The Success Trap

The nature of 21st-century work creates a VUCA environment.

Most organizations today operate in volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) environments. This means long-term job security no longer exists. The pace of change has increased, altering factors that influence career trajectory, making planning difficult and outcomes unpredictable. Most people fear uncertainty and change, and this volatile environment can trap them in jobs they don’t like. Having a job can give the illusion of material safety and being in control. But if your work doesn’t align with your values, sooner or later, you’ll burn out. Today’s speed of change requires you to adapt constantly and increases pressure to perform more effectively and produce more with fewer resources. 

This constant strain can push your brain into survival mode, which impedes you from evaluating your situation and life as a whole. This can lead you to believe that happiness depends on your next promotion or pay rise. Incentive systems, deferred bonuses or benefits can also trap you. Other traps include managers and colleagues who create toxic work environments; buying into common myths around success...