I talk to people all day long about work, and about half of those conversations include tears. One person told me yesterday about punching a hole in the wall at home because work was so frustrating.
I don’t mind tears. You don’t cry, or punch things, unless you care. Big emotions show up when some important part of you is threatened or denied. I lean forward for conversations about identity.
I hold my beliefs loosely, so I’m reluctant to pronounce “should”s on anybody else’s work life. But I do think tears and anger are clues that are harder to ignore than a tight jaw and tension in the neck and shoulders.
If work makes you cry, it’s a call to action.
What’s the compromise you’re making, and what parts of you are suffering? How are you taking care of those suffering parts? Who will you become if you continue as things are?
