Identity In the Workplace
Identity in the workplace - woof what a topic.
I’ve been struggling to write this piece because it can be so dense, multifaceted and incredibly dynamic. As always, I would love your input on this topic as identity in the workplace can mean so many things for so many individuals in so many different professions.
What identities do my friends in healthcare identify with? What about friends in public education? Friends in public service? Sales? Nutrition? Supply chain? The list goes on…
Identity fluctuates so much in life, it only makes sense to break down identities into smaller subsets. For example - A person who is freshly out of college will identify differently in the workplace than someone who just started a family. A person on the verge of retirement will identify differently in the workplace than someone who is constantly trying to climb the corporate ladder.
So how do we make sense of all the identities in the workplace?
Let’s talk about it. (Ah yes, another plug for communication - go figure).
But seriously, it may be hard for you to identify with who you are at work and it is important to create an open line of communication to discuss it and explore it.
We start with industry identities (sales, healthcare, education, etc), then we move to specific roles (customer success, account manager, nurse, doctor, teacher, teaching assistant, etc), then to hierarchy (CEO, manager, individual contributor), and then to individual’s perceptions of their own identities.
Told you - complex, dynamic, and multifaceted.
I will start there - with the basic concept of identity in the workplace. Can you recognize what your role versus identity is in the workplace? What is your role? Where do you fit in in your workplace? What is your ideal identity at work? Where do you fall short? Where do you excel? What about how your identity differs in your personal life versus at work?
Leave a comment (if you please) and let me know how you articulate your own identity at work or what you think of this topic!
