Healthy careers start with healthy educations
Career Day at the University of B.C. is a special time of year. On Oct. 8 and 9, UBC will host more than 100 employers from a wide range of industries and over 3,000 students as they search for talent and start their career journeys, respectively.
At UBC, students are prepared and supported in their career pursuits through the Centre for Student Involvement and Careers as well as our Work Learn Program. The Work Learn Program subsidizes on-campus work experiences that offer students opportunities to develop realworld professional skills in a work environment. For students, Career Day marks the culmination of years of hard work for so many soon-to-be graduates.
Yet, in the midst of this excitement and anticipation, elements of stress and anxiety exist for many students.
Once upon a time, the university years were viewed primarily as a time for young adults to discover their passions and interests, and develop the skills for adulthood. This has changed. For universities, the pressure to produce workforce-ready graduates has shifted the role universities and colleges play in preparing young adults for both the “hard” and “soft” skills needed for a meaningful life and smooth transition to the world of work.
Many students, since grade school, have experienced parental and social pressure to earn high grades, get into the best schools, secure high-paying jobs, and start the next Apple or Google. Those expectations combined with social pressure to make new friends and develop lifelong relationships add up to stress and anxiety. The elongated tension interferes with adolescent brain development and shortens time for young adults to ponder vocations of purpose and meaning. Instead, some graduates accept jobs only until they can find something they really want to do.
Therefore, it should come as no surprise that more students arrive on college campuses managing depression and anxiety. More is being done to embed health and well-being into key aspects of campus culture — administration, programs and services, and academic mandates.
In 2016, UBC became one of the first universities in the world to adopt the Okanagan Charter by signing a formal commitment to integrate well-being in everything we do. Universities are uniquely positioned to influence and inform lifelong habits about health and well-being. This work is done best when it is embed into, rather than separated from, everyday practice. How do we redesign the career exploration journey, from kindergarten through university, with a lens toward the health and well-being of those on that path?
Universities can do a lot to help. Along with the academic and social challenges inherent in the campus experience, universities have an opportunity to extend well-beingminded support to help students navigate the complexities of their career journey. University is a time for students to assess their self-awareness and understand how their skills, passions, and academic interests intersect with career opportunities. These types of assessments and conversations should happen in the classroom, in academic/career advising, in volunteer experiences, and in work-learn opportunities.
Students also play an important role in their own health-minded career journey. The road to getting to university might have been a race, but university itself is a marathon, not a sprint. Racing through university, applying that familiar pressure to the campus experience, can create unnecessary stress and anxiety.
Exploring a career path is a learning experience that cannot be rushed, it should be done with one’s health and well-being in mind. Reduce stress by starting with understanding one’s self interest, not waiting until your final year to get started, taking time to reflect on enjoyable academic subjects, and reflecting on work and volunteer experiences that were meaningful.
Of course, employers are an important part of the equation as well. Employers should be aware that today’s university graduates are increasingly interested in value-based employment opportunities with companies that can articulate a commitment to social and environmental concerns on equal par with profits — the third bottom line. Rather than luring graduates with high-paying salaries, benefits packages and company perks, employers should make investments in creating work environments where well-being and contributions to society are part of the equation.
A new workforce is emerging from colleges and universities. A workforce that has been under pressure for most of their lives and is now seeking career opportunities that finally align with their passions and interests. Everyone — universities, graduates, and employers — plays an important role in building a health conscious career journey.