Career Activism: Good or Bad?

Certain testing methods are developed and readily available to determine if one can be diagnosed as a career activist. Career activism is often not encouraged in other work environments specifically for most corporate capitalists who would think that collective bargaining or sitting down with employers to meet at the midpoint is a waste of time and connotes big losses on investments. Most companies resort to outsourcing abroad because they are just too afraid to take the risk on the kind of employers that is taking the path to career activism. So, they innovate (if that is the correct way to say it) by exploring cheaper labor abroad while this may post risk or compromise their production. Fortunately, most of them succeeded because some countries have bankable manpower- as long as the company keep their books and adhere to their manuals strictly; the "lazy or less fortunate man becomes a modern product of corporate evolution". To determine if this is good or bad for the economy can be tested and analyzed through the current financial turmoil that is happening globally. There are plenty of determinants to a company's survival. Production for example cannot be increased when the demand is undetermined. Some CEO's would lament that "In the absence of wants, advertising should do the trick to convert it as need, so create it somewhere else."

Being a career activist has two significant effects in a basic feedback mechanism. One for the person involved and second, to the company in general.

So if one is a manager, he should know who the career activists among his subordinate are in order to drive along with a strategy to make a feasible work environment running and productive.

The picture of happiness

A career activist routinely asks himself if he is happy, involved or is learning in the organization. When he feels unhappy with work, he tries to do something about it. The solution may not come solely from him until it becomes contagious to his co-workers about the need to make changes in the work environment. People think of him as passionate and engaged in his work so co-workers might be convinced to consciously or subconsciously participate unto his proposition. On the other hand, if he can't push further and continues to be unhappy or not learning at work, he seeks out alternative opportunities from different sources.

Decision-making skills

Every work entails a lot of decision-making process. The quality of decision-making process is dependent on a series of different strategic solutions. For a career activist, he is aware of what sacrifice is and makes it basing from a thoughtful analysis of the pros and cons of such decision. However, a career activist knows how to apply standards and knows how to deal with performance appraisal

Self-awareness of skills, strengths and weaknesses

Since he is thoroughly aware of his skills, strengths and weaknesses; the career activist knows how to leverage his skills to get better assignments. He is defined by his skills not by job description so he works well on most contemporary management styles. His awareness of personal strengths allows himself to work effectively on environments adaptive to such skills. He is prepared to be seen as pushy if it's the last resort to get his work needs recognized. Whether he is a manager or a subordinate, a career activist must be a good communicator to achieve maximum potentials.

The learning direction

The career activist is not stagnant water. He has a directional career path and a time-plan. Some keeps records of what he has learned for the past six months and what he is about to learn in the near six months.

Attitude towards the monster (boss)

He may be treated as the monster's greatest villain but a career activist makes the organization dynamic because he works according to his interest. It is essential to take note of his skills before deciding if you'll need to give him the project or not. This type of person should let his dignity be compromised because he is fully aware with the standards, most specifically with professional standards; that means he can sacrifice by being prepared to lose clients, prepared to turn down lucrative assignments when it is personally painful. Yet, he is prepared to do work that he does not like if it increases a longer-term options.

Interaction beyond…

Since the business world moves along with etiquettes, a career activist usually takes note about meetings canceled thrice and is ready to deal with compromise especially when his personal commitments are held in conflict. However, he is not going to sacrifice for himself or make sacrifices that he can't justify. After all, he likes being stretched at work; he is hungry for life-work balance (so a company should have this protocol) and lastly, he has selected a network of mentors and friends who can provide him with professional and emotional support. So, if you are his manager, be in this circle so that you can easily be in-tuned with a career activist to outwit him to get on track with work, motivate him to achieve corporate goals.