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Home » Opinion » Book review
Dropping out of rat race to find balance in life
By Wan Lixin |
July 4, 2009, Saturday
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AFTER a long, harried morning commute I find myself in the office lobby where there is always a crowd before the elevators.
Some are already showing signs of fatigue, but they are all eager to be elevated to their designated levels to begin the mandatory eight hours confinement.
The panel TV beside the elevator doors constantly inspires them with images of swanky cars, cosmetics, mobiles, villas, and tourist destinations, but even these totems of good life cannot fully explain office workers' eagerness to begin the daily grind.
As a matter of fact, with the worsening employment situation, many people are grateful for the simple fact that they are subject to this kind of regimen at all.
Towards the end of the confinement it can be observed that they want to get away from the office even more eagerly than they want to get to it.
In their illuminating work "When Money Isn't Enough: How Women Are Finding the Soul of Success," published a decade ago, authors Connie Glaser and Barbara Smalley point to other possibilities.
According to them, in this rat race for success, which is defined in terms of power, titles, perks and cash, an increasingly number of people, particularly women, are fleeing corporate life, prioritizing their families and seeking balance.
Other considerations include reclaiming their individual sense of purpose, satisfaction, and fulfillment.
"Despite their stunning achievements, scores of successful women ... report feeling the same: empty, disillusioned and unfulfilled," they observe.
Their dilemmas are seen through the prism of individual women who have abandoned the corporate race in quest of balance.
One executive VP at a big firm felt sad and unanchored, and quit in her mid-forties to find "joy and peace of mind."
Another exec discovered that she had no time to enjoy her life or large salary, and decided on a part-time job.
Many want to have more time with their growing children, or husbands.
Some are simply fed up with routine office drudgery.
"Many women we spoke with suffered from boredom -- not burnout -- and have decided to look elsewhere for jobs that offer meaning and purpose," the authors say.
Of course this does not necessarily mean abandoning corporate life.
Some choose to step away from it for a time, and opt for a less important and less consuming job, or start their own business that gives more flex time.
"In terms of pure monetary and lifestyle impact women who have backtracked tend to agree that the sacrifices required were not only surprisingly minimal, but well worth it," they conclude.
The implications of these shifts in concepts for corporate management is to introduce "family friendly" policies, so that women who deliberately "plateau" their careers or take the "mommy track" need not worry that these moves would derail their careers.
This is an insightful book but could have gone further.
Most of the women cited in the case studies are high-powered executives who "have it all" but lack time to seek "satisfaction" or "fulfillment."
Although the authors do not define "satisfaction" and "fulfillment," it can be deduced that they still refer to the satisfaction derived from consumption.
Women corporate executives afford good examples because they are financially secure.
The authors should have focused more on two important factors: the meaning of work, as judged by whether the world is made better by your work, and the peace of mind.
Recently a friend in public relations told me that he felt humiliated when a middle-aged couple guessed he was a taxi driver simply because he is from Chongming Island.
It set me thinking about why public relations is considered superior to driving.
Virtually nonexistent two decades ago, PR has developed into a high-powered profession that appeals to many journalists seeking "advancement," despite the fact that doing PR is essentially about guanxi, writing promotional articles and giving out red envelopes to reporters who write about their clients.
Similarly many jobs in the world can only be justified in monetary terms.
In a recent article, professor Huang Yiping from Beijing University said that during a recent trip to Tibet he was less impressed by the infrastructure and natural scenery than the expression of piety and serenity on the faces of the pilgrims. Many had donated all their earthly belongings to the monasteries.
Huang concludes that their sense of happiness clearly has nothing to do with their economic circumstances.
Some are already showing signs of fatigue, but they are all eager to be elevated to their designated levels to begin the mandatory eight hours confinement.
The panel TV beside the elevator doors constantly inspires them with images of swanky cars, cosmetics, mobiles, villas, and tourist destinations, but even these totems of good life cannot fully explain office workers' eagerness to begin the daily grind.
As a matter of fact, with the worsening employment situation, many people are grateful for the simple fact that they are subject to this kind of regimen at all.
Towards the end of the confinement it can be observed that they want to get away from the office even more eagerly than they want to get to it.
In their illuminating work "When Money Isn't Enough: How Women Are Finding the Soul of Success," published a decade ago, authors Connie Glaser and Barbara Smalley point to other possibilities.
According to them, in this rat race for success, which is defined in terms of power, titles, perks and cash, an increasingly number of people, particularly women, are fleeing corporate life, prioritizing their families and seeking balance.
Other considerations include reclaiming their individual sense of purpose, satisfaction, and fulfillment.
"Despite their stunning achievements, scores of successful women ... report feeling the same: empty, disillusioned and unfulfilled," they observe.
Their dilemmas are seen through the prism of individual women who have abandoned the corporate race in quest of balance.
One executive VP at a big firm felt sad and unanchored, and quit in her mid-forties to find "joy and peace of mind."
Another exec discovered that she had no time to enjoy her life or large salary, and decided on a part-time job.
Many want to have more time with their growing children, or husbands.
Some are simply fed up with routine office drudgery.
"Many women we spoke with suffered from boredom -- not burnout -- and have decided to look elsewhere for jobs that offer meaning and purpose," the authors say.
Of course this does not necessarily mean abandoning corporate life.
Some choose to step away from it for a time, and opt for a less important and less consuming job, or start their own business that gives more flex time.
"In terms of pure monetary and lifestyle impact women who have backtracked tend to agree that the sacrifices required were not only surprisingly minimal, but well worth it," they conclude.
The implications of these shifts in concepts for corporate management is to introduce "family friendly" policies, so that women who deliberately "plateau" their careers or take the "mommy track" need not worry that these moves would derail their careers.
This is an insightful book but could have gone further.
Most of the women cited in the case studies are high-powered executives who "have it all" but lack time to seek "satisfaction" or "fulfillment."
Although the authors do not define "satisfaction" and "fulfillment," it can be deduced that they still refer to the satisfaction derived from consumption.
Women corporate executives afford good examples because they are financially secure.
The authors should have focused more on two important factors: the meaning of work, as judged by whether the world is made better by your work, and the peace of mind.
Recently a friend in public relations told me that he felt humiliated when a middle-aged couple guessed he was a taxi driver simply because he is from Chongming Island.
It set me thinking about why public relations is considered superior to driving.
Virtually nonexistent two decades ago, PR has developed into a high-powered profession that appeals to many journalists seeking "advancement," despite the fact that doing PR is essentially about guanxi, writing promotional articles and giving out red envelopes to reporters who write about their clients.
Similarly many jobs in the world can only be justified in monetary terms.
In a recent article, professor Huang Yiping from Beijing University said that during a recent trip to Tibet he was less impressed by the infrastructure and natural scenery than the expression of piety and serenity on the faces of the pilgrims. Many had donated all their earthly belongings to the monasteries.
Huang concludes that their sense of happiness clearly has nothing to do with their economic circumstances.
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