Is the Grass Greener on the Other Side?
By: June Coffey
Tags: Career Change, Recruitment, Job Search, Job Hunting, Careers

You got a new job, you got the offer, signed it, just resigned. Everyone around you seems happy for you and the grass seems greener on the other side. But you do not know why you feel like you are going to puke every 5 minutes. The questions running through your mind of “Oh My God, did I make the right decision?” or the paralyzing fear of wondering if you will fail. Making you feel like you want to run and hide under a blanket and never come out!

You have done your pro and cons list ad nauseum that says you made the right choice. It does not feel like it. You feel like everyone is looking at you and talking about you all the time during your resignation period of on average 2 to 4 weeks. You feel like you are walking on eggshells.

The reality is no one really talks about the reality of how stressful the change is. People will talk about the stress of a job search, but the transition stage can be scary.

Changing jobs is one of the most stressful events in one’s life. According to “The Social Readjustment Rating Scale” Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 11:213, 1967, changing jobs can put you at a total score of 255.

Here is the breakdown of how I arrived at the total and why you are stressed:

Business Readjustment, 39 points.

Even though you decided to change jobs, the business you are in changed. What you used to know you no longer know, and have no control over.

Change in financial state, 38 points.

Sure, most people get a salary increase when they change jobs. But the feeling is that it is no longer stable. Your job no longer feels secure.

Change to a different line of work, 36 points.

Even if it is in the same industry, changing jobs within the same industry, even in the same company can feel like you are learning everything all over again.

Change in responsibilities in work, 29 points.

You have changed companies, of course, responsibilities have changed. Even if it is ones you wanted to take on, there is still stress that comes along with it.

Outstanding personal achievements, 28 points.

Part of you will wonder whether you have made the right choice for what you want to accomplish in life. Did you take too high of a step up or not enough?

Change in work hours or condition, 20 points.

The change in work conditions is a given, it is a different company, different people. Usually, in the beginning, people will put in extra hours to ramp up faster but they do not put that into consideration.

Change in social activities, 19 points.

With the extra work hours to help yourself ramp up, most people will scale back the social calendar sometimes even without realizing it.

Change in sleeping habits, 16 points.

With a new job, you wonder if you are doing well, made the right choice, etc. All these things tend to keep people up at night or change their sleeping patterns.

Change in the number of family get-togethers, 15 points.

Like social activities, most people tend to scale back on family get-togethers.

Change in eating habits, 15 points.

Usually, without realizing it, people will change their eating habits when they start a new job. Going out to lunch with coworkers to get to know them, changing the times at which you eat, or maybe eating at your desk.

If you change your job, you could have up to a total of around 255 points. What does that mean? According to the same study, it puts your likelihood of illness in the near future to 50 percent.

If anyone is changing jobs on top of other life changes, it could easily push that to 80 percent likelihood of illness in the near future!

Do not let that be you!

Here are 6 ways to prepare yourself for a job change:

1. Understand what success looks like

Before you take the job and ideally in the interview, ask what the key indicators of success are in the first 3, 6, and 9 months. If you know you can hit those targets, make a plan before you take the job. Set yourself up for success.

2. Take a week off in between jobs if you can

There is no need to rush from one job to the next. Most employers will understand if you need to take a week off in between. During this week, do not make it a chores week. Take this time to unwind and recharge.

3. Pace yourself

I tell people that usually by day 3 of a new job you will start to have a headache. It is the information overload headache. This is completely normal and it is your body’s way of telling you to pace yourself.

Take notes but know that you do not have to memorize everything. Review the notes at your pace. You made a plan, follow it.

4. Stick to a routine that you normally do

Find something small that you have done everyday and make sure you continue to do it at around the same time every day. It could be as small as drinking your usual glass of water as soon as you get up in the morning or spending 5 minutes reading a bedtime story to your kids.

Making sure you stick to something that you used to do daily will keep in grounded in this time of change.

5. Move and eat the way you normally do

Exercise is great at reducing stress of any kind. Eating the way you normally do is another way to ground yourself.

6. Find support

Talk to your family and prepare them. Help them understand that yes, you are starting a new job that you are excited about, but change can be stressful. Help them to support you in the ways that you need.

Starting a new job is an exciting change. I hope this article helps you make that transition seamlessly.

Good luck!