Funemployment: Creating work while finding it
The traditional view of employment is that it is an opportunity granted to an individual to perform his or her best to advance the organization in exchange for returns and rewards that tend to come in the form of a bank alert. While employment is among the earliest forms of trade, a broader definition of it shows there are actually more goods being exchanged than just labour for profits. Classical economists such as David Ricardo believe that a time will come when the price of labour will be so diminished by technology that “it will be injurious to the labouring class, as some…will become redundant.” (Ricardo, 1821) Ricardo is correct that the labouring class will diminish and there is no clearer time to see this than the global pandemic and looming recession we face. However, this diminishing is most applicable when our definition of employment is too closely tied to our definition of labour. The two are fortunately not the same. At its core, employment is about value creation and as populations and organizations grow in their needs and complexities, there is an expanding scope for the creation of value. And along with it, there is expanding scope for work.
If you are unemployed, even in this tough market you must rid yourself of the scarcity mentality. It is true that a good job is hard to find and that on the continent, unemployment is dangerously high with rates upwards up to 30% in places like South Africa in March 2020 according to Trading Economics data. Yet the skills mismatch and changing demands of the job market also means that finding the right talent is not simple. The scarcity mentality can not only prevent you from performing well at interviews but it can also stifle your creativity in finding and executing roles. An abundance mindset to the job search is not just “feel good” jargon, it can actually help you find work. Scarcity often mandates or encourages trade offs. In markets where there is imperfect information about what each party in the trade wants and what each party can give, there can be value left behind when applicants do not bring their full self to the table. In practical terms what this means is rather than focusing on what you lack, start from what you have to give the organization. This does not mean the organizations’ wants are irrelevant but it means that it is from the abundance of things you could be doing with your intellect, time, experience, creativity and networks that you are offering services to an employer. It may be true that you cannot work in any organization in the world but you can create value almost anywhere, when you leverage a toolkit that is uniquely yours. It is this toolkit that you are investing in the organization and like any good investment, due diligence and a survey of all options is critical to avoid rushing into the wrong one.
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The fact that you have hundred percent shares in your own professional toolkit means that you can create roles for yourself to thrive in other peoples’ organizations and it also means that you can create work while finding it. Last edition, we discussed finding your fun and growing it and I asked you to make and then put away the list of all your concerns about the financial, career and other implications of joblessness. Today, you should bring the list back because those concerns do not simply disappear by closing your eyes very tight. When I began my funemployment journey I had a plan in mind of what I would do with my time and how I would prepare myself for the next role. COVID19, the Nigerian economy and other factors outside of my control had their own plans. We battled it out and the lesson from that for me was this- always make a plan you expect to revise. The plans were important and they will be for any season out of work in the future. But while thinking about the plan for the future do not neglect the resources of the past and present, because you will use those if and when the plan changes. In the transition from unemployment to funemployment I found a treasure trove of resources I already had that would position me for success. I know it sounds cliché but it is often true- YOU already have everything you need for your next best job.
When I worked as a fulltime strategy consultant, seeing myself as an actual product in the job market was quite simple. When I was employed full time, I would conduct research, build models and make presentations to clients. But fundamentally, I was being paid to think. The great part is, paid me to think and my thoughts were just as much mine the day I left my job as they were the day after. In fact, my thoughts had become better structured, better networked and better researched thoughts, and they were all at my disposal to invest in my season of funemployment. A majority of Nigerians work in manual labour with almost half of working Nigerians being small holder farmers according to the World Bank 2010 reports calling for More and better jobs for Nigerians. This reality can make it tempting to render some of these principles about thinking irrelevant.
Yet at the core of it, most employees are actually hired to think- to apply their minds to solving a problem – be it laying a brick, marketing a product or unblocking a system or process.
Armed with this professional toolkit, you have a number of things that you can do to build your career with or without full time employment. You can decide to pour your toolkit into three things: securing finances, securing your next job or finding your fun. I believe that the third of these objectives can most easily achieve the first two.
When leaving work for unemployment, well meaning individuals will always advise you to secure your next job before leaving a current one. They are not wrong to advise you to make contingencies to ensure you are financially stable in the transitions, but if you can secure sufficient revenue and or savings to take a risk on yourself, funemployment is a good way to start. Last edition, we discussed the fun finding process and how you can begin marrying function and fun to identify what to do. For me, I had always wanted to start a business- to move something from concept to operation. The initial months of my season of funemployment were marked by starting an agribusiness with friends that rewarded me in lessons and income. I also wanted to improve my writing, provide pro bono services to small businesses and explore completely uncharted territory like column writing and even television journalism. For you, your fun and function may meet at learning a new skill, or expressing some creative art that sparks your interest. Whatever the activity, taking the space to explore your self defined “fun” can be your most precious gift to your professional career.
Perhaps for the first time in your professional career, you are allowed to not be singular minded. You can try several combinations of fun activities to identify what works best for you. Many young professionals moving jobs report fear that spending too much time doing too many different things risks making them unspecialized and somehow “less capable”. To those afraid of becoming generalists I always say that specialization comes with time and the changing nature of the employment market shows the need for more versatility than ever before. The fear of becoming a generalist and the need to feel as though you are progressing even at the expense of genuine progress drives brilliant individuals to remain in unhappy working situations for decades. If you are not obliged to marry the first individual you lay eyes on, you are equally free to “explore” the employment market with the intention to find the right fit for you. Because hopping from one role to another can be frowned upon, funemployment provides a non-committal avenue to understanding your own preferences and developing your future plans. When done intentionally, I have come to find funemployment can become somewhat of a lifestyle that runs harmoniously in parallel with your day job- a consistent investment in the business of YOU.
Contributors biography
The ‘Business of Employment’ is a new column by contributor Vivian Ojo who is an avid and honest writer with several years of experience in the “education for employment” sector. The objective of the column is to educate young Africans on the employment market and the basic macroeconomic principles that underpin it. The column also strives to provide candid and helpful insights on how young Africans can find and create opportunities to make both money and impact. Vivian has consulted with some of the largest international development, educational and corporate organizations across the world and with several African Governments focusing on people and capability building. She has worked on business strategy and job placements with McKinsey and Company, MasterCard Foundation and African Leadership Academy. She is a board member of United World Colleges Nigeria and a member of Umsizi Fund’s peer learning network that convenes over 30 employment placement organizations from around the world including Harambee, Generation and Education for Employment. Vivian has a longstanding passion for transforming the African education to employment landscape. She has done work on this as part of her Masters in Public Policy from Oxford University and has been published on the topic in the Harvard Africa Policy Journal among other organizations. Follow thewritewritingcoach on instagram and check out www.thewritewritingcoach.com for more questions.
With gratitude,
Viv
P.S: Next week’s edition will discuss how you can emerge from funemployment to a new role regardless of what new role you are seeking. In the meantime check out www.thewritewritingcoach.com to engage with myself and a team of other great coaches for more on the employment space
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