Guide to Self-Expression in a Career

When it comes to expressing yourself in your chosen profession, there are several ways to go about it. One way is to find a job that aligns with your personal values and passions. This can help you feel more fulfilled and motivated in your work, which can lead to greater self-expression.

Another way to express yourself in your career is through your work style and approach. You can infuse your own unique personality and creativity into your work, whether it's through your communication style, problem-solving methods, or even the way you organize your workspace.

Networking and building relationships with colleagues and industry professionals can also be a powerful way to express yourself and showcase your talents. By sharing your ideas and collaborating with others, you can make a name for yourself and establish a reputation as a thought leader in your field.

Ultimately, self-expression in your career comes down to finding a balance between your personal values and the demands of your job. By staying true to yourself and finding ways to incorporate your unique perspective into your work, you can create a fulfilling and rewarding career that allows you to express yourself fully.

Before we dive deeper, self-expression at work is an opportunity to bring all the talents, abilities, creativity, motivation that you have within yourself, to the workplace. The ideal goal is to maintain the authenticity of each other's abilities, and not diminish each other. Because the picture is, an organization will move forward if each of its members functions well in the capacities and roles they carry out, thus making one 'body' of the organization remain vibrant and constantly progressive.

One of the largest employment sites in England, CV-Library, once reported that 90.2% of the professional workforce there agreed that someone should be able to express themselves while working. Moreover, the fact is added by the Harvard Business Review which launched a statement that if companies help their employees express themselves at work, then the company's bond with employees will be stronger, compared to trying to impose organizational pride on individual mindsets . In fact, it seems vital for companies to encourage the creation of opportunities for employees to express their unique characteristics, in order to provide a more enjoyable workplace, and ultimately, be able to reduce turn-over!

Further research on the 'socialization' process of self-expression at work was also conducted by Daniel M. Cable from London Business School, Francesca Gino from Harvard University, and Brad Staats from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Research also states that employees who are allowed to express themselves while working are able to commit to the company longer, even those who have just been recruited by the company. This also constructs the perspective that a company can achieve balance (even profit!) when they position their organization as a good place for employees to channel their energy. Maybe the basis for this is because basically, passion and enthusiasm will be channeled when someone has the opportunity to express themselves. And when that happens, a person will work stronger, braver, dedicated and creative.

This cultural evolution in the world of work regarding self-expression is also increasing with the dominance of the millennial generation who fill the professional industry. Because for professional millennials , self-expression is manifested through personal style , both in the way they dress and the realization of their aspirations through work and career. So it is no longer so strange that ethical standards and tolerance for clothing, and the transition to office designs which are increasingly designed to be less monotonous, is now starting to evolve in the corporate realm. As reported by the PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) Global survey, 77% of CEOs labeled creativity as the greatest ability of the millennial generation. So, providing an expressive environment that can encourage employee creativity is essential.

Tips for being able to exert self-expression at the office

So how do you mobilize yourself to express yourself while working? First of all, remember that work is a reflection of your passion and ambition. So, pay attention to the following tips to remain able to express yourself at work:

1. Warm up the desire for self-actualization. It's as simple as daring to express an opinion for an alternative solution to an error issue that is currently occurring in a team business project. Because believe me that just one idea from one team member has the potential to have an impact on the success of the organization.
2. Make work a platform for your aspirations. Because more than supporting life and pursuing a career, work is also a form of expression for you in making changes, both for your own development and the public affected. After all, you landed at an organization or company because of at least one vision with your passion and ambition, right?
3. Ask yourself, how do you want to contribute to the company? Because by opening this personal perspective, you can find out what capabilities you can bring to the work table. And whatever role you play, it will be more productive if you try to present the best version of your authentic ideas and talents, no matter how unique they are. But what you also need to remember is to remain authentic, wise and professional. You go for it!

Addendum: Tips for millennial leaders to encourage self-expression in the office

To achieve self-expression as well as the company's business objectives, title holders and authorities in an organization must be careful in balancing them. The first and foundation is to make all employees feel at home. It's as simple as asking yourself, if you can create an ideal work environment, what five elements must be present? A survey from CV-Library also explains that employees can feel at home in expressing themselves if (26.4%) can openly discuss the obstacles they experience at work, (23.9%) can be open about what is happening in their personal lives, and ( 21.4%) can behave as themselves as if they were with friends. Here are tips for you, millennial leaders, in applying methods so that your team is able to achieve self-expression at work :

1. Get into the habit of starting meetings by asking how each team is doing, both personally and on business projects, to spark their enthusiasm for the tasks and work at hand. Although remember, it is also vital to maintain professionalism in this work relationship. But by simply asking how things are going, you can trigger the team's creativity level to convey their ideas and opinions. Even though it will be full of diversity , this will create innovative ways of thinking and problem solving .
2. Always hold regular meeting or sharing sessions with the team, to identify their strengths, preferences and needs for improvement . Through this, mutual respect between you and between team members will emerge, because by appreciating each other's strengths and weaknesses, it will make employees feel like they are themselves, and in the end, this aspect will create a healthy work environment. In fact, the impact is not only for current employees, but candidates who are interested in applying to your company! Of course, don't forget to celebrate every success achieved by your members as well as the collective success of your team.
3. Leading by example . Like the CV-Library survey results that (30.6%) employees will decide to express themselves based on the way their colleagues behave, and that (22.6%) employees will tend to be open if their superiors do the same (read: self-expression at work ). Because by being a ' display ' for the team, you also share your creative and innovative self with team members, and in the end, this will become the basis for a strong connection between you and them. So, let the creativity in each individual flow, starting with you!