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OPINION

Why its never too late to change your

profession
SANJANA RAY , 16 JUNE 2016

Maybe youve done everything right. Maybe you chose your favourite field, owned it in
Grad School and got the perfect job right out of College. Your first month was a dream,

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your colleagues soon became your family and youd wake up before your alarm each day,
to skip your way to work.
But then things start changing. Your cubicle buddies are too loud and chatty, you snooze
the alarm six times before you grumble your way to the bathroom and you pray for heavy
rains and city strikes so you can stay in. Weekends become your deliverance and Monday
mornings, the devil incarnate.

Image : shutterstock
So why are you stuck in this rut?
According to a Herzberg and Clark (1957) who have performed extensive research on the
relationship between employee age and job satisfaction, job satisfaction is U-shaped in
age with higher levels of morale among young workers, but this declines after the novelty
of employment wears off and boredom with the job sets in.
This mostly attributes to people post-30, who are faced in the moral dilemma of stability
vs. passion. People are scared to switch their base in entirety, because theres always the
risk of falling flat on your face. Their argument stems from the fact that their current job

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may not arouse any interest or passion in them anymore, but its tried and tested- and
safe. And probably part of the blue-print anyway.
Suzy Greaves, respected life-coach and author of Making the Big Leap says, We are

encouraged to be successful, to go for money, status, the big car, the title, but when we get
all that, we may not be happy. Often it hits people around 33, when they decide they have
done it all in their career and they want to find fulfilment instead.
People are afraid to take a leap into the unknown because theres always a tremendous
risk accompanying it. They list out more cons than pros, and convince themselves that
they are content because the alternative makes no promises. Having worked at a company
for ten or more years has a rhythmic and familiar style to it, however growth-stunting it

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may be. They know the packages, the perks and the hours to be put in by rote and know
theyre good at what they do.

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But wheres the fun in that?

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Whats the point of being in a dead-end job you cant wait to

retire out of? Why wake up counting hours till you can go to
sleep again?

Marc Freddman, CEO and founder of Encore.org, coined the term encore career in 2009
which seeks to combine a sense of purpose with public-service passion and a pay-check
for people in their 50s and 60s.
The percentage of employees who are craving their individual encore careers has taken a
sharp rise in the recent years. People want to quit their jobs in hopes of finding new ones
that will not only inspire them, but which will also provide them with security and high

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returns.

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Heres a list of reasons to go out there and live your second dream job and to make sure,
this one sticks.
Its not about the money, its about the experience. Our biggest moral dilemma is to
choose between earning the steady big bucks and diving headlong into our passions. Once
youve worked a steady job for over seven years, youll probably have enough savings to
fall back on it times of crisis. That gives you the freedom to explore a new possibility, even

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if the money is a bit tight for the first few transitory months. But, if you love what you do
and you finally wake up each morning excited to go start your day of work, then the returns
are far greater than any six-digit figure.
Youll finally realize your true calling. If your new career comes to you as natural as
breathing, then you have your very own eureka moment where you realize that this was
what you were meant to do, all along!
You are appreciated for every pinnacle of effort you put down. There may have been times
in your last job where you never got the pat on the back you felt you deserved, or when you
got too comfortable and started to slack. Starting a career in something entirely new and
unexplored leaves you with the freedom to try your hand at every single part of it and going
forth to own it.
Youre never too old to learn. The primary cause for employee-dissatisfaction with their

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existing careers is that they feel like theyve learnt up the trade and exhausted it. There is
nothing new to discover or be taught and that right there marks the start of stagnancy.
When you become lax with your job, you tend to take it for granted and slowly from a 100
per cent, it comes down to 70, then 50 and then a 35. When you begin a new profession,

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its like going back to the elementary roots and learning a new tip, a new method, and a

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new ideology every single day. And if its something that piques your interest, then your
graph of effort in terms of career, will be steady at a 100 through it all.
So give yourself a second chance to live your dream job, give it your all and dont ever look
back again. Remember, the world is yours for the taking.

(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do
not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.)

TAGS

CAREER DECISIONS

HERZBERG AND CLARK

JOB SATISFACTION

PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS.

WORKLIFE BALANCE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sanjana Ray "
Heralding from Kolkata, and now a brave Mumbai resident. I have worked as a junior reporter for The
Telegraph, Kolkata (t2 and Metro) and also been a freelancer/global editorial contributor for The
Australian National Review (Digital and now Newspaper). I can ramble on history, food, and
psychological thrillers.

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OPINION

Bosses can be 5 types of crazy here is

how to deal with each of them!
SROMONA BHATTACHARYYA , 10 JUNE 2016

Ever wish your boss was dead? This was the tagline of the Hollywood comedy Horrible
Bosses that hit screens in 2011. Its safe to say that any professional who has faced the

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wrath of a crazy boss relates to the movie in more than one way. The terms bossemy
surfaced to describe such complicated workplace relationships that leave employees
demoralised. Surveys show that 50 per cent of all professionals quit their jobs because of a
not-so-good boss.

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Working with a tough boss can be overwhelming at times. So here are a few pointers to
help make that experience a little less painful.
When your boss micromanages you
No one likes a boss who is constantly checking in on your work and scrutinising it. If you
are continuously subjected to such micromanagement, you can have stunted professional
growth. Jean-Franois Manzoni, professor of management at INSEAD, says, If you rebel
against it, you will just get more of it. The key to surviving this is making your boss trust
you more. Trust is something which can be earned by keeping your boss in the loop about
your work details and giving feedback when necessary.
When your boss expects the impossible
This is the case when your boss dumps a beast of a project or one with an impossible
timeline, or both, into your lap. Although one might be tempted to say, I cant do it! in
order to shine through such situations, you have to get rid of the N-word from your lexicon.
Establish priorities by reminding your boss of more immediate tasks that require your
attention. One can also avoid such a situation by simply explaining why the project is so
tough.
When your boss emails or calls after work hours
Your work life balance will be doomed if your boss constantly emails or calls you after work
hours or when you are on leave. According to a new survey, 36 per cent workers get afterhours emails from their supervisors. One way to decrease this pressure is by delaying your
reply. However, ignoring a call might have repercussions, especially if you are new to the
company. Communication is the key to this problem. Letting your boss know of your strict

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unavailability or setting the boundaries right might help to some extent.

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When your boss undermines you

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Working with a boss who inspires you is a dream-come-true situation. If your boss fails to
motivate you or worse, undermines you, the best possible thing to do is to figure out what
drives you professionally and personally. This can be done by setting your own goals, by
self-evaluation and by strategically planning for situations that may go haywire.

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Professional success can be achieved only with self-evaluation and critical assessment of
your own work before relying on high-rankers.
When your boss is stretched too thin

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There have been innumerable instances in which a superior just dumps his or her work on

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their subordinates. If you are a victim of this, communicate with your boss to make him

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empathise with your situation. Rather than simply agreeing at first and later regretting it,
you should try to point out the amount of work that is already in your share.

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Before being subjected to such atrocious work situations and ending up quitting your job,
one should try all methods at hand to ease the situation. Communication is the key to any
kind of conflict resolution and dealing with a crazy boss is no different.

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(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do
not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.)

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TAGS

CRAZY BOSSES

EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIP

PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS.

MICROMANAGEMENT

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WORKLIFE BALANCE

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sromona Bhattacharyya "
A bibliophile by birth, and a writer by choice, Sromona loves to whisk up tales on anything from
business to fashion and entertainment. A freelance content writer, with a dream to make it big in the
media industry, she indulges in art, photography,literature, cooking and watching TV series when not
writing.

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