In a thought-provoking conversation, Tessa West, a psychology professor at NYU, dives into the intricate emotions of job satisfaction and how they mirror romantic relationships. She discusses the disconnect between our feelings and the narratives we create about our work, revealing how this often leads to misguided career decisions. Tessa also introduces the concept of 'Job Therapy,' outlining key drivers of job dissatisfaction and offering strategies to regain joy in our professional lives, especially in the aftermath of the pandemic.
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insights INSIGHT
Job Evaluation as Relationship Evaluation
Evaluating jobs is similar to evaluating romantic relationships.
Feelings are clear, but explanations for them can be inaccurate, leading to bad decisions.
insights INSIGHT
Shifting Language of Job Dissatisfaction
People describe job unhappiness with relationship-focused language.
They discuss psychological reasons rather than objective issues like burnout.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Examples of Relationship Language in the Workplace
Employees use relationship language like jealousy to describe their careers.
One employee felt unappreciated despite doing the right things, while another worried about idea theft.
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In 'Job Therapy: Finding Work That Works for You', Dr. Tessa West helps readers understand the deeper psychological reasons behind their job dissatisfaction. Through her research, which includes interviews with thousands of people who have recently switched jobs or undergone career changes, she identifies five common sources of career frustration: identity crisis, drifting-apart, torn between places, runner up, and underappreciated star. The book provides a working week audit to help readers identify their unique psychological stressors and offers insights on networking and hiring to help them find a career that aligns with their needs and aspirations.
How Minds Change
The Surprising Science of Belief, Opinion, and Persuasion
David McRaney
In 'How Minds Change,' David McRaney delves into the latest research from psychologists and neuroscientists to explain why people believe what they do and how those beliefs can change. The book examines various methods such as deep canvassing and social epistemology, and features stories of individuals who have dramatically changed their minds, including a former 9/11 conspiracy theorist and a member of the Westboro Baptist Church. McRaney emphasizes the importance of empathetic conversations over debates and provides practical advice on how to influence others by focusing on their personal experiences rather than presenting facts alone.
Are you unhappy at your job? Are you starting to consider a change of career because of how your current work makes you feel? Do you know why?
According to our guest in this episode, Dr. Tessa West, a psychologist at NYU, if you are currently contemplating whether you want to do the work that you do everyday you should know that although this feeling is common, psychologists who study this sort of thing have discovered that our narratives for why we feel this way are often just rationalizations and justifications.
In fact, it turns out that the way we psychologically evaluate the jobs we think we might not want to do anymore is nearly identical to how we evaluate romantic relationships we feel like we might no longer want to be a part of. The feelings are usually undeniable, but our explanations for why we feel the way we feel can be wildly inaccurate, and because of that, our resulting behavior can be, let’s say, sub-optimal. We sometimes stay far longer than we should or make knee-jerk decisions we later regret or commit to terrible mistakes that could have been avoided.
You Are Not So Smart 
