I worry about the extent to which we all identify with our work as the definition of who we are.

That’s all very well, if

• that work is easily enough described and explained to people you meet who have no knowledge of your field;
• you are privileged enough to be doing work that really does express your values, interests, talents and identity;
• you earn enough money in that work for it to be the only thing you need to do, or you don’t need to earn money;
• that work is stable, predictable and as long-term as you need it to be;
• that work is free of inequities, toxic power dynamics, norms, expectations, stereotypes and all the other rubbish that affects us all differently depending on our ages, genders, skin colours, identities, accents, backgrounds, ability to have children, degree of wealth or current mental and physical health;
• all of the above also applies to the people you interact with and care about (could be people close to you; could be people you’ve never met but who might see your writings and feel the pang of being less fortunate);
• you are happy to accept that each of our individual contribution to the economy is largely the same as our reason for existence.

But if all of the above aren’t true, we are setting psychological traps for ourselves and others when we continually perform the charade of me = my current employment.

Personally, I’ve been caught out twice this year by an unwished-for jolt away from the people and activities that society, etiquette and the rules of British small-talk dictate are the only relevant details about me.

It’s terrifying.

And I have been immeasurably grateful for the fact that, actually, there are other things in my life. Relationships, activities, interests, experiences, connections, even side hustles.

(To be clear: it’s a wonderful privilege to have those. I don’t discount that for a minute. Quite the opposite.)

So, where’s this leading to?

Over on LinkedIn, the grand Mecca of the capitalist worker dynamic, I have begun sharing something entirely outside of my work, every day, from 1st to 24th December. Something which I hope will make you smile. I haven’t decided what they will be—let’s see where the month takes us.

Will you join me?

My hope is that, at least within the small corner of the world that is my own network there, we can start to model the idea that work, and our relationship to it and the people who provide it for us, is only one part of being human. Unless you’re in a particular subset, it’s a vital part. Let’s not scorn or deny that. But when we make it the defining part, we feed into the sadness for ourselves and others when things go wrong, and we do ourselves and those around us an injustice.

We all know this already. But within our professional networks, let’s actively display it.

Will you join me?