Retooling the Self for the Post-Pandemic Economy: Identity, Work, and Well-Being

Introduction

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic much has shifted. While some people have been insulated from the worst personal and economic effects and others bore its full import, the impacts have been universally felt (Lund et al., 2021). Experiences of social isolation and loss of familiar ways of living and working have left many searching for ways to address these disruptions. One way forward is through new understandings of self, work, and well-being.

This chapter asserts that gaining increased well-being in relation to work entails self-reflection, going inward to think about how one relates to work. While individuals have limited control over the macro levels of social and economic life, there are steps one can take at the micro, individual level to gain agency and foster well-being. Who is the self in relation to work? How can one access knowledge about the self to gain new understandings about the self and work? How can that knowledge be used to retool and transform self-identity for work? Jimenez (2021) contends that the post-pandemic world of work requires a new “toolkit”—that is, new insights, perspectives, and understandings about the self in relation to work.

The loss of activities outside of work coupled with the social separation of COVID-19 quarantines, while disruptive, also slowed the frantic, frenetic pace of life. These circumstances created newfound time and space for self-reflection that many used for a self “reset” of work goals and practices, responding in constructive, meaningful, and effective ways to the potential latent in the quarantine moments of expanded time with the self. However, others were simply burned out, having endured chronic stress, exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy (Davis, 2021). This chapter offers concepts and strategies for people at any point--whether engaging in their own reset or languishing--to journey toward deep reflection about the self in relation to work.

The self in relation to work is addressed in two parts: conceptual and applied. The first half of this chapter explicates the conceptual frameworks of four (4) heuristics and their associated practical tools and strategies to foster self-knowledge for the creation of a new self-identity for work. These include

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  VIA (Values in Action) Inventory of Strengths (Peterson et al., 2007),

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  PERMA positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishments model (Seligman, 2018),

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  Process of intentional resilience-building to reduce work burnout (Sellers et al., 2019),

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  Process of values identification and goal setting to align a person’s behaviors with their values (Jimenez, 2021).

The second half of the chapter illustrates these conceptual frameworks, tools, and strategies in practice through five case studies. The case studies are de-identified composites gleaned from the practitioner experiences of the co-author who has worked in the applied field of leadership development, training, and well-being coaching for nearly a decade. The case studies demonstrate how persons from a diverse range of occupations, industries, career stages, and work settings use the frameworks, tools, and strategies discussed to grapple with coming to a deeper understanding about their self-identity and address the distinctive challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.