A job for life…
This weekend in Jersey we celebrate Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The Queen is the first British Monarch to mark a 70-year reign.
Whilst I appreciate that I have a diverse network and understandably not everyone shares the same view of the British Monarchy, it is astounding to me to think that one person would commit over 70 years of service to one ‘firm’!
The Queen said her role as Monarch would be “a job for life” (which is the idea of entering an occupation and staying within it until retirement). This achievement is particularly surprising given that the experience of a ‘job for life’ will not be the reality for most people working today.
So why is a ‘job for life’ becoming increasingly rare?
Technological developments, higher retirement ages, the disappearance of final-salary pensions, economic demands, and greater longevity have all had an impact.
Gratton and Scott explain in their book ‘100-Year Life’ that “in every decade since 1840, life expectancy has increased by two to three years. So if a child born in 2007 has a 50% probability of living to 104, then a child born a decade earlier (1997) has a 50% chance of reaching 101 or 102; a decade earlier (1987) the range is 98 to 100; a decade earlier (1977) 95 to 98; for 1967 it is to 92 to 96; and a decade earlier still (1957) the range is 89 to 94, and so on.”
When you can expect to live to 100, the ‘traditional notion’ of a three-stage approach to our working lives (education, followed by work, followed by retirement) and a ‘job for life’ becomes less likely - unless you are a Monarch!
According to a 2021 report by Future Learn, 21% of UK working-age adults do not expect to be working in the same industry by 2030. It seems likely that in the future there will be new multi-stages of life, and a greater expectation for workers to re-learn, re-skill, and re-train throughout their life, undertaking multiple careers.
However, despite this evidence, I find that for some clients the notion of finding the ‘jewel in the crown’ (one perfect job for life) is still so ingrained as a belief about what they ‘should’ be doing that it can be a blocker when considering their wider career options.
So, perhaps consider:
What beliefs do you hold about the concept of a ‘job for life’? Could these be holding you back?
Do you intend to remain in your current role for the rest of your working life?
What support do you need to help you uncover the future that is right for you?
Hopefully, "we all contain enough energy and talents and interests to live many different types of lives, all of which could be authentic and interesting and productive."
‘Designing your life’ - Burnett and Evans
Image credit to Jersey Heritage