Hexagram 42 Increase: Work Reading
Hexagram 42 in a question about work: whether this is a moment to advance or hold, whether to change course, and whether you can absorb what is coming.
How to read it
Work questions are almost always questions about position: where you sit in the structure, who you are aligned with, and whether your effort is landing in the right place. The hexagram describes this concretely.
The same hexagram reads differently for an employee and a founder. Employees are asking whether to move and what the people above think. Founders are asking whether resources are sufficient and when to act. Know which one you are.
The one question that never works is "how is my career". Ask instead "what should I push on this quarter" and the answer sharpens immediately.
This hexagram at a glance
有东西进来了，该往外给。
Judgment: 利有攸往，利涉大川。
Questions people bring to it
- Should I change jobs now
- Will this project land
- How do I handle my manager
- Should I take this offer
- Should I go out on my own
- What to focus on for three months
What to do this week
- List everything on your plate, cut the bottom third, and concentrate the freed capacity in one place
- If the hexagram shows blockage, go to whoever can actually decide — not sideways to peers
- If it shows momentum, do not expand the surface area; deepen the part that pays
Frequently asked
Can I ask about salary
Yes, but ask "should I push for this number" rather than "will I get it". The first shows you your leverage; the second only returns a yes or no.
Should I ask whether to resign
Better to ask "what do I lose by leaving now". The timing is rarely the real question — the real question is whether you have a fallback.
What is useful to ask as a founder
Resources, timing, and partners. All three get structural answers, unlike "will this succeed".
The same hexagram in other questions
One hexagram reads differently depending on what you are asking. These are the other lenses for this figure.
- Love Hexagram 42 益 · Love
- Money Hexagram 42 益 · Money
- Health Hexagram 42 益 · Health