It’s Time to Decompress

We’ve had a trio of heavy chapters. We’ve explored a myriad of ways that work can be stressful: humans can be hard, and so can the work itself. Then, in this chapter we’ve covered:

• Spies and gatekeepers. You’ve learned that you need to be a gatekeeper, rather than a spy, even though that means less about jumping from planes and more about keeping others informed with what they need to know, when they need to know it.

• How to share just enough information. You learned how to categorize information and how to share just enough with others so that you respectfully keep them informed while keeping the confidential information confidential.

• Workplace politics. We looked at the ways in which you can use politics for the good of yourself, your team, and others. We also highlighted the bad stuff you should be steering away from.

Among the humans, the work, and the information, you can feel like a ship that’s continually battered by the wind and waves. You fight to keep control. However, for your well-being and mental health, you need to let go. You need to embrace the full catastrophe of everything you can’t control. We’ll look at that in the next chapter. Get the kettle on, turn down the lights, and get comfortable. It’s time to look after yourself.