There has been a lot of discussion about the ever-shifting labor market over the last three years. In the "before times", unemployment was low and some folks had no problem finding work (unemployment rates, of course, don't tell the whole story). The pandemic upended work environments for a lot of folks, laid bare the value we place on jobs and human beings, and caused us to reconsider how and where we do our work (those of us lucky enough to have those options). We now find ourselves in the era of "quiet quitting" and significant layoffs in Silicon Valley.
At the heart of these struggles and changes, though, I feel is a deeper distinction. One that many folks are now attempting to make for themselves. Is it a job or is it a vocation? As is often the case at a point in time where it is a job seeker's market, folks are questioning if they truly feel called to be doing whatever it is they may be doing. This is, of course, only true for those with the privilege to be able to ask those questions in the first place.
Let me back up a bit, but I promise to make it quick. The industrial revolution changed much about how our society looks and functions, including how we thought about work. Capitalism was truly taking hold, and we were receiving the message loud and clear that our job was to go to work so we could buy things that would then contribute to the economy, and make us happy in the process. This shift forever changed how we thought about jobs and careers. For many, it meant making career choices based primarily on income and how best to support a family. You didn't need to love your job, you just needed to do it. "Everybody's working for the weekend", as the song goes.
Fast forward to today, and those pressures are still present. Career choices are still driven by economic potential for many, higher education is coming into question as the best path to that economic security, and folks are feeling burnt out more than ever before. We are working more hours for less money, the minimum wage is worth significantly less, and some folks are beginning to make tough choices. Gone are the days where someone can stay at a job for 40 years and retire with a good pension. We job hop every few years. We are always looking for the next best thing. We've become serial monogamists with our careers. But do we really feel called to the work we are doing?
We've all heard the expression "if you like what you do, you'll never work a day in your life". Now, don't get me wrong, work is still work, and we're always going to enjoy vacation time. Even when I really enjoy the work I'm doing on any particular day, I'm still very aware that it's work and I'd probably rather be running in the woods. However, I'm lucky enough to have found something that I find meaningful. Subjectively, I'd like to hope it means I'm overall happier than I would be in a job I didn't feel called to, even if it was paying me considerably more money.
Employees are finding themselves more concerned with balance in their lives than the balances in their bank accounts, and I'd like to think that perhaps it's the first step. The first step towards supporting young people as they tip the scales away from career and to calling. Are you doing what you are called to do?
