Navigating education and/or career

At our women’s psychology clinic, we understand that navigating education and a career can be both a daunting and intense time of choices and challenges.  Establishing yourself in the adult world of employment, being taken seriously and getting the support you need to succeed involve huge effort, resourcefulness and resilience. 

At Una Psychology, we appreciate that this life stage can involve the following competing priorities:

  • Uncertainty and instability: You may be moving on from university or training into the workforce.  This can coincide with other changes such as reduced connection with your friends as your social network becomes dispersed.  You may be anxious about moving to a new area and establishing financial independence.  
  • Underemployment or unemployment: You may be applying for jobs but not having the success you hoped for in securing employment leaving you feeling dejected, frustrated, anxious or low in mood.  
  • Fatigue/ burnout: It can be exhausting summoning the energy to establish yourself in a new role and negotiate relationships with new colleagues.  You may be feeling as though you have to say ‘yes’ to everything to show willingness and pay a price in terms of your energy and well-being.
  • Imposter syndrome: Despite your outward success and competence, you may be feeling inadequate or lacking in confidence about your abilities in your new role.  
  • Perfectionism: You may have internalised societal messages to be both successful and likeable, ambitious but not “too assertive,” causing you to feel trapped and stressed, leading to burnout. 
  • Stress and anxiety: The costs of establishing yourself professionally may also be impacting on your relationships, physical and mental health.
  • Work–life conflict: You may be overthinking and ruminating on what has happened during your working day when you get home, making it difficult to ‘switch off’. 
  • Pressure to “have it all”:   Aspiring to do well in life can also mean feeling pressured to be simultaneously successful, attractive, emotionally available, and family-oriented.  
  • Family relationships: Your family may have been encouraging and want the best for you and you may feel unwarranted guilt about developing your own life and setting boundaries.
  • Gendered double standards: Assertive behaviour may be positively perceived as “driven” or “ambitious” in men but negatively seen as “aggressive” in women.  Sadly, we know that  women tend to be higher on the characteristic of ‘agreeableness’ which is often associated with self-sacrificing patterns in the workplace and at home.  For example, wanting to be a ‘team player’ and prone to helpfulness can mean putting in extra time and effort without outward recognition or the remuneration you deserve; this can be mirrored at home with unequal divisions of labour leading to frustration and exhaustion.
  • Unequal treatment, representation and pay:  Sadly, at entry level, there can be many challenges for women in the workplace. You may feel lacking in confidence to ‘ask for more’: more pay, more opportunity or the mentorship and support you could benefit from by senior colleagues.  
  • Power dynamics: You may feel anxious to not ‘rock the boat’ in challenging any unfair or unequal treatment within the workplace and be acutely aware of power imbalances within your organisation leaving you feeling disempowered, undervalued or vulnerable.
  • Sexual harassment: Sadly it remains all too common that early on in their career, women are in vulnerable positions where speaking up about mistreatment or disrespectful behaviour is not met with the validation and protection deserved.  Some organisations continue to have their own cultures which promote systemic prejudices and misogyny which can be extremely daunting for younger women to cope with.
  • Sex discrimination:  Women’s physical needs often require alternative employment accommodations and flexibility.  Menstrual, gynaecological issues or other conditions more common in women can impact your ability to function at work.  You may be struggling with the self-advocacy required to have these needs taken seriously or accommodated without professional disadvantage.
  • Industry related challenges: You may be working in a field where there are known limitations to women being offered promotion to senior positions or a lack of career progression.  Some industries such as STEM are not offering proportionate opportunities to retaining women in the industry.  The ‘glass ceiling’ can result in many highly skilled women leaving the profession and not therefore able to represent or mentor younger female colleagues.
  • Balancing authenticity and conformity: You may be feeling a pressure to adapt to corporate culture or suppress aspects of your identity (e.g., femininity, cultural background, neurodivergence. sexuality).  This may involve you seeming to tolerate or participate in practices that are not conducive to your well-being or values.
  • Intersectional challenges: The issues outlined above can be compounded  for women of colour, those who are LGBTQ+ and women with disabilities or who hold other care-giving responsibilities or roles.  You may be feeling invisible or experiencing casual or explicit discrimination in academia or the workplace.

If you are a young woman who is trying to manage the competing demands of navigating education and career, we at Una Psychology are here to help.  We recall the combined pressures of wanting to prove our abilities and establish ourselves professionally with the many challenges this posed in balancing our professional development with our personal lives and needs.  Our clinical expertise alongside our commitment to young women plus a shared desire for them to succeed and be well means we can support you in growing your confidence, finding your voice and walking the path you choose.  If you would like to talk to us about how we can help, get in touch.

Antonella & Rachel
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