I recently left a full-time job at a very large organization with good pay and job security because I was burned out and doing work that didn’t utilize my skills. Despite my own efforts at stress management, mindfulness, finding projects I enjoyed, and trying to focus on my health, my employer’s culture was negatively impacting me, and I was becoming a person I didn’t like – tired all the time, not interested in activities or spending time with friends, negative moods, and dreading going to work. One way I realized this impact was attending a meeting with my Eleccion coworkers (I also work part time there). At that meeting, I was treated with respect, included in discussions (people asked to hear my thoughts and ideas), and the atmosphere was very focused on the people; in fact, the meeting started with a check-in with each person. It is funny how things smack you in the face sometimes. I knew research showed that overworked and overstressed employees suffer mental and physical health issues, including an increased mortality rate; experience burnout; are less productive, absent more, and turnover more frequently (see Forbes, Harvard Business Review, American Management Association, Vertex Ventures, and the book Dying for a Paycheck to name a few). In that moment, I realized that described me, and that I needed to leave the negative culture of my full-time job. I wanted the positive, supportive culture that Eleccion not only talks about, but lives!
I worked for Eleccion only a few hours per month at the time, and reached out to the founding partners, Deanna and Craig, to talk about my situation with them. They supported me as a person, showing concern for my mental and physical health, and also discussed opportunities for additional projects I could work on with them. Why is that a big deal? As a start-up organization where work at the client site is generally required, they have gone out of their way to find ways for me to participate in meaningful work that utilizes my skills as an Industrial/Organizational Psychologist while working remotely from another state. Additionally, they encouraged me to take some time off prior to beginning those projects, to recover and recuperate. THAT is a culture I want to work in! Through their values of # Pervasive Intentionality, # Action Orientation, # Mutual Respect, and # Rampant Curiosity, Eleccion intentionally delivers their person-first culture as a solution to society’s overstress/engagement/burnout problem. I am forever grateful to Deanna and Craig for their support and look forward to helping Eleccion move forward and continue being an awesome place to work.