I only lasted 4 years as an employee. I loved the work I was doing (strategic planning and policy in local government) and I wanted to keep doing it, but I couldn't stand the organisational overhead and life required to be a full time public servant.
My journey was a little different to many others. When I started my policy job, fresh out of university, I was 22 years old. I had two kids - a 5 year old, and a baby - and I was used to running things on my own schedule. I'd spent the year juggling my postgraduate course load, writing a thesis, and being a single parent to two young children, with no family support. Getting sh*t done was my forte.
When I entered the workplace, I was a bit... stunned. There was so much wasted time. I would race to get the kids ready and dropped at school/ daycare in time for the 830am start (a few minutes late and there'd be scowls from management) only to watch people cruise around chatting, checking TradeMe and organising their desks for the day. What had I raced here for?
Then, I'd spend half my time in meetings where people talked about work they theoretically wanted to achieve, and write reports about why all of our work programmes were delayed this year... again.
That, apparently, required me to stay until 5pm, and god forbid I left early, even if I'd done twice as much work as anyone else.
I just didn't get it. My study and life had not prepared me for this. I was the first person in my family to go to university and get a professional job, so for the first few years, I gave it the benefit of the doubt. Maybe it was me? Maybe this is normal? Maybe life is supposed to be this way?
Eventually, I got frustrated, left, and started my own consulting practice. Immediately, my life changed. I couldn't believe it. I even contracted back to the same employer, for more money, and got to focus on only the stuff that added value - workshops, research, recommendations and implementation - without any of the morning tea shouts and frustrating delays.
It felt like the ultimate life hack - did other people know you could do this?
Back then, I was the only person I knew who'd gone out on their own as a consultant. 10 years on, my social and professional circles are full of us. We've walked away from the 9-5 in frustration and found a new path without all the endless corporate bullsh*t. Our lives and careers are in our control, our work is more fulfilling, and we're earning more money.
Last week, I wrote a LinkedIn post about all the things I think are wrong with corporate culture, and it went bonkers. Turns out, there's lots of people who feel like I did - and according to the data, we're voting with our feet.
As companies bang around trying to look like good employers, but ruining it by keeping people trapped in boring meetings and trying to force them back into the office, they're losing the game as a rising tide of professionals opt out.
Makes sense to me. I'm meeting this groundswell with my new programme - Consultants of Choice: development for self-employed professionals - and if the size of the waitlist is anything to go by, it's meeting a serious need.
If you're frustrated at work this week, and wondering if it has to be this way... you're not alone. There are other options.
A