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How to Manage Transitions

Transitions are a part of life…

We are constantly experiencing transitions, events or nonevents that alter our lives. The Transitions Process, a respected, research-based framework developed by Dr. Nancy Schlossberg helps you self-reflect, take action and strengthen your coping skills. It will help you reduce stress and support your well-being as you go through change.

This process works for any transition (examples: event - birth of a child, nonevent - infertility) but here, we’ll focus more on career transitions.

Step 1 - Understand the transition you’re in, and where you are

First, identify the type of transition you’re in and where you are in the transition process. Answering the questions below will help you do that. We share example answers to help. Record yours on this Manage My Transition worksheet (PDF).

What type of transition am I in?

  • Anticipated: those major life events we expect – first job, finishing school, returning to school, planned job change, retirement

  • Unanticipated: Surprises, positive and negative, that are unexpected and catch us off guard – a big bonus, new job duties, a new boss or reorganization, layoff, health crisis, pandemic lockdown

  • Non-Event: expected events that fail to occur – promotion, enough savings to retire, children leaving home

  • Double whammy: the pile up of related transitions at one time – return to school, which can change work role, that also impacts one’s family

Be open-minded – you may discover that the transition you’re in is not at work, but something in your personal life impacting your work. Read more about career change.

How much does it impact my life?

  • Roles: a student, coworker, employee, child, parent

  • Relationships: with family, friends, co-workers

  • Routines: a certain schedule, what I spend my time doing, sleep patterns

  • Assumptions: about yourself, your place in the world of work, the world generally – I am/am ready for more responsibility, self-worth, work hard and you get rewarded (or not)

These impacts can feel positive or negative – avoid judging your feelings, like “I should” statements or comparing yourself to some ideal person.

Where am I in the transition process?

  • Beginning: I’m moving into it, preparing for it

  • Middle: I’m moving through it

  • End: I’m moving out of it, integrating what has happened, what I’ve learned

Step 2 – Manage the change by taking stock and taking charge

How well you navigate and cope with change in a transition depends on your coping resources. When you strengthen those, you’ll increase your options, learn more about yourself, and gain more control – strengthening your overall well-being. Start by “taking stock” of your resources for coping, and then “take charge” by taking action to increase those resources.

Taking Stock – the 4 S’s: What are the strengths and weaknesses of my coping resources?

These are not judgments about you, just an inventory of your internal and external resources.

  • Situation: What else is going on in my life? Is the transition expected/unexpected, positive/negative/neutral, outside/inside my control, timing right/wrong/not sure

  • Self: How I view the world - How do I handle ambiguity, change, similar changes in the past? How optimistic am I?

  • Supports: Levels of emotional support from family, friends, coworkers; institutions and organizations like schools, community groups, churches; financial resources; professional help – advisor, therapist or counselor

  • Strategies: How much do I know about and use strategies to cope with change? Examples: taking action to change or modify the transition, changing the meaning of the transition; managing reactions to stress, doing nothing.

Taking Charge – How do I increase my coping resources?

Identify the resources you’d like to increase. Try progress over perfection – small efforts add up over time.

  • Adapt your coping strategies (below) based on what you know about your situation and yourself – if you’re a glass “half-empty” person, the idea is not to magically make you into an optimist, but to balance out what brings you down with what has worked in the past to make you feel better and motivated.

  • Change your Supports - Can you ask existing ones for help or establish new ones? Maybe some family interaction feels more like sabotage than support. It may be time to change with whom you spend time.

  • Learn about and use a new strategy - Research shows that successful strategies for coping fall into 3 main clusters:

1. Modifying the situation or source of stress (i.e. negotiating, asserting, brainstorming, seeking advice)

2. Changing a transition’s meaning to neutralize negativity (develop new rituals and routines, relabeling or reframing, applying knowledge about transition process, using denial, humor, faith)

3. Managing reactions to stress (physical activity, therapy, meditation)

Brainstorm and make a list of actions you can take to increase your coping resources.

Sources:

Anderson, M. L., Goodman, J., Schlossberg, N. K. (2022). Counseling Adults in Transition: Linking Schlossberg’s Theory with Practice in a Diverse World, New York: Springer Publishing Company.

Jones, L. K. (1992). The Encyclopedia of Career Change and Work Issues, 180-182. Phoenix: The Oryx Press. Article: “Managing Transitions” by Nancy K. Schlossberg.

Pearlin L. I. C., & Schooler, C. (1978). The structure of coping. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 19: 2-21.

Schlossberg, N. K. (2008). Overwhelmed: Coping with Life’s Ups and Downs, Lanham: M. Evans.