Finding Your Way When Work Feels Unsteady: Navigating Career Crossroads in Uncertain Times

Have you been feeling off at work lately? Stretched way too thin, unsure where things are headed, or wondering if you’re still in the right place? Maybe you have felt this way so much lately that it's beginning to feel like the norm. So many people are feeling the ripple effects of change right now. From company restructures and layoffs to shifting roles and expectations, all while trying to keep up with life outside of work. It’s a lot to hold!

What’s going on

I’m not an economist (full transparency: I actually withdrew from my college Economics 101 course), but I am tuned in to what people are experiencing in real time. Here’s what I can tell you from the front lines of my office: job cuts and layoffs are still happening. As companies reorganize to cut costs, reduce layers, pivot to new business models, streamline operations (especially in tech, retail, and services), the ripple effect lands on those still in the job, not just those laid off. Workloads increase, roles change, things overall feel less clear but the stress to remain productive and show your value is higher than ever. So what do you do when you have to spend the majority of your waking hours in an environment that is so unstable?

Why does this feel so damn hard?

When your work environment feels unstable, several things tend to happen:

• You may be working longer hours (to keep up, stay visible, stay safe) which eats into rest, recovery, relationships, your entire life.

• You may feel uncertainty. You find yourself thinking “will the company restructure again? Will my role go away? Will I be asked to do more with less?”

• You may wrestle with identity and meaning: “If this isn’t fulfilling me, should I stay because it’s stable? Or do I need to make a change?”

• You may feel burnout creeping in, especially when the line between work and life blurs, and you lose the sense that the job supports your values rather than draining them.

  
  

And the cherry on top? There’s this unrealistic narrative that the answer lies in achieving some kind of permanent work-life balance... as if that even exists. The truth is, this idea often adds more pressure to people who are already stretched thin. It’s not realistic to expect equal parts “work” and “life,” especially when companies themselves are constantly impacted by economic shifts and organizational change.

Instead of chasing a permanent solution, the real question becomes: How can I navigate this season with intention? How can I make choices that help me move through this period while staying connected to what matters most to me?

Upheaval forces us to reflect

Sometimes it takes upheaval to prompt the reflection we’ve been avoiding. Periods of transition or change are often the best times to pause and ask: What’s working for me? What isn’t? What do I want and what do I no longer want?

I often encourage my clients to use a simple framework to guide this process. Just start with the section that resonates most with where you are right now:

1. You know you want to stay at your job

If you’ve decided, “Yes, I’m staying. I want to make this role work,” then your energy is best used in aligning, setting boundaries, and managing your sustainability.

Practical steps you can take:

1. Clarify what you value about your job: stability, your team, your company's mission, your income, the skills you get to use. Naming those helps you lean into the positives.

2. Identify the pain points: What’s draining you? Is it the hours, lack of clarity, low support, changing scope?

3. Set intentional boundaries: For example, having a hard stop time to end your work day, “I will stop checking email after 7 pm”, “I will take one hour lunch away from screen”, “I will leave on time at least twice a week”.

4. Talk with your manager: Since organizations are under pressure, open a conversation about role clarity, priorities, what can shift. Ask “What are the real top-2 priorities for me this quarter?” and “What can I let go of?”

5. Invest in small manageable practices that help you feel restored: Short walks, breath breaks, delegating non-essential tasks, saying “No” when you mean it.

6. Revisit periodically: “Is this job still supporting me? Am I still growing or at least steady? What will make the next 6 months sustainable?”

2. You aren’t sure if you want to stay

If you’re in the “maybe” zone. Depending on the day you think, “I might stay” or “maybe it’s time to move on”

Practical steps:

1. Do a values check-in: What do you want your work to contribute to your life? What do you need from a job right now (income, flexibility, meaning, growth, less stress)?

2. Map out the pros and cons of staying vs leaving vs shifting internally.

3. Talk to mentors, colleagues, or coaches about the realities of staying in your role, internal mobility, external market.

4. Experiment small: Can you take on a side project, build a skill or network with people outside your company without quitting your main job? This gives you information while you decide.

5. Manage the uncertainty: Since you don’t have full clarity, lean into “What I can control.” That might mean improving your sleep, working on your resume, setting aside an emergency fund.

6. Set a decision-point: Give yourself a timeline. “In three months I will revisit and decide: stay and reset or begin to search elsewhere” Having a checkpoint can reduce drifting in limbo.

3. You think you’re ready to leave for another job

If your internal compass is pointing toward a change... but you’re still employed, this is an opportune moment to transition intentionally and with a plan. Not impulsively.

Practical steps:

1. Get clear on what you want next: not just “I hate this job”, but “I want this kind of role, with these conditions, in this kind of company culture.”

2. Create a transition plan: Timeline for when you’ll actively search, how many hours per week you’ll dedicate to job-hunting without burning out and how you’ll manage finances.

3. Maintain your performance in your current role: In uncertain times, you want your references and reputation intact.

4. Use your network: Update your LinkedIn, reach out to people in roles you admire, let the right people know you may be looking for a change soon.

5. Prepare for “unknowns”: A new job might mean a new set of pressures, so ask good questions in interviews about workload, culture, manager style, growth path.

6. Balance urgency with patience: The external job market is cautious right now... fewer openings, more competition. Use this as a reason to move thoughtfully.

4. You want to completely change career or take time off

If you’re at a place where you’re considering stepping away from your current path, whether to pivot careers, take a sabbatical, or explore something deeply different... this requires both courage and structure.

Practical steps:

• Clarify your “why”: What is the deeper drive for this change? More freedom? More meaning? A different version of success?

• Financial check-in: If you’re going to take time off or change careers, make sure your resources, and obligations allow you to do so.

• Explore curiosity first: Take a class, talk to people who made a career jump, test a side venture. Let it be an exploratory process..

• Build a support system: Big transitions often bring doubts and fears. Having a coach, mentor, peer group can help you navigate.

• Embrace the in-between: The space of “not fully defined yet” can feel scary, and can also feel rich with possibility. Your job is to create tolerance for being in the unknown.

• Design the next chapter with intention: What will support you in this change? How will you know this new path is working (or not)?

Back to You

What you choose to do for work is simply one part of who you are. It isn't all of you. Navigating current stressors while not losing yourself in the process is vital. As a coach committed to connecting clients with their power and autonomy, this is a powerful opportunity to reconnect to yourself. So if you are currently in this season, remind yourself:

• Choice matters: Even when so much of what may be happening at work feels reactive and forced, you still have choices. Your responses matter. You can’t control your company, but you can do the work to figure out what you are needing and take action.

• Build your "body wisdom": Notice what your body is telling you: are you having sleep disruption, massive anxiety, dreading the start of the work week or envious of others’ freedom? These signals are valid data and should be listened to. Take care of you first.

• Relational depth: How is your job impacting your relationships with your partner, friends, kids, yourself? Are you showing up with more presence, or more distracted? Are you intentionally wanting to put more effort into work rather than your relationships?

• Intentional transitions: Stop wishing for things to get better. This isn’t just about surviving each week at work year after year, it's about building a life that feels aligned with what you value and want to prioritize.

Closing Thoughts

If you’re reading this because your job feels heavy, misaligned, uncertain, or just not a fit for you anymore, know this: you don’t have to ride through this alone. Whether you’re staying, questioning, transitioning, or transforming entirely, this is an ideal moment to step into a more intentional way of living. If you’d like support in clarifying what you truly want (and building the roadmap to get there) I’d love to work with you. My coaching serves clients nationwide virtually, and in person in Lafayette, CA. You can explore more at www.danapeterscoaching.com and follow @danapeterscoaching on Instagram for regular insights.