There's no ladder to climb

A friend recently walked off a job that pays fairly well for this area because the work environment was toxic and he wasn’t getting the time and flexibility he needed to be with his son. In fact, an MIT Sloan Management Review survey from 2022 pegged a toxic work environment as the number one indicator of people leaving during the Great Resignation.

You don’t need to stick with the traditional career path, staying with a job for two to three years—or longer. There are a number of interesting ways to change things up and get a little more from your life and work without following a prescribed path.

Topics covered in this episode on nontraditional work arrangements

• How exhausting the corporate ladder can be

• General feelings about burnout

• The reality that you could lose your job at any time—it’s not more stable than freelancing or being an entrepreneur

• Life also contributes to burnout

• Building an FU fund and concerns about having to do what you must in order to survive

• Alternatives to sticking with a traditional job

  • Sabattical or mini-retirement

  • Part-time work

  • Barista FIRE

• Job hopping and how it can lead to better jobs and better pay

• The realities that you need to plan ahead, especially for healthcare, if you want to take an unconventional approach to work

• Acknowledgement that it requires resources to take advantages of these alternatives

Sources used for this episode on sticking with your “real” job

• The SHRM’s survey results on burnout

• Whistleblower story referenced by Sarah

• Jillian Johnsrud talks with Forbes about mini-retirements

• Read about choosing a part-time job to help with Slow Fi

• Money Flamingo explains Barista FIRE

• Using job hopping to increase your salary

• Experian offers insight into state requirements for unemployment for seasonal and part-time work

Our financial resource

This article on job hopping from Indeed offers a look at the pros and cons of job hopping, plus provides helpful information on deciding when to leave a job and gives concrete tips for successful job hopping.

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• Sarah Li-Cain

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