Let's be honest—the coronavirus is already bad enough. Then we have the murder of George Floyd bringing to light years of systemic racial oppression, the Anti-Terrorism Bill that is still completely questionable (yet somehow on its way to become a law), the humanitarian crisis amidst a war in Yemen. And as if we didn't have enough problems, we also have to deal with the consequences of those problems, such as unemployment in the time of corona.
Disclaimer: There are bigger problems, we know. (Did you not read the phrase "war in Yemen" a while ago?) But we understand that lives go on and there are problems that we still need to address on a personal level. To help those people is the reason why we are writing this article.)
It's a hard pill to swallow, but it's the truth. The unemployment rate in the Philippines is at an all-time high at 17.7% as of April 2020 (for perspective, in January it was only at 5.3%). In the US, more than 30 million people have lost their jobs due to Ms. Rona. Depression rates have soared, and the circumstances surrounding quarantine conditions are, as CNBC reports, creating the 'perfect storm' for suicide risk,
I think we can all agree when we say that it's basically a shit show.
And, if you'll notice, a good number of articles or thought pieces that give advice on how to cope with job loss almost always point out that one of the things that lead to post-job loss depression, in one way or another, is that their job is their identity. Heck, before the job is even lost, professional failures hit harder if your job is your identity.
While most people believe in the saying that you should "choose a job you love and never have to work a day in your life," I am firmly in the camp of Absolutely No Fucking Way, Jose. I'm not interested in blurring the lines of passion and profit, and I think it's unhealthy to want that.
A job is a job is a job
I'll be frank—I'm looking for something to make me money, not some obscure "career advancement" milestone set by an "expert in the field" that's going to tell me where I should be and what I should be working towards.
The question that haunts everyone who basically can't find their purpose in life is: "Should I work for passion or money?" and honestly, it's a good question. Both camps proposes good reasons to work for either purpose, but this article written by Michael Schramm on Money.com is particularly interesting.
You know the phrase, "Money doesn't buy happiness"? Yeah, that doesn't sit so well with Schramm, because "it’s a half-truth at best and an outright lie at worst."
He said that.
He goes on to write, "Money and happiness are bound to each other. Struggling to pay your bills, save for emergencies, and invest in your future shouldn’t be glorified as a sacrifice made by those living for a higher purpose. It’s hazardous to buy into this mentality, especially if you’re looking for a job."
And I will tell you. I 👏🏼 RE 👏🏼 LATE! 👏🏼
Do you know the level of bullshit that advice is at for someone who is living pay check to pay check? It's at the top of the bullshit-o'-meter.
A few years after college, at 24, I've lived on my own for a good amount of time, and learning to budget was a struggle. Suddenly having autonomy over how I spent my salary was a double-edged sword—I could afford what I wanted, but I didn't know when to stop. And while I did learn to save a bit, it went down the drain as I needed to spend money to buy things that I needed. So it was back to zero.
In the 2-3 years I've lived independently, I've gone through waiting for the next month's pay check to pay a power bill. I've gone through buying the most discounted items in the supermarket to be able to eat twice a day while paying rent. I've weighed the benefits of spending for transportation to get free WiFi vs. staying in and consuming WiFi and electricity.
And, most of all, one of the reasons why I quit my last job was to pursue my passion. (It's hardly worked out.)
So, based from experience, money probably can't buy you happiness. But having money probably would've made me a happier person when I was 24.
If I'm here, my work needs to be there
I'll let you in on a little secret: I don't believe in work-life balance.
Work-life balance, according to the amazingly apt website Worklifebalance.com, is basically equal parts achievement and enjoyment. However, I am not about having equal parts achievement and enjoyment. I am all about equal parts 'I am done with this so I am leaving this.'
My cousin once tweeted that her drive to and from work allows her to shed her work persona in favor of her mom persona, but now that she's work from home, the walk downstairs isn't exactly enough.
And that's what I mean about boundaries. If I have work here, then my personal life needs to be there. A lot of my friends know me as the person who stops people whenever they talk about work. Friend time is not work time, okay? It isn't.
I need boundaries. A lack of boundaries sets you up for letting something take over your life. You know how law students used to have "bookworm" on their Instagram bios? Yeah, that's gone. Reading sucks now. Thank the five million case digests that killed it during their first year at law school.
You are more than your job title.
You are more than your deliverables, you are more than your to-do list, you are more than what your boss asks you to do. You are more than your latest contract, you are more than what you negotiated with HR, you are more than your résumé.
You are being paid to work a fixed amount of hours in a day. Why bring your identity from your 9-5 to your 24/7?
Who are you outside of work? An account manager on call? No. (Well, maybe. But those are rare occasions.) You're a family member. You're a friend. You're a volunteer. You're whoever you want to be outside your job title. You are more than what you do or who you work for.
Your work should add meaning to your life, not be the meaning of your life. There is more to life than the four corners of your work desk (or, if you don't have a traditional desk, the endless corners of your round table).
Ultimately, you can change what your job title is. But you can't change the life you have, and it should always be bigger than what your boss is paying you to do.
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