When you have a young family, promotion, a new role, or career change can be very stressful. It’s not just you that you need to worry about anymore, It’s also you another half and the little ones as well. While you may have been fine eating beans on toast for a few months, back in the day if you had to take a pay cut. Or buckle down and learn the new bits of your role at night, so you are up to speed in the morning. When you have a family, it’s just not that easy. But it is possible to make a job change while your family is still young. Just follow the suggestion below. Plan, plan and plan some more Firstly when you know that there is a possible job transition in the future, the best thing that you can do is plan for it. This planning might take several forms. It may be that you know you want to go in another direction in your career, so you need to plan in some study time to gain the knowledge and experience before you make a move. Or it may be that you get organised before you make the change, by saving extra money to tide you over in the difficult patches. It can also be really useful to involve your spouse and family in the planning. For example, if you are taking on a promotion in the same company is it going to necessitate longer working hours? If so, then what can you do as a family to work around this? It may be that you need to arrange some childcare or your other half reduces their hours to make up the shortfall. Allow yourself time to adapt Family life can be hectic, there is no doubt about that. But with the added stress of a new work role to get to grips with, it can be very difficult to manage things without them becoming overwhelming. Some of the best advice for dealing with a situation like this is to prioritise the change in the moment. Yes, you would like to deal with every little issue and problem that need attention in the family dynamics or the home. But the reality is you are only human and can only really focus on one important thing at a time. That means you need to make some psychological space for yourself to adapt to your new working life before you start to take on any other psychologically or physically taxing projects. Such as DIY, or tackling a particular behaviour problem with a child. Remember by focusing on on thing at once you are much more likely to succeed in your goal, and be a lot less stressed as a father as a result. Use the tools available out there to help you Another way you can make a job transition a lot easier when you have a family is to use the services and tool that are there to help you. For example, do you want to spend two hours plus, every evening after a long day at work, searching through jobs ads and making applications? Thus having to spend less time with your family? Probably not. Or would you prefer to go about your job search in a clever way and use online job alerts, job sites and agencies? There are specialist services out there for all sorts of roles. Including jobs sites juts for IT, NHS and education workers. Or you if you’re in purchasing or buying you could use a specialised procurement agency to find you that perfect role, without wasting a lot of time searching and applying online. Don’t let work dominate Image Another important way of making changing your job a little easier, for you and your family, is that you need to know when to switch off. Applying or training for another job can feel like a job in and of itself. Combine this with your day job, and not much time is left for your family. This is bad for them, and it’s bad for you. So make sure that you set aside regular quality time to be with them, and be involved in their lives. This will help keep you motivated and give you the perspective that can so often be lost when you are driven to find a new job. Up your stress busters Lastly, a wonderful way of making a new job transition easier is to remember to keep up with the things that help you to bust your stress on a daily basis. Yes, it can be hard to fit trips to the gym, runs or meditations into a life already packed with family responsibilities, work, and getting you head around a new role. But it is definitely worth it. Not only will you perform better in the workspace. But you will be calmer and happier in yourself as well. Which your family will definitely appreciate. ]]>
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