年度自我檢討: 我在找什麼樣的生活跟工作平衡點?
What kind of work-life balance am I looking for?
不只是我, 我相信2020年對於全球來說, 都是變化極大的一年。
對於我來說, Covid 19 疫情的影響除外, 還有職涯上的轉變帶來的壓力, 2019年冬天, 我決定接下新的挑戰, 從台北派任到中國南方城市廣州。面對陌生全新的工作以及生活環境, 我的職階升級了, 職責加重了, 手下的團隊人員倍增了, 壓力也倍數成長。
2020 was a huge different year to me (to all of us, I believe.) The differences to me were not merely caused by the pandemic, but also about the career decision I made and to relocate from Taipei to Guangzhou, the southern part of China, in the winter of 2019. New environment, new job along with greater responsibility, not to mention the impacts of the pandemic crisis on businesses and personal lives of people.
接下這個派任開始, 加上疫情對整個商業跟社會生活型態的影響, 我從此活在瘋狂忙碌的世界中, 生活中只有工作相關的事務圍繞著我。
有天我突然發現我的生活不見了, 那個對新事物有好奇心, 喜歡大笑的我不見了, 但是我也是對工作非常有責任感, 追求工作成就感的人, 無法對工作說放手就放手。那麼, 對我來說, 究竟什麼才是工作跟生活平衡呢? 派任14個月來只有工作是否值得? 我開始去思考並嘗試定義我自己的生活與工作平衡點。
I have been living in a crazy busy working life since then, even much busier than before I got promoted to deputy general manager-marketing and relocated again from Guangzhou to Shanghai.
It makes me rethink about what kind of work-life balance am I looking for?
Clearly, there is only work for me here because life does not exist in the past 14 months. Is it worth? To answer this, I need to define my own definition of work-life balance.
開始思考定義時, 我想到了我跟我擔任小學老師的朋友某一次的對話。這位小學老師非常喜歡小孩, 對於自己的教育專業也非常投入。那次對話我們討論了各自對於職涯發展的期待, 她是這樣說的: "我當然喜歡教育事業, 但是對我來說, 升職不是最重要的, 每年固定的寒暑假以及可預期的準時上下班跟穩定的生活, 才是我追求的, 這很大部分也促使我選擇現在的職業, 成為一位小學老師。" 她的工作時間以及私人休假切分的很清楚, 完全符合生活與工作平衡的基本定義, 但是我尋思, 這不是我想要的工作與生活平衡的類型。平衡點因人而異, 適合她的, 只是剛好不適合我。
I have a friend who is a great elementary school teacher. She loves kids and her education profession of course. But I remember there was one time when we talked about our career development plans aside from loving her educational works, what key factor to make her choose being a teacher. Her answer had not quite surprised me: summer and winter vacations and to get off work on time. She looked for a stable life, which was part of her career development plan, quoted from her “that to get off work on time and longer holidays are the most important things, career promotion isn’t a must.” Her definition of work-life balance fits the basic understanding of well personal life. Just not what I am looking for.
其實在我到中國工作前, 我的工作也一直很忙碌, 但是我還是可以有自己的時間可以寫部落格、一年兩次的長途旅行、上一些不一定有用但有趣的課程, 我覺得當時的生活是有持續投入(inputs), 有色彩的。反觀現在的在更高的職位, 擔負更大的責任時反而失掉了平衡, 我認為我需要將我個人人格深入做解析去找出我自己的平衡點。
Before I moved to China, I had a quite busy working life too. However, I could still manage to write a blog, travel at least twice a year, take new lessons to enrich my life outside work. Now that I am in the higher management position, with greater responsibility I have seemed to make me lose my balance. So, what is the work-life balance am I looking for? It relates to my personality and what I want to achieve.
根據榮格的16人格測試, 我得到"ESTJ" 管理者人格分析結果, 關於管理者人格的解釋為:
"管理者給人信任感以及可靠感, 策略執行以穩定且保險的方向推進; 當管理者說他會完成某件事, 他就會信守承諾, 達成目標。對於他們的家人, 朋友, 公司, 社群, 管理者是非常受信任跟仰賴的一員; 他們從不說空話, 會去接受挑戰, 不斷改善行動方案, 並將細節做系統化梳理, 讓複雜的任務看似簡單跟可達成 — 他們也會保證賦予他們的任務被達成。"
According to 16 personalities test, I am an “ESTJ”-Executive:
“Executives work to exemplify truthfulness and reliability, considering stability and security is particularly important. When executives say they will do something, they keep their word, making them very responsible members of their families, companies, and communities. Their opinions aren’t just empty talk, as executives are more than willing to dive into the most challenging projects, improving action plans and sorting details along the way, making even the most complicated tasks seem easy and approachable.”
對照榮格的16人格管理者人格的解析, 我確實對工作看得很重, 也是很信守承諾的人, 成就感對我來說非常重要, 不管是工作或是生活方面都需要成就感。這次的反思, 讓我更了解自己需要工作以外生活方面的刺激, 才能讓生命更豐富, 我想念曾經work hard play hard 的那個我。這篇文章是要提醒我要記得心裡那個喜歡有趣事物的女孩, 要持續寫作, 持續旅行, 持續探索我現在居住的城市-上海, 持續對這些有趣的生活事物有興趣, 同時在工作上全力以赴, 我追求的工作跟生活平衡雖然不一定是每天準時下班, 但是更應該是永遠保持工作跟生活雙方面的熱情。
Well, I do see the challenging projects at work very seriously and keep my promises to make things happen. The sense of achievement is a must and it also enriches my passion for both at work and personal lives. However, by reflecting on the recent months, I also understand that I need more life outside of the work. After all, I like the girl that I used to be who worked hard and played hard. This article is a reminder that I will take more time on writing, traveling, exploring Shanghai city (oh I must do it!), all those fun stuffs that interest me. The kind of work-life balance I am looking is not about getting off from work on time, but it is about making passions both at work and life.
