Harvard Business Review wants to get something straight: when someone tells you “Don’t take it personally” when it comes to your job, do not listen. Many of us have heard this advice over and over in our careers. So why is it so wrong?
We are told not to take feedback, conflict, touchy work conversations, collaboration, and the highs and lows of one’s career personally. However, doing so is difficult when you spend the majority of your day at your job. In fact, there are benefits to making your work personal.
First, think about your colleagues who really inspire you. Perhaps they show up every day with a smile on their face, or perhaps they go above and beyond to help others succeed. They probably take their jobs personally! You may not enjoy working with others who have separated themselves from their work. They may simply come in at 9 a.m., work for several hours, and are out the door at 5 p.m. They do their jobs and that’s it. To many, success seems to have a direct relationship with taking work personally.
Consider also workplace engagement. Those who are more engaged in their work are often stronger performers. Therefore, should employees really not take their work personally? Such advice may be costly to a business.
In addition, the common adage, “it’s not personal, it’s business” can lead to some devastating scandals in the workplace. Consider embezzlement and accounting fraud. When employees stop taking their work personally, they may absolve themselves of personal liability for their actions, which can result in scandalous behavior.
Therefore, if employees are to act responsibly, they need to take things very personally at work. A dehumanized work environment is not likely to treat its employees well.
Of course, employees must remain mindful of boundaries in the workplace. An employee should be passionate about his or her job, but not to the point where minor mistakes damage one’s self image and self-esteem. If work takes over your identity, this can be an issue as well.
Therefore, it is important to find the happy medium in between. One should not be so detached from one’s work that he or she glides carelessly through each day in the office, but it is important to remember that what someone does for a living is only a small part of who he or she is.
According to The Muse, “Follow your passion” can also be pretty bad career advice. After all, how on earth do you even “follow” your passion? The article compares the advice to simply moving to Hollywood if you want to become a famous movie star. Clearly, it takes a little more than that to become successful.
You need to think about the following: can you even earn a living following this dream? If you had to do it every day to make money, would you still be passionate about it? Is what you are passionate about related to a skill you have that is actually needed in today’s market? Consider these questions carefully before leaping into a career.
In addition, simply saying that you should follow your passion makes chasing a career path sound easy. Finding meaningful work takes serious dedication and discipline. You have to understand what skills are required for such a position, and you need to understand how to master those skills. By doing so, you will increase your odds of success.
Source: Harvard Business Review
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