Extreme Jobs and the People Who Love Them by Sharon Teitelbaum

Extreme Jobs and the People Who Love Them by Sharon Teitelbaum


The cover story in Fast Company Magazine’s April, 2005 issue was “Extreme Jobs and the People Who Love Them.” The subtitle read, "Eighty-hour weeks? Endless travel? High stress? Bring it on!” While acknowledging that most people burn out in over-the-top jobs within about five years, the article also admiringly portrays some of the people who are thriving in them.

You may have had the experience, somewhere along your career path, of working an extremely intense, stressful, demanding, and potentially highly rewarding job. You may be in one right now. It might be a highly visible job, like that of a friend of mine who was a flight controller for the Apollo 11 Mission, or a relatively invisible one, such as being the executive director of a small non-profit, or being part of the development team for a breakthrough product or service.

These can be heady, exhilarating, and wonderful experiences, and our culture adores them and their results. There are people, like those profiled in the Fast Company article, who choose to work that way their whole lives.

And other people find this intensity level is not sustainable over time. Their priorities change when they have a family, or as their children get older, or they find that even without a family, they cannot maintain themselves at that fevered pitch year in and year out without burning out, getting sick, or breaking down in some way. They need something different. They need less extreme jobs. They need more space and time in their lives for not-work, for the universe of experience that only happens outside of the workplace.

Over my ten years as a work-life and career coach, I have worked with many people at that point of deciding, “Do I stay in this league or do I leave it? Can I keep this job and create more sanity in my life, or must I find a less extreme job in order to create something more balanced and whole for myself?” It is often an excruciating decision, but not an impossible one.

If you are at this threshhold, know that one of the occupational hazards of being in the "major leagues" is that everything in the minors looks deadly dull. It's not necessarily so. In fact, some people report that their lives have become fuller and richer after leaving the fast track. And some people find ways to stay on the fast track -- there's no one-size-fits-all answer for this one.

If you are going around and around the hamster wheel of indecision about your work-life balance, get some help! Have a serious talk with a real friend, meet with a trusted advisor, or work with a coach. Contact me for an initial consultation. You will come away with a clearer idea whether and how working with me would make a difference for you.

Copyright 2005 Sharon Teitelbaum. All rights reserved.


About the Author
Sharon Teitelbaum, Master Certified Coach and author of "Getting Unstuck Without Coming Unglued: Restoring Work-Life Balance,” helps busy professionals re-claim their work-life balance. Her coaching, writing, and speaking provide practical, tactical solutions for balance and career challenges. Visit Sharon's website at http://www.stcoach.com and subscribe to her e-course "The 5 Keys to Reclaiming Your Work-Life Balance."