The Gulf Coast is seeing and hearing a lot from Dolly Parton’s direction this week. Not only does she have an appearance on the Christmas in Rockefellar Center special and a movie sequel release, the country music legend was also at the Pensacola Bay Center on Tuesday evening as a part of her Pure & Simple Tour.
She capped off her performance there with the 1980 smash hit “9 to 5.” Wrapping up the show with such a high-energy, expressive song is powerful, and it can also cause an audience to reflect on how times have changed. For instance, although the tune was helpful in capturing the sometimes frustrated mindset of hard-working folks back in 1980, many people today might tell you that a 9-5 gig would be a worker’s dream come true.
It does feel like there are more and more demands in the 21st-century workplace. In fact, the average American now works approximately 47 hours a week, which is roughly 2350 hours a year (if a person takes two vacations). In addition to time spent at the daily onsite grind, we've all read reports o f technology and its instant response features acting as contributors to our internal compulsion to work even when we are not at work. And as we all know, this is time lost that folks could instead be using to make lasting memories and build stronger connections with loved ones or contribute to important social causes. With Corporate America's focus on the bottom line and competition, the issue can easily be compounded as employees work to get to the customer first, offer the be st pitch, try to seal the deal, and so forth.
Still, many individuals still have a strong preference for an 8-5 or 9-5 job. But with changing times (and with even Dolly herself working well outside of the confines of a 9-5 existence), should we chalk this desire up to hopeless? Not so fast. There are some folks who have been able to successfully land a real 9-5 position or otherwise better meet their own scheduling needs. So what are some proactive measures that you might take to move toward something that better resembles a 9-5 or to advance your own flex-related goals in the modern job climate?
The most important step to take is to establish your priorities. Become familiar with your values, interests, key personality traits, and skill sets. This knowledge will allow you to reverse engineer your future career based on those things that are important to you. A thorough assessment could be a turning point in your life. For instance, it could be the impetus that will provide motivation and a plan to make strides toward launching long-held entrepreneurial dreams. Alternatively, you might lean toward making a case for yourself within the organization you serve, an approach that could afford you flex hours, work from home, or otherwise establish boundaries that reduce overwhelm and create a more harmonious coexistence of work and personal spheres. Or you may begin a new career exploration process entirely.
You also want to recognize that availing yourself of alternative work possibilities typically requires you to lay some groundwork and take purposeful steps toward your career objectives. For example, if you want to work from home, demonstrating your worth to an employer, casting a vision for how your schedule would be arranged and obligations met, ensuring transparency and reporting requirements are managed, examining fairness concerns, and pre-assessing other issues involved could be key (and timing and luck could also come into play, of course).
If you are planning to make some career-related changes, it is up to you to step off the hamster wheel of perpetual busyness and create the life you want to live. Remember that you are your own best advocate in your professional life and that you are not stuck. You always have options and the ability to make the change to who you want to be.
Dr. Kathleen “Katie” S. Hudon is the assistant director of Career Services at University of West Florida.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Turn your hard-working blues into your dream come true