For those of a certain age who were into cutting-edge music, “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” was the title of a punk rock song by the Clash. For many of us today, it’s a question that we might be asking ourselves daily about our current jobs. Perhaps you’ve heard of the Great Resignation? Yes, it’s been reported on more than a little. With millions leaving their jobs each month (4.4 million in November alone according to Fortune magazine) it’s become a major topic of conversation.
Have you been wondering if there’s something more for you, employment-wise? Or, have you been carrying on an internal dialogue about your value as an employee or whether you’re being appropriately recognized and compensated? Many people approach decisions like whether to change jobs by making a “pros and cons” list. While such a list can be helpful, there are, well, pros and cons to relying on one! The major drawback of a pros and cons list is that we often don’t account for the fact that not all pros and cons are created equal. It could be that some of the factors under consideration are much more important than others, so it is important to accord appropriate weight to each, instead of simply counting up the totals in each column.
When I was choosing a law school, I drafted a pros and cons list to convince myself that the school my then girlfriend was attending was the best alternative. After all, it had more pros than cons. Fortunately, I had the good sense to realize that I had committed the cardinal sin of weighing each factor equally. Thus, “availability of dorm housing” received the same value as “quality of education” and “employability post-graduation.” Upon deeper consideration, I recognized that the latter two factors should be accorded more weight than the social benefits of living in a dorm for a few years. Weighting each factor brought me a whole new kind of clarity. I realized that, for me, “quality of education” and “employability post-graduation” needed to be weighted more heavily than the opportunity to live in a dorm room. Once I recognized this, I ultimately chose a law school that better met my needs and my girlfriend (who is now my wife) transferred out the next year.
So, how might you actually weight each entry on a pros and cons list? It might feel like a daunting task and I acknowledge that it’s both tedious and difficult. Trust that it’s worth the time and effort! After making a simple list of pros and cons, consider giving each factor a weight value of 1–5, with 5 being the “weightiest” or most important and 1 being the least important. The factors accorded the most weight should be those that tie most closely into your personal values. Returning to my law school example, I hold education and continued learning as very important values. A fulfilling job that helps me feel that I’m contributing to society is even more important. Living in a dorm room, while fun and less expensive, did not tie into a value, it was simply what I’d call a “nice to have.”
As you weight each pro and con, first focus on which ones tie into your personal values and weight them the heaviest. Next, which pros and cons feel especially important to you even if they don’t tie into a specific value? Perhaps you’ve listed the opportunity to work remotely as a “pro”, for example, and although there’s no deep personal value behind it, it does feel important. These should receive an intermediate weight. To weight each factor, you might have to separate out the various pieces, such as the need to commute, the distractions of working in an office, the social benefits of working with others, etc. Parsing each consideration to its essence will show you whether it’s tied into a value, which will help you with weighting. Suppose one of the main reasons you want to work remotely is because you dislike commuting. What if you found a role that was 10–15 minutes from home, but didn’t offer a remote work option? Would that still be okay? In other words, is it an issue of commute time or something else, like the need rely on public transportation or other obligations that keep you close to home, such as childcare? As you dive into the reasons behind each factor, you will be able to weight them more precisely.
Once you’ve made your list and assigned weights to each item, pressure test it with a few trusted mentors or friends to see if they agree with your list and weight ratings. Once confirmed, add up each column. Then, subtract the total cons from the total pros. Did you come up with a positive number? If so, then divide that number by the number of pro factors you considered to get your final tally. For example, suppose you had a total of 50 pro points and 25 con points. Suppose further that you had 10 pro factors. Your final tally would be 50 minus 25, which equals 25, and dividing by 10 gives you 2.5 per factor. To me, that’s a very decent rating in favor of the pros and would cause me to strongly consider moving ahead with my process. Conversely, if you had 50 pro points and 40 con points, that would equal 10 points divided by 10 factors for a tally of 1.0 per factor. Significantly less positive. If you end up with a negative number, you probably shouldn’t even consider moving forward.
The Great Resignation is upon us. Should you be a part of it? If you’re still unsure and would like some assistance establishing and weighing your pros and cons, we can help. We can also help you apply our tools to assess your values. Contact me at bob@epi.coach to learn how.
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