As a narrative structure, the various arcs on which our life can go has been frequently furrowed by writers and movie makers. The latest exploration of this general theme comes via the blockbusting bestseller The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig, in which Nora, the protagonist, attempts to kill herself one evening.
Instead of meeting her maker, however, she's taken to a library in which the numerous volumes on display represent a version of her life that would have unfolded had she taken different choices. The volumes reveal that she could have been an Arctic researcher or an Olympian, a rock star, or an orphan.
The deal is that if she finds a version of her life she is happy with, she can stay in that life. When we are young we seem to have all of these volumes laid out in front of us, and a world of opportunity is open, but as we get older these narratives become more focused as we move through college and into our careers. This is especially so as our identity becomes wrapped up in what we do, but this identity is inevitably rooted in a particular moment in time.
Possible selves
As we look into the future we should not become bound to this one version of ourselves, as Stanford psychologists Hazel Markus and Paula Nurius highlight, we actually have a huge range of possible selves before us, just as Nora did in The Midnight Library.
It is something London Business School’s Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott explore in their latest book The New Long Life. They remind us that traditionally, the three-stage life provided a clear narrative structure for life, as we had clear expectations at each phase to abide by. This began with education, before being followed by full-time work, which was itself followed by full-time retirement.
Everyone was on the same journey through these stages, with the transitions between stages typically occurring at the same time, so peer influence provided a significant and powerful navigating force. It is a prescribed path that is largely breaking down as demographic, economic, and technological forces prompt change.
“Longevity means on average the span of life is longer, whilst the disruption of technology creates more frequent transitions,” Gratton and Scott write. “It is this combination of lengthening horizons and shortening intervals which will lead inevitably to a new narrative - a multistage rather than a three-stage life.”
This transition is likely to have a range of impacts and will change what we regard a job as, how we perceive work itself, how we go about building a career, and even what it means to get older. It is a transition that is unfolding at a time when it is quite clear that the three-stage life that still dominates is broken. We are living in a time when young people can barely afford to buy a house, while our elderly struggle to muster a sufficient pension.
Different lives
The future is likely to take a number of different forms. For instance, Gratton highlights that we are likely to work longer, not least to be able to afford to retire as we spend ever longer in retirement. MIT’s Jim Poterba estimates that for every ten years worth of life expectancy we gain, we need to work for seven more years in order to finance our retirement. We are already seeing governments around the world raising the retirement age, and while these measures are typically met with resistance, the reality is that working for longer has been shown to keep us healthier for longer.
Gratton believes, however, that our longer lives will not just be spent working, as it is also likely that we will enjoy greater leisure time. As our productivity rises, we work fewer hours, unlike the 60-70 hour work weeks that were common in the late 1800s, now many governments mandate less than 40 hours. Indeed, there have been numerous experiments recently highlighting that 4-day work weeks are as productive as five-day weeks, so as technology enters the workplace, we can expect to see our working hours fall further.
Similarly, Gratton suggests that contingent work is likely to play a growing role in whatever future lays before us. She highlights that since 1990, roughly 50% of all new jobs created across the OECD have been contingent jobs. Of course, not all such jobs are equal, and while there are many that are highly skilled and well-compensated, there are equally many that are lowly compensated and provide huge uncertainty to workers. Given the likelihood that such work will be a feature of our careers in the future, however, it is an area that should be looked at as we consider our future careers.
“The schema of your future paths and possible selves is sure to take on a more fluid structure as you cycle in and out of connectedness with your employers,” Gratton writes. “There will be times when you will take on a distinct role in a conventional job. There will be times when you perform very specific tasks on a contingent basis in work that is more flexible and autonomous, but where there are greater risks of financial insecurity and a weaker sense of identity.”
The future of work for you is by no means certain, and many possibilities exist. What path will you choose?
"Many" - Google News
April 04, 2021 at 06:32PM
https://ift.tt/3cMbsMc
How Many Volumes Does Your Career Have? - Forbes
"Many" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2QsfYVa
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "How Many Volumes Does Your Career Have? - Forbes"
Post a Comment