the bonbon life.

Hating Your Job: Can’t We Just Sit Home & Eat Bon Bons All Day?

Thursday, June 12, 2008 –

Nine to five, what a way to make a livin’  -Dolly Parton

Naomi Dunford who runs IttyBiz suggested the title of this blog after we had an email convo about what it is we really want out of life. Let’s cut to the chase-it’s all about glamour, fame, writing instant bestsellers-and if we so desire-sitting home on our duffs eating bon bons all day.

Actually, if nothing else the popping-chocolates-at-home-in-our-sweats part would be just fine, thanks.

In other words, we crave the freedom to design our days as we wish. Naomi’s doing fantastic with her small biz marketing company she runs from home on her laptop. She’s able to hang out with her little son Jack and hubby Jamie while doing work she loves. Is life perfect? Is it all rainbows and sunshine? Is it a veritable bon bon feeding frenzy 24/7? Not quite.

But you see, my friends-I can’t imagine we were meant to toil away in cubes and offices under fluorescent bulbs for 8+ hours a day, 40+ hours a week. Naomi refers to it as being “unemployable.” I often say I am not “wired” to work for someone else. My generation–the 25 to 30ish year olds, gen Y, post-quarterlifers, whatever you want to call it–I believe sees this madness from a unique angle-the reasons for which I will be addressing in later posts on this blog. Some are in denial, some cannot see how they could ever escape and feel trapped, and some are ready to launch the Plan B they have been carefully plotting in their minds.

Women in my age range are particularly in an odd place in all of this. Many of our mothers were going out into the working world at the height of the feminist movement of the early and mid-70’s. We are acutely aware of the fierce pride they held in raising us while building very successful careers at the same time. They instilled in their daughters the sense that we could absolutely do it all. Corporate and professional careers were a symbol of making it, of the leveling of the playing field.

Certainly as I went off to college I did so with the knowledge that I was consciously following that path. Gather the degrees, snag the great job, build the resume, get hitched, have kids eventually and be fulfilled and satisfied both personally and professionally.

For me, something happened soon after I jumped into the working world. From my vantage point now it seems so obvious that I can’t believe I didn’t see it hurtling toward me before. I was steering right into the void. Yes, I’d seen Office Space and yes, I was aware of the disgust with which some people spoke of climbing the corporate ladder. For some reason, I wasn’t so concerned with it. I was armed with multiple degrees and lots of drive. What I didn’t count on was the disillusionment to come so fast. I don’t have kids yet myself but I can only imagine that it’s just THAT more intense when you are dropping them off at daycare at the crack of dawn to rush off to a job you hate, in a career you no longer want to pursue, in a life that somehow is no longer your own.

So here, after the getting hitched part but before the rugrat chapter, I come seeking the bon bon life. I do it for the little ones yet to come.

And I do it because I know so many of you out there desperate to figure out how to find it too.

Photo Credit: Jen44