Sarah Burke: The Great Resignation

Although I celebrate women all year long on this podcast, I'm always up for celebrating Women's History Month and International Women's Day. This week also marks the one-year anniversary of this podcast. I'll revisit some of the inspiring conversations I’ve had over the last year; call it a best-of if you will. But, I also have some personal news to share.

You know, when I launched this podcast just ahead of International Women’s Day a year ago, my aunt asked me, "hon…when do we get to hear your story?" I laughed and tucked that comment into the back of my head and tried not to think about it all year.

The truth is, while I’ve been interviewing women about their challenges and triumphs in the media, I’ve been having a really difficult time myself. Maybe launching this podcast was a means to better understand what I’ve been going through. But, if you’ve noticed, you haven’t heard too much about my story yet, and why? Fear.

Fear seems to be a constant theme on this podcast and it’s popped up in almost every conversation. It’s different for everyone. Fear of losing one’s job. Fear of judgement. Fear of not being good enough. Fear of being too demanding. Fear of asking too much. Fear of saying the wrong thing. Fear of being too confident, too bold, too much…

What stops you from making tough decisions? For me, it was the fear of ruining my career; the fear of not getting another great job. The fear of repercussions. But, I did it.

I just became a stat in the great resignation and left my job. A job that I absolutely loved. I handed in a resignation letter without even lining up a new full-time job. One of my greatest fears came true in the process: I didn’t get to say goodbye. I didn’t get a chance to say thank you to my colleagues or partners or the emerging musicians-turned-friends that have been the soundtrack to my last five years.

Forbes recently did a piece on the Great Resignation and shared some findings from an American survey that asks what the main causes are. The top three causes were low salary, limited career opportunities, and not feeling valued by management...interesting. Let’s unpack one more factor. I think this pandemic has forced many of us to look inwards, asking ourselves who we are, what we care about, and who we want to be next. A job doesn’t define you and that’s a lesson that I’ve needed to learn for a long time, but better late than never.

I made the decision to resign in the name of self-love and that concept is pretty new for me. The challenges were outweighing the joy I once felt at work. That may be shocking to some, but as thrilling as these last five years have been at a really exciting company, it became difficult to separate me from SiriusXM. I also came to an important realization that helped me face my fear; my accomplishments will follow me. Just because you resign, it doesn’t erase what you’ve poured your heart and soul into for five years. It doesn’t end friendships that will continue for years to come. I’m grateful for the entire journey, though, and really excited for the future.

I have some thanks to give as I end this chapter, and I wasn’t given much else of a choice but to do this here. I want to thank SiriusXM and my colleagues for the last five years. I’ve learned so much about our business and the industry, but also about myself and what I’m capable of. 

As you know, this podcast is about building community, and celebrating women. Today, I just so happen to be celebrating a personal decision, a new chapter, and five years of accomplishments alongside the amazing guests that were part of year one of the Women in Media podcast. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices