As you make the transition from school to work, school to study, or study to work, some things in your life will change, including your daily routine and your responsibilities.
Work changes your life
A job gives your daily life a certain shape. It dictates many things, such as:
- what time you get up in the morning
- what clothes you wear
- how much time you can spend with friends and family
- the people you deal with
- when you can get to the shops, exercise and do your own thing
- what you can afford to buy.
Awareness makes the move easier
Here are some ideas to think about as you move into the world of work.
- Working life can be less structured than studying. Many workplaces want you to be flexible, do things without being asked to and keep several tasks going at once.
- At work, you will have to report to someone. You will be accountable for your time and actions. You might, for example, have to explain to your supervisor why you've chosen to perform a task in a certain way.
- Sometimes you will have interesting, challenging work to do. Sometimes it'll be too challenging, and you might feel you're out of your depth. At other times, particularly at the start, you might be asked to perform menial tasks. Or you might have to do work that is boring, but that frees more experienced people up to do the challenging work. Be willing to go along with what your employer needs from you.
Go easy on yourself when you start. You're likely to feel more tired and anxious than usual.
- The first few weeks of a new job can be exhausting. If your job involves physical work, it might take you a little time to get fit enough to comfortably work a whole day.
- Any new job requires you to think hard, and stirs up your emotions. This is very tiring, too.
- You may worry that you aren't coping. But remember, you're taking in lots of new information. It will take a little time to sort it all out in your mind.
- You may fear that the work is too hard for you. But you'll probably be performing tasks you haven't done before. No one expects you to do everything perfectly first time. You'll become more confident as you grow more familiar with the tasks and routines at work.
Mixed emotions are natural
Moving into a new workplace can stir up all sorts of feelings. Don't be surprised if you feel nervous and confused, as well as excited and relieved that you've started work, and hopeful about your future in the job. If you've left study behind, you might find yourself missing your study mates and the old routines.
These mixed-up feelings are perfectly natural. Your life is changing in a major way, and this takes time to get used to. You will settle into your new routines and become familiar with your new workplace; just don't expect it to happen overnight.
A positive attitude will help
It makes a difference how you approach the move from study to work. Try to be optimistic, and to stay relaxed and cheerful in your new job.
Being positive helps you get on with co-workers. It gives you energy to meet all the new demands and to work out how you'll deal with all the changes in your life.
Respect people's differences
Workplaces can contain a wide range of people. You might be the only person in your age group. You might find yourself working with a mixed group of people, from different backgrounds and with different ways of speaking, behaving and thinking. You might find these differences fascinating, or you might feel a little uncomfortable about them. However you feel, try hard to respect people's differences.
It's important to get along with all the different people at work. Do your best to learn about the other cultures and personalities around you. Whether a company is big or small, tensions, rivalries and inefficiencies are a part of life in every workplace. Minimise your role in any of these difficulties by being considerate of everyone's needs and preferences.