Allison Wagner touches on an aspect of our industry that is problematic. She gives it a clever title: the two year itch:
Some people seek professional growth where the grass appears greener and the chairs more ergonomic.
Just a generation ago, many of our parents worked for the same organization for their entire working life. My dad worked for himself for many years, but he eventually sold his business and started working for another company. And he's still there. How many people under 40 do you know of that have this kind of history?
Allison counters this reality with the other side of the coin. Tenure. What does it look like to stick around for a while? Her examples ring true for me:
Tenure means you’ve grown to know your colleague’s strengths and weaknesses, their quirks and compulsions— and they know yours. You’ve developed a rapport that only time, laughter, and shared experiences can bring.
That sounds like a good thing! Her last point: tenure results in trust.
Most of us are never going to work where we are for the rest of our life. That's okay. But maybe we should cultivate a little more of a contentment mentality. It might help to look around and quickly count our blessings, rather than compare job postings and office pics weekly. A great job is far more than the perks.
Full disclosure: I say this as a guy who's at his 3rd company in a calendar year. Which was a learning experience in itself. When you're at a tech/SaaS company where there are long tenured employees, take note. And when you're at a company where half the team has been there less than 6 months, take note. Here at Wildbit, half the team has been on for 5 or more years.
I hope to say the same down the road.
