Article which will be published on Thursday June 20 in the 24 Heures and Friday June 21 in the Tribune de Genève
Finally Friday ! How are you ? Well…like a Monday. How many times have we heard these phrases? If this is the case, allow us to give you some advice: change positions and/or distance yourself from your colleagues.
What kind of life do we lead if we consider the approximately 150 days off (weekends, vacations and public holidays in Switzerland) as our only life? What about the other 215 days? A galley ? A punishment ? Suffering ?
We cannot call it a life. While for most people in the world, in low-skilled employment, choices are often limited, in our country, whether in the civil service or in a private company, alternatives exist.
We are living in a very special historical period. The Covid-19 pandemic has made us aware of the finitude of life and opened up opportunities for remote working, particularly on Fridays and bridge days between a public holiday and a weekend. This is not a generational phenomenon, but situational. This concerns people from different generations across the board: Y, Z, Alpha.
The value of “work” has lost a few positions in the scale of priorities. For our parents, often, work was simply the reason for living, a means of social revenge (think of the migrants of the 60s and 70s), a tool to shape the world or leave a mark behind oneself.
Today, for many (fortunately not for all), work represents approximately 215 days per year, a time to be minimized while maximizing earnings. Take without giving. Or give a little and take a lot.
We make no ethical or moral judgment on the subject of the meaning that each individual wants to give to “work”. Maybe making your job your reason for living isn’t healthy either. Each person must have the freedom to give their own priority and meaning to work. We simply state that there is a clear downward trend in this value in the scale of priorities. So let’s not be surprised if companies invest in artificial intelligence to increase productivity, or in outsourcing to countries where work is still important, or even necessary.
In our executive search activity, we see how this trend negatively impacts their daily lives, and how being a good leader has changed and often become more difficult. But we will discuss that another time.
For now, we invite you to experience these 215 days as a source of fulfillment and joy. Retirement is not a finish line, but a deadline to benefit from a powerful tool, Work, to leave a mark and make the world a better place. While having fun!
