Is This A Good Time For A Career Break?

Layoffs are an opportunity for a reevaluation of the role of work in our lives

Photo by Anna Shvets: https://www.pexels.com/photo/dreamy-young-artist-having-rest-sitting-on-floor-5641876/

With all these layoffs happening, from Twitter to Meta and beyond, I can’t help but wonder: is this a good time for a career break?

People have only just now started to normalize gaps in resumes in the last year thanks to the Great Resignation, Quiet Quitting, and the collective re-evaluation of the role of work in our lives.

Many people who work in tech, which assumes a fast-paced, demanding, high-pressure environment, haven’t had the brain space to take a step back and realize what’s been going on throughout this entire pandemic.

The status quo will work you to the point of exhaustion so you don’t have time to realize that it isn’t doing most people any favors.

The people we rely on the most to keep our institutions running are the worst-paid, most poorly treated, and most systemically excluded and marginalized people in our society. Why, after three years, is this still widely accepted?

We are willing to risk people’s health — people’s lives — to keep the cycle going.

Perhaps all these layoffs will allow privileged people a chance to breathe, rest, and recognize that work and money don’t have to be worshipped. That we don’t have to define ourselves or our self-worth by the name of a company that employs, or employed us, as the case may be.

Work can be — and is — a monetary transaction for what little value we provide with what few skills we’re willing and able to contribute. That’s it.

It’s okay to find community, purpose, and enjoyment outside of the workplace. In fact, it’s encouraged.

If you have that privilege, give yourself a chance to reflect on what it is you really want to dedicate your time and energy toward. The future depends on it.

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