Bahama Times

Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

The taboo of 'selling out' for a better-paying job

The taboo of 'selling out' for a better-paying job

These days, swapping a passion role for a less-interesting job with better pay and benefits could well make sense. Is it time to end the stigma of 'selling your soul'?

Molly, a US tech worker in her 30s, used to work at a company whose mission she was deeply invested in. “It was part of my identity,” she says. But when the pandemic hit, bringing rolling redundancies, uncertainty, long hours and burnout, Molly decided it was time to change jobs.

The move came with trade-offs; while her new role paid better and offered more remote work, Molly didn’t click with the company’s mission, and she wasn’t particularly interested in the sector. Though she initiated the move, she felt conflicted. “I felt like I was selling out,” says Molly, whose full name is being withheld for job-security concerns. Even though she was burnt out, it “felt like I was very at war with my inner values”.

In an age in which workers have been conditioned to follow their passions and find roles that are meaningful, the idea of pivoting from a fulfilling job to a boring one with better conditions is, to some, practically taboo. This dilemma can be particularly acute for younger workers; studies show that nearly half of millennial and Gen Z workers want a role at a company that aligns with their personal ethics; 15% reported they made values-based career decisions during the pandemic.

It’s clear, however, that the global pandemic has left employees questioning every aspect of work – from pay levels to flexibility to those all-important work-life boundaries. Many people want to change how they work, to find better ways of accommodating professional duties and personal lives. After so much uncertainty over the last two years, some workers are also more conscious of how precarious financial stability can be.

For some, swapping a lower-paid, potentially long-hours passion role for a less-interesting job with better pay and benefits could well make sense. And, with salaries rising across sectors, companies offering new work models and awareness of work-related mental health issues at an all-time high, now might just be a good time for people to seek out a role that sets them up for the life they want to lead. Perhaps calling this kind of transition ‘selling out’ isn’t quite right anymore.

‘Going to the dark side’


Multiple factors triggered Molly’s decision to switch roles, including wanting more stability amid a wave of pandemic redundancies, a desire to protect her mental wellbeing and better pay. A crucial factor was her wish to continue working remotely; her previous employer was pushing staff to come to the office as much as possible.

Yet, despite her valid reasons for leaving, Molly says her colleagues judged her when she disclosed her new role; there was a sense she was “going to the dark side”, she says. “There’s some expectation of what is a ‘good switch’; [for example], if you’re going to a very mission-driven company or starting your own business. It kind of bummed me out that I wasn’t able to be like, ‘I’m going here’, and have people be like, ‘Oh, I’m so proud of you, that’s amazing’.”

There’s no need for judgmental views ever, and surely not when one is taking care of their needs and commitments, financial and any other – Anat Lechner


At issue is the fact that many workers, especially millennials like Molly, have absorbed the idea they should be in ‘dream jobs’ that align with their values. Catherine Shea, assistant professor of organisational behaviour and theory at Carnegie Mellon University, US, says this is a long-standing dilemma: do you want “a job where you find meaning, or do you find meaning somewhere else and a job funds that?”

Work people are passionate about, she points out, often comes with a penalty; a 2019 study showed that many organisations exploit workers’ passion to pay them less or allocate them menial tasks. So-called dream jobs can also feed into toxic ‘hustle culture’ that convinces workers they need to work all hours to prove their passion and commitment to others as well as themselves.

We often stigmatise 'selling out' for a job we're not passionate about for better perks or pay – a misguided belief, experts say


Yet, it’s still seen as a badge of honour to choose a passion-based job – it’s a sign that a worker has stayed true to their values despite obstacles; opting for a less interesting, potentially higher-paid role means they sold their soul to take the easy way out.

But Shea suggests that the pandemic may have caused some ‘passion workers’ to feel disenchanted with their roles. Workers, she suggests, may see “the limits of the feel-good emotions that their organisations can give them, particularly when working remotely. A passion job may have been fun in an interactive office setting, which could have compensated for the lower pay. Now that everything is on Zoom, why not get paid more?”

“It’s not so much selling your soul, I think,” adds Shea. “It’s now flipping passion on its head and seeing the negative aspects” of a job you otherwise care about.

‘It’s very easy for me to let go’


Experts say there’s no data yet to suggest that more people are ‘selling out’ in the pandemic. But, says Anat Lechner, clinical associate professor of management and organisations at New York University, any time of great uncertainty makes people say to themselves, “‘I need to maximise the opportunities that I can get, because God knows what tomorrow will look like’.”

Repeated trauma over the last couple of years, add Lechner and Shea, has led workers to seize the opportunity to go for higher salaries and more flexible perks – jumping for the better deal on the table right now – since the future is generally uncertain.

It's not just insecurity driving workers to assess their employment options, however. During the pandemic, many workers have had an opportunity to take stock of priorities and decide what they want from their jobs, whether work flexibility, more money or an ability to draw firm boundaries between professional and personal lives. While every job has its stressors, taking that step to match a role to your particular priorities can pay off. “’I’m not selling my soul – I’m actually repositioning myself so I can have a better life’,” says Lechner.

In Molly’s case, prioritising comfort and wellbeing over passion in her employment has been rather freeing. “One of the pros is since you don’t care about that industry, you’re not going to take it home with you. It’s very easy for me to let go, and let things roll off of me,” she explains.

And for workers later in their careers, the money and stability that comes with swapping passion for a less inspiring role may be less about ‘going to the dark side’, and rather just a case of pragmatism. Workers might have kids, want to buy a house or review their pension and realise, quite simply, that they need to earn more.

“Reality can hit you with a brisk wind,” says Lechner. “It’s one thing to pursue beautiful ideals when one is a relatively agent, and a whole different game to continue with that pursuit when you a have a couple of little ones needing to be fed.”

These days, the experts suggest, judging a former colleague for ‘selling out’ is unwarranted. “There’s no need for judgmental views ever, and surely not when one is taking care of their needs and commitments, financial and any other,” says Lechner.

Since moving jobs, Molly hasn’t looked back. “The energy [at the new job] is much more positive – it’s not bleak. I actually am very content. I’m not burnt out anymore,” she says. In her career, she says, she’s always wanted to go for the sexier companies. But now? “I’ve learned that’s not a requirement.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Bahama Times
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
BBC Personalities Rebuke Accusations Amidst Scandal Involving Teen Exploitation
A Swift Disappointment: Why Is Taylor Swift Bypassing Canada on Her Global Tour?
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
Unilever Plummets in a $2.5 Billion Free Fall, to begin with: A Reckoning for Misuse of Corporate Power Against National Interest
Beyond the Blame Game: The Need for Nuanced Perspectives on America's Complex Reality
Twitter Targets Meta: A Tangle of Trade Secrets and Copycat Culture
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
×