Your Relationship with Work: Finding Fulfilment Without Burning Out by Adam Kene and Kate Waterfall Hill

Your career is a long-term relationship with work. Like any relationship, it can become energising and purposeful, or draining and transactional.

In Episode 4 of Season 2 of Behind the SME, Adam Kene and Kate Waterfall Hill explore our relationship with work, why it matters more than we might think, and how leaders can build careers that remain fulfilling and sustainable over the long term.

Working hard is not necessarily the problem. For some people, it can be deeply rewarding. The challenge comes when work consistently conflicts with your values, drains your energy or starts affecting how you show up for the people around you.

For leaders in particular, that matters. Impatience, micromanagement, cynicism and over-control can all be signs that the relationship with work has started to shift.

Adam and Kate explore how to recognise those patterns, understand your own boundaries and make more deliberate choices about where your time and energy go.

You will learn:

Why a career should be treated as a marathon rather than a weekly sprintHow a leader’s relationship with work can influence the wider cultureWhy fulfilment does not mean being happy at work all the timeHow to identify the work that gives you energy and the work that drains itWhy resentment can be a sign that a boundary should have been set earlierHow to understand the real cost of saying yesPractical ways to push back, renegotiate priorities and protect your timeWhy individuals have more control over their own fulfilment than they might think

Adam and Kate also introduce a simple relationship-with-work audit, looking at energy, values, control, boundaries, recovery, growth, relationships and purpose.

And there is a practical challenge to try: a “No Week”. Do not automatically say yes. Ask what each new commitment will displace, renegotiate something that is not working and protect time for recovery or focused work.

The question at the heart of the episode is simple: if your job was a relationship, would you say it was healthy?

🎙️ Behind the SME is hosted by Adam Kene, CEO of Kene. In Season 2, Adam is joined by leadership coach and author Kate Waterfall Hill to explore the leadership challenges behind growing businesses.

Like what you hear? We’d love to know!