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You’ve probably heard the term quiet quitting, a term coined by Career Coach Bryan Creely that spread rapidly online in early 2022. Quiet quitting was popularized during the peak of adapting to our “new normal” following the global pandemic, when the blurred lines between work and life were exposed – and could no longer be ignored. Many high-performing, dedicated employees stepped back from demanding work responsibilities and hours and started to ponder bigger questions about living a meaningful, fulfilled and inspired life.
However, while quiet quitting seems like a newer trend, there is an underlying experience that’s been happening for much longer: the Pivotal Career Moment.
We have all experienced a Pivotal Career Moment at some point in our careers, whether in a part-time job in college or when you felt you had finally reached the summit of your career. A Pivotal Career Moment is so visceral – a metaphoric gut punch – that most people can recall it with clarity.
It’s that moment where you just know that you’re done. Any enthusiasm you had for the job has evaporated.
Typically, a Pivotal Career Moment happens when a boundary is crossed or violated, there is a break in trust with managers, colleagues or the organization, or there is a blatant sign of misaligned values.
A perfect example is Conny’s client Beth* (name changed). She had been working at the same organization for a while. She didn’t mind the work or culture and liked her colleagues, yet felt as if she was coasting through work and life. She wanted to seek out a new challenge in her role and organization and confided in her manager. After months of asking for a change, she was advised to focus on her job and stop expecting so much from the company.
There it was: the gut punch. In that pivotal moment, Beth checked out emotionally, physically and spiritually. That instant helped her to recognize that her workplace and role were no longer aligned with her values, strengths and interests. She stayed for another year, going through the motions and doing just enough to keep her job while quietly applying elsewhere.
“Typically, a Pivotal Career Moment happens when a boundary is crossed or violated, there is a break in trust with managers, colleagues or the organization, or there is a blatant sign of misaligned values.”
In another example of a Pivotal Career Moment, Jordan*, a top performer in his organization who was feeling unsupported and overwhelmed with the workload and expectations, asked for more support from his manager. The response was negative, demeaning and unhelpful. In that single conversation, despite hundreds of positive interactions and accomplishments at work, he knew it was the end of the road in that role. He handed in his resignation a few days later.
How can career professionals help?
The pivotal moment takes a split second for employees to completely check out or move on. However, there are ways we, as career professionals, can support our clients through the storm.
- Build self-awareness. Cultivate clients’ curiosity to better understand their strengths, weaknesses, desires, natural interests, values and goals. When a client knows who they are and what they bring to the table, this opens the conversation to what possible career paths may be next for them.
- Encourage self-reflection. A lot of clients can probably tell you the situation that is causing them to check out, but they often do not take a holistic view or recognize any potential personal responsibility for their dissatisfaction. Help your client reflect on their job and expectations. Explore lessons from the experience to help them grow, learn, and manage future goals and decisions.
- Inspire action-taking. Guide clients to seek out new opportunities and challenges – whether it is within the organization or within their community or personal life. Often, we see clients get stuck in their unhappiness. They have had that moment of clarity in recognizing that this organization no longer aligns with their values, strengths or skills. So, encouraging them to take inspired action can help them to move forward.
- Encourage boundary setting. Validate healthy and unhealthy boundaries to help the client prioritize their values when seeking future opportunities.
- Encourage open conversation. If there is any interest or chance for your client to re-engage or repair their relationship with their current organization, help them to find ways to open that conversation.
What steps can employers and managers take?
- Respect and encourage healthy appropriate work/life boundaries. Examples can include remote, hybrid, flex hours or agency in schedules. Lead by example; take time off and be mindful of the time of day that you communicate with your team.
- Check in with employees. Show compassion and curiosity for their strengths, values and goals. Giving employees the opportunity to also provide feedback on their managers allows for two-way communication.
- Set clear expectations. It’s easy for things to go awry when your team isn’t exactly sure what is expected of them.
- Develop accessible conflict management processes. Relationships can be repaired between willing and open parties. We are all human, so we need to approach conflict with compassion, understanding, curiosity and flexibility.
The Pivotal Career Moment can be a critical time in our clients’ careers. Being disengaged can limit career progression and increase mental distress. It’s not fun for anyone. Helping our clients navigate these complex ruptures and conflicts effectively can have long-lasting impacts and benefits.
The above suggestions are not comprehensive but are taken from our experiences. What has helped you and your clients?
