Career in Cultural Context 

Where we work has a profound influence on how we feel about what we do. This in turn affects how we feel about ourselves and our lives. 
All the careers-guidance I have ever received has focused on the ‘what’ of what I wish to do. Rarely has the question ‘where would you like to do this’ been asked. Whether ‘where’ refers to location, continent or the kind of environment best suits you is immaterial, it is important to examine these ‘where’ aspects in order that we play to our strengths.
I have experienced three very different medical environments this week. The efficient calm of emergency admissions, the quietude of the nature focused cardiac ward, and, the genuinely playful and welcoming outpatients of the children’s hospital. All were just as they needed to be in order that they function best for the patients. They were designed with ‘people’ in mind and were an appropriate match. A child in A&E might have been freaked out, an adult in distress in the children’s ward might have been further traumatised. 
Frequently I coach clients who similarly are doing exactly the right job for them, but in a work context that is not a good fit. If you wish to work with money and be an individualistic in honouring your creative and authentic nature, you would be better off doing the finances for a co-op rather than a banking corporate. If engineering is your thing but you find yourself railing against the status quo, then you’d be wise to find an innovative company and not one that is still operating on the protocols developed an age ago. If like myself, you are drawn to an HR role but simultaneously believe wholeheartedly in developing people, best not stick around in an HR office where any question asked is answered with ‘because it is company protocol’! I sought a training and development role in a very forward thinking organisation instead and it gave me great joy.
Sometimes the role you have chosen is absolutely right for you, but if something still didn’t feel like it is lining up for you, you might be performing that function in a culture, context or Indeed a country who’s established protocols do not best suit you. 

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