebrews 13:5-6 “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ’The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’”
- Psalms 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
- John 10:29 “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand.”
I literally could go on and on about God’s commitment to His children! Over and over again He tells us not to fear but to trust!
I hope you can conclude two things from this brief article:
- Job transitions are very hard and very emotional.
- Our God has got this!!!!
Blessings!
Dave Sparkman currently serves as the volunteer Crossroads Career board chair and local ministry leader. He is also the founder and managing director of Spark Your Culture, a corporate culture consulting firm. Prior to that he worked at UnitedHealth Group, a Fortune #5 public company, serving in the role of Chief Culture Officer. His unemployment experience came from the implosion of Arthur Andersen, where he served as the West Region Managing Partner, People.
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