I Left My Job. The Habits Were Harder to Leave Behind.

Four months ago, I turned in my office key and my life as an employee. So why don’t I feel more free?

As it turns out, 20 years of performing to job expectations and organizational culture norms doesn’t untangle itself overnight. The burnout baggage doesn’t pack itself away simply because you become your own boss.

I find myself stressing about how quickly I’m responding to an email. I put in too many hours of work on a client project, trying to get it perfect. I find it hard to let myself rest when I’m tired.

I’m still living in the shadow of a work structure that mistakes activity for impact. And I’m not alone in this. These patterns didn’t originate with me — they’re baked into workplaces still running on a system designed to assemble Ford vehicles, not develop whole humans.

What we need instead are places where employees feel safe to speak up — and know their feedback will be heard and acted on. Where there’s clarity about where we’re collectively heading and how each role contributes to that vision. Where people trust they’ll hear honest feedback when they’re off track, and genuine appreciation when they’re not.

For the first time in Gallup’s data tracking, global employee engagement has fallen two years in a row. It’s at its lowest in five years, with only 20% of employees showing an emotional connection and commitment to their work and organization. Not only is this a tragedy for humanity’s mental health, but businesses with high employee engagement demonstrate better outcomes across every industry. Conversely, the very real cost of employee disengagement and turnover is significant.

There is something very wrong with this picture. We spend a third of our waking lives at work, and yet how many of those minutes do we spend dreaming about being somewhere else, making sure we look busy, or even searching for another job? Of course, work will never be free of stress, difficult coworkers, and mundane tasks. But it is imperative that we focus on creating cultures where employees thrive rather than silently withdraw.

To every leader out there: ask your employees how they are doing, what they need, and what you can do better — and mean it. Listen like it matters. Then act like it does. Create the conditions where people feel safe enough to tell you the truth in the first place.

That’s where it starts. And four months in, I’m still learning what it feels like to work that way myself.

Coalesce Consulting

Organizational Culture Development · Team Facilitation · Strategic Planning

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