Whether you’re settled comfortably into your role or just waiting for the next opportunity, you should be in a constant state of evaluation and feedback with your current employer. By asking yourself all the right questions throughout your time there, you can provide valuable feedback to the organization (possibly improving your chance of advancement) and stay aware and in control of your own satisfaction and engagement.

One of the most important things to consider when evaluating your current employer is whether the company matches your lifestyle – which, at first, sounds vague and tough to evaluate, right?

Right.

But we’ve done the work for you by developing a super simple list of questions to help you get to the bottom of whether your company matches the lifestyle you really want for yourself.

1. Physical Health & Well-Being

What do you need from your employer in order to achieve physical health and well-being, and are they adequately providing for that need? Ways employers might support physical health include:

Providing on-site gym access and/or gym membership
Keeping healthy drinks and snacks on hand for employees
Offering ample, affordable health, dental, and vision insurance
Creating a group wellness program with accountability and incentives
Offering paid time to work out for physically-demanding positions
Discounting insurance premiums for employees who achieve health goals
Please note that everybody’s needs are different and evaluate your employer based on your own expectations for a company. For example, if you work out but don’t need or expect your employer to
Have a gym on site, your employer can still be a great lifestyle fit without offering that perk. For another employee, no on-site gym could be a deal-breaker.

2. Belonging

How well do you belong in your current organization? Components that can improve your sense of belonging include recognition for accomplishments, feeling free to express yourself, having a friend (or many) at work, liking your team members and feeling appreciated and included, and feeling like your boss cares about you as a human being. Mark down your thoughts about this category now; you’ll use it at the end to evaluate your company.

3. Beliefs and Values

A company that’s misaligned with your core beliefs and values can be a poor fit for your lifestyle. These questions make it easy to determine where you differ:

Do I believe my company uses its power for good in the world?
Does my company take any stance that I don’t believe is ethical or moral?
Do I feel free to express my beliefs within my organization?
Does my company encourage or even pay for volunteerism?
Once you’ve identified where you differ, the most important question is, “Am I okay with that?” If you aren’t, your company might not be a great lifestyle fit.

4. Hobbies and Free Time

Work takes up a significant portion of your life, but if you’re lucky, it isn’t your whole life. Does your company give you enough time away from work to enjoy your hobbies? Do you make enough money to support the hobbies you love the most? Do you fully disconnect when you punch the clock? Do you feel like you’re able to turn down an extra shift just for time to yourself or do you feel obligated to take it on anyway?

5. Career Goals

Would you consider your current position a career or just a job? More specifically, ask yourself these few questions:

Does your current company meet your career goals? Are you gaining valuable experience, adding an important blurb your resume, or doing what you hoped you would be doing at this stage in your life?
Do you have any desire to advance and will you be able to do so in this organization?
Are you learning and growing every day?
Do you know what you do well and where you can improve?
Are you receiving enough feedback?
Do you feel challenged?
Are you given some autonomy in your work?
Even if you aren’t in your dream role right now, if you’re current role is building your skill set and resume for the position you want in the future, you might be in a company that’s a perfect fit.

The bottom line

Make no mistake – whether your company is a fit for your lifestyle depends on your ability to clearly communicate your needs with your boss and your employer as much as it does on their commitment to employee health, wellness, and happiness.

If these questions have left you wondering if your company is really a fit for your lifestyle, your first course of action should be to connect with your direct manager and discuss your questions and concerns. If, after that crucial conversation, you still feel like there’s ample room for improvement, it might be a great time to start looking for your next big career move. Sites like kununu help you understand what it’s really like inside a company and whether working there would be a true fit for your lifestyle (all before you decide to work there).

Office Life

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