Agency is the ability and confidence to shape your career, not react to it.

These quotes highlight agency in action. They show why agency matters more than perks, titles, or salary:

"When I first set up my business, I started working part-time at the NHS as an Occupational Psychologist for Northumbria Healthcare Trust. I went from being a strategic recruitment to just doing psychometric testing. But that was brilliant because it was only three days a week. It was half my last salary, but it gave me stability, income, and awesome colleagues."

Michelle Minnikin — Occupational Psychologist and Entrepreneur

"When we had the first born, I was working with a team of people who'd either had kids a long time ago or didn't have any at all. My manager was also new and didn't have kids, so he didn't really get it. He didn't understand the kind of flexibility I needed. That was why I eventually had to move to a different department in the business."

Matthew Barry — Senior Technical Developer / Lab Manager

"What was really driving my choice of career was the financial gains. I was looking into which different careers make a lot of money. But then I realised I didn't really enjoy the work. I realized that [money] was not actually going to be an avenue to happiness."

Denny Henderson — Senior Sales Manager

These are just three quotes from people I interviewed for Let's Love to Work. How people create careers they love, about making intentional choices in shaping careers that work for them.

They reflected on what they needed, often recognising that money wasn't the main driver, and reshaped their working lives to suit their needs. They knew either past choices, or current circumstances didn't fit their goals and so they made changes.

However, many people who don't love what they do sit tight. Fear, debt, identity associated with their job role or career path, or exhaustion of getting through each day makes them stagnate and quietly disengage.

When this happens, organisations experience higher absenteeism, sickness levels, and less quality work because people are demotivated and disengaged.

Building agency is essential — for employees and organisations alike.

In the examples above, people have taken on the agency themselves. However, it takes a strong, well-informed person to make decisions like these. It's hard to walk away from a role that pays well for one that pays less and a plan to create a life you love. It's also hard to move department because you feel you're not getting the flexibility you need.

These are just a few examples of decisions people make when they are brave, informed, and educated to do so.

To make decisions like this requires high self-efficacy, self-belief, courage, a supportive network, career planning savvy, successful role models, and much more.

The thing that's often missed is that these factors don't boil down to personality traits. These behaviours and ways of navigating careers can be built.

If we support people to build these capabilities, skills, behaviours, and thought patterns, leaders can support people to build career paths that work for them and organisations will benefit. The results are increased innovation and creativity, more committed and engaged employees, people who are less likely to leave, and reduced time off for sickness and burnout.

Leaders have a responsibility to create the conditions that support their teams to have fulfilling careers, and in turn be physically and mentally well. While employees have significant responsibility for themselves, when they are crushed by inadequate systems, over-engineered processes, and endless bottlenecks, they flounder. It's up to leaders in organisations to create spaces where people can thrive.

As individuals, you can build those skills, even when your organisation may not teach them to you. However, imagine the difference if it did.

This site is where I explore how people can build agency through stories, research, and tools. Soon, I'll share the BACkbone Model of Agency in my next book, so you can apply it in your own career and within your teams.

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