A friend was recently left feeling very ashamed and confused when she chose to remove herself from a corporate environment that was depleting her and causing a deep disconnection from her own truth and needs.
She had been wanting to leave for a long time but the problem was that she didn’t trust that maybe another way could exist or that she was allowed that.
When she finally had the courage to do what felt good and right for her, her boundary was not respected. She had said no, very clearly in a letter, yet she had been called in and was left feeling guilty about her desires, her boundary and her no.
This is not unusual in the working world. Work, especially in large corporates, is usually synonymous with success and achievement through a very disconnected, unconscious masculine way of striving, pushing, controlling, and even manipulating. There is seldom place for more feminine intuition, body connection or emotions.
Feminine creativity is replaced by profit-led, fear-based productivity and, connection and empathy are often steamrolled over by fear and dominance.
There is usually always a climate of urgency and scarcity so taking a break feels tantamount to a crime, especially when everyone else seems to be just keeping their heads down, working, and shutting up about it.
It’s no wonder that people burn out so often in these environments. Especially women. Women’s bodies work differently to men from a physiological basis. Rather than being a weakness, this is what enables women to have the super-power of creativity and birthing new forms (not just babies).
Female hormones change over the course of approximately 28 days during which energy levels, creativity, cognitive clarity, and body needs regularly change. Women cannot be expected to provide the same output 24/7. This is easier for men whose hormone cycles are more aligned to a daily rhythm.
And all bodies (regardless of gender identification) are also impacted by the lunar cycles and seasons so that energy levels and body needs change all the time.
On top of that, life happens – like pandemics, lockdowns, family death and illness which will certainly impact energy levels and the capacity for output.
Yet, the corporate machine expects its wheels to be greased by the machines working within it -24/7/365. For profit and productivity.
The sad part of this whole story is that, while this is highlighting a corporate context, this way of operating has been so valued and held up as the gold standard for so long that we have all bought into it.
Even if you work from home and work for yourself.
I was probably one of the worst bosses I had until I had a really good meeting with myself in 2016 and brought about some big changes in how I approached work. And here’s, the interesting part – I have achieved more and felt so much better about myself despite working less. It’s not logical but working with feminine energy seldom is!
The messages my friend received indirectly were, ‘there is something wrong with you for wanting to follow your heart and your desires” and ‘we need to fix and change you because you are complaining about being tired’, Sadly, these are the same messages we can give ourselves. Then, just like my friend did, we invalidate and doubt our needs and heart-desires. We become so stuck in the grinding wheels of productivity, without any room for stopping and receiving so that the only out is burn out.
It’s very sad that my friend’s employers really did not want to hear her and made her feel bad and wrong for choosing herself over the machine. But at least she gave herself a very important message in taking the action she took…..”I matter“.
Embracing a more conscious, connected and balanced masculine and feminine way of working means embracing your feminine knowing of your worth and being able to achieve more while doing less rather than selling your soul for false validation and an illusion of being safe and good enough.
Only when that happens can burnout stop being a way of life.
And, yes, there is another way besides the only way you know and, believe it or not, it involves getting the same amount done with less effort, time and overwhelm. If this resonates then you’re welcome to set up a complimentary discovery call and let’s chat!
Please leave a comment if this post resonates with you. Or maybe you disagree…?
