Reinventing Ourselves Off Campus

"Who am I without an affiliation to a university?" This question hit me hard after my university position was cut. 

For the first few days it felt like I was inhabiting an alternative universe where work, MY work, had become a very abstract, open question. But as the shock wore off, I realised something important: this isn’t just about survival—it’s about reinvention.

If you're one of the many higher education faculty or staff currently facing reorganization, downsizing, or program closures in Canadian universities or colleges right now, you may be asking yourself how to move forward.

Our expertise doesn't disappear with our institutional email. But how do we maintain professional identity outside institutional walls? Research on independent workers offers some clues.

In “Agony and Ecstacy in the Gig Economy”, researchers Gianpiero Petriglieri, Sue Ashford and Amy Wrzeniewski found that independent workers build critical connections through routines, places, people, and purpose. Without these connections, people tend to struggle with consistency and emotional ups and downs.

- Routines that structure your day and maintain momentum

- Places that signal "this is where the work happens"

- People who provide support and accountability (not necessarily peers)

- Purpose beyond any particular job or specific work

Without these four elements, professionals struggle with strong emotions and the pressure that they and others place on them to produce high quality work consistently.

MY PERSONAL REBUILDING JOURNEY

The hardest part? Accepting the reality that well-paid, permanent staff positions at universities, particularly in educational development,  may be  increasingly hard to come by.

I've grieved the loss of my academic library access, but I'm discovering that I can usually find what I need through my local public library.

I am applying for roles when they align with work I want to do and giving myself permission to say no to those that don’t.

I’m feeding my monkey-brain by reading and taking short courses that I have always wanted to take. 

I am leaning into writing, which I have always enjoyed, but I have never truly put at the centre of my work. 

I am developing my coaching practice but only as one thread of my possible future professional self.

So I'll leave you with this: What part of your institutional identity are you afraid to let go of? And more importantly—what possible self is waiting on the other side of that fear?