“Serve one another with the particular gifts God has given each of you, as faithful dispensers of the magnificently varied grace of God … so that God may be glorified in everything through Jesus Christ.”
–The Apostle Peter (from 1 Peter 4:10-11)
There are a lot of changes going on in the work world right now. Unemployment has exploded due to COVID-19, as has working remotely. These two factors are driving significant changes at work for a massive percentage of our society, which has already created lots of job changes … and will likely continue.
Even apart from those societal forces, people are changing jobs more than ever before. Many people change jobs for a higher salary or a bump in job title. Others change jobs because of their specific manager. A higher percentage than you would think—70%—would be willing to take a pay CUT to work in their ideal job.
Younique is built on the idea that you have been given a special calling to fulfill. This calling takes into account your unique abilities, passions, and experiences—everything that makes up who you are. The goal of every Younique course or tool is to help you understand just a little bit more of who you are and how you have been intentionally and divinely shaped for a purpose.
In our culture, many of us find purpose in what we do for a living. It’s one of the primary pieces of our social identity: “What do you do for a living?” It’s what we spend a lot of our lives doing. You will spend over 90,000 hours over the course of your life working. That’s a lot of time—a lot of your life!
Maybe one of the most shocking statistics is that globally, only 15% of workers say they are “engaged” at work. How do we know if someone is engaged at work? Mostly, we can tell by their answers to these types of questions (not an exhaustive list).
- I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.
- I have received recognition or praise for doing good work.
- This last year, I have had opportunities to learn and grow.
- The mission or purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important.
At Younique, we use a well-known phrase to describe what it means to be engaged at work. We call it working in your sweet spot. And the data shows that most people (85% globally, something like 67% in the U.S.) say they are not working in their sweet spot.
Your sweet spot is found at the convergence of three important factors: passion, ability, and context.
The sad truth, though, is that while a large percentage of people would say that are not currently working their sweet spot, they haven’t taken the time to really articulate what it is! They have a sense that they’re not there … but they don’t have a clear understanding of where “there” is.
For example, people may answer the question, “I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day,” without a clear understanding of what they do best. Not only that, but too many people base their current understanding of what they do best on popular inventories like DISC, Meyers-Briggs, the Enneagram, and Insights. At Younique, we typically use the Insights profile as a part of the process of defining your sweet spot … but that only gives you some answers in one part of the circle!
If you really want to understand your sweet spot, it’s going to take some time, energy, and intentional effort. But if you’re going to spend 90,000 hours at work, the investment to understand and live in your sweet spot is well worth the time and effort.
Without an understanding of your sweet spot, you can spend years being frustrated at work and not really know why. You can bounce from job to job but not have the right criteria to evaluate which job is the best fit for you.
Even after you articulate your sweet spot, it may take considerable time and effort to find the role that gets you the closest to it. But you’ll know what you’re shooting for and where you’re likely to be frustrated, which will enable you to anticipate those frustrations and make a plan to minimize them.
We’ve developed a practical and affordable course to walk you through a process of discovering and articulating your sweet spot. If you’re going through a job change right now—or one is being forced on you because of the state of our culture—check out the Job Change course.
Or, if you just want a better understanding of what you were born to do, the Job Change course can help. You actually might not need to change your job … you might need to shift the way you approach your job. But you can’t make any of those decisions until you’ve taken the time to understand your younique passions, your abilities, and your context.
Learn more or register for the Job Change course below.
Reference Links
Job Hopping Rise
What Engaged Employees Do Differently
8 Employee Engagement Statistics You Need to Know
