Articles

Why are people moving away from mainstream jobs?

The modern era offers a plethora of opportunities for every person to get engaged in a work environment which they prefer. But at the same time, an individual needs to know what he or she wants to do and is capable of doing, or else they won’t be satisfied with their jobs. Even organizations face several challenges due to the dynamic nature of work. One of the many difficulties for a business is to cope up with the ever-changing and evolving environment and to remain in the competition. When individuals are uncertain about the field they want to work in, they tend to focus on mainstream jobs. In simple words, these are the kinds of occupations that people commonly have, such as a teacher or a doctor, or even an engineer. A lot of times, even parents want their children to work in a conventional environment as it is has a lesser risk and allows one to grow and excel.

Although, there is a flip side to this situation. In these changing times, people are less afraid to divert their liberated souls towards doing what they love to do and follow ‘the road not taken. Many people, even in their late 30’s and 40’s are ditching their jobs to explore their passion. A nine-to-five desk job is not the need of the hour anymore. People are choosing unconventional career options such as blogging, entrepreneurship, dancing, and being YouTuber. For example, Atul Khatri, an Indian comedian, quit his position as a CEO, to become a full-time stand-up comedian; whilst he was above 45 years. There can be many reasons for such a change- the foremost being the realization that making the right career choice affects your future. It seals the lane of opportunities that are unexplored and thus, leads to a trend of having monotonous career paths. 

Job satisfaction is another major reason why people are trying to move away from mainstream work. Job satisfaction affects not just the mental health of a person but also their physical well-being. It is the extent of positive feelings or attitudes that individuals have towards their jobs and they're work-life. Nowadays, people don’t just want to explore and experience new things, they want to build their success on it. People work, mainly for money, good quality of life, and personal fulfillment. These things could be subjective, but at the same time, are of immense value. If an employee dislikes his/her job, it will create a negative job attitude when he/she handles his/her task. At the same time, their emotions will negatively affect the work of their colleagues as well. This may bring a lot of problems for the organization and the other employees. Low job satisfaction can lead to decreased productivity and high turnover for the organization. According to various surveys, it has been proved that low job satisfaction leads to low organizational commitment. When an employee is not able to connect to his/her organization, it makes them aware that the path they are leading will only push them further down causing an imbalance.

Modern-age slavery in the work culture is highly condemned in recent times. It usually leads to a vicious cycle of ‘productivity anxiety’ and beliefs like ‘to rest is a crime’. The time to spend with self, family, and friends, is not given importance. In this hustle culture, our minds are trained to believe and accept that the busier we keep ourselves the happier we will be. This eventually results in the burnout of an individual; all because capitalism is deemed more important than putting our well-being at priority.

Mainstream jobs, often do not allow an individual to leave behind a legacy of their own. Today, in the capitalist world, if an employee passes away, people will hardly remember them, and they would be easily replaced in no time. Even after dedicating an entire lifetime contributing to the development of a corporate setting, the individual hardly gets any recognition. On the other hand, say a professional singer passes away tomorrow, people will always remember them through their work. This is the power of non-conventional jobs; everyone holds their value and importance.

Along with psychological satisfaction and peace, there comes a lot of courage in choosing what one loves to do, even if it is a traditional job. In an ocean full of opportunities, it’s an individual’s personal choice to make, while recognizing their interests and aptitudes, whether to either climb the defined career ladder or to explore a dynamic world that could be risky, but exciting.