Decrease the degree (in the original Downshifting - Changing the gears)
Tired of the constant pressure, Bruce decided that he no longer wanted to live like this. Without thinking, they - he and his wife - sold the house and business and moved to a wooden cottage on the coast, which became their home. Their new way of life is what they loved, and what they believed in, plunging into the abyss of their own choice, into the context of their new world.
In other words, with small additions, thousands do likewise. Among them there are not only those who have financial “muscles” or those who have a career to fly to hell!
A new word downshifting has appeared in the language, although the concept itself is not at all new. Downshifting is an assumption or a set of beliefs that it is important to do only what you like and what the soul lies with, and do everything to make it happen. What in practice means to quit, go to the village away from the office, do what you like, and receive income from it. In fact, people have been doing this for centuries. When the motivation to downshifting is associated with some spiritual things, then such a phenomenon is easier to learn: Magi, Mennonites, Quakers, and many others. Another example of downshifters is the hippie movement of the seventies of the last century, when many chose an alternative lifestyle by creating their own subculture.
')
This phenomenon, which is actually a well-forgotten old, is becoming increasingly new in recent times. Currently, one out of every four Americans went in this way in search of a better life, every eighth in the United Kingdom. In developing countries such as South Africa, statistics are more difficult to see, but it is clear that it differs from developed countries.
In other words, speaking about the trend of downshifting, we can talk about, and what is, in fact, important. At first glance, the trend looks paradoxical and even senseless in the light of consumer-capitalist culture. Avarice, dissatisfaction with the fact that there is an unquenchable thirst for even more, is fueled by unrelenting for a second advertising that feeds on this madness. Partly for this reason in Sweden is prohibited advertising of children's products.
At the same time, downshifting is driven by three main and interrelated factors. First is the technology. The possibilities of a virtual office - when you can connect with anyone anywhere - detract from the very notion of where and when to do work. The owners of modern coffee houses understand that they are becoming more like offices than coffee shops. For example, Starbucks coffee shop philosophy is the role of third place, “not home and not work,” which means that a coffee shop is essentially an office for many people. The technology also implies that having certain office locations is no longer a necessity, and this trend is gaining momentum. At the moment I am in a cafe, connected to the Internet and electricity, and I have coffee. I am connected to the world, and I am writing this article.
Secondly, changes in institutions. Institutions - this is how we believe the company should look, or how we celebrate Christmas, they change. Traditions that seemed unshakable are on the agenda today with the note “make urgent changes”. The status quo, how things were done, norms and declarations, everything is revised based on what value all this has. And wherever questions and searches are turned, and where it was forbidden, frustration and indignation are observed. The lack of flexibility and ability to adapt institutional shifts gives the moles an impulse to our “runaway lemming” (approx. Ed .: downshifter). We know that institutions that cannot adapt perish. Wherever there is a refusal to adapt, some use technology to “slip” changes, thereby creating a basis for alternate reality, protecting their foundations.
Thirdly, it is a shift in values ​​that is clearly traced in the new generation, which has already become a sign of new “downshifters corporations”. They ask new questions at work. I recently spoke with a man who develops talents in the top 500 company (ed.: Fortune 500). He contrasted the questions asked by representatives of the noisy generation (those who are now between 35 and 55 years old) and those questions asked by the representatives of the new generation. The first ones ask such questions: “What compensation package will I have?”, “How fast can I move up the career ladder?”, “What does the career ladder in the company consist of?”. The second asks completely different questions, such as, for example, what does a company stand on (note: company values) and how can it increase its value in the labor market. "If I work here, can I live a full life?"
In other words, with small additions, thousands do likewise. Among them there are not only those who have financial “muscles” or those who have a career to fly to hell!
A new word downshifting has appeared in the language, although the concept itself is not at all new. Downshifting is an assumption or a set of beliefs that it is important to do only what you like and what the soul lies with, and do everything to make it happen. What in practice means to quit, go to the village away from the office, do what you like, and receive income from it. In fact, people have been doing this for centuries. When the motivation to downshifting is associated with some spiritual things, then such a phenomenon is easier to learn: Magi, Mennonites, Quakers, and many others. Another example of downshifters is the hippie movement of the seventies of the last century, when many chose an alternative lifestyle by creating their own subculture.
')
This phenomenon, which is actually a well-forgotten old, is becoming increasingly new in recent times. Currently, one out of every four Americans went in this way in search of a better life, every eighth in the United Kingdom. In developing countries such as South Africa, statistics are more difficult to see, but it is clear that it differs from developed countries.
In other words, speaking about the trend of downshifting, we can talk about, and what is, in fact, important. At first glance, the trend looks paradoxical and even senseless in the light of consumer-capitalist culture. Avarice, dissatisfaction with the fact that there is an unquenchable thirst for even more, is fueled by unrelenting for a second advertising that feeds on this madness. Partly for this reason in Sweden is prohibited advertising of children's products.
At the same time, downshifting is driven by three main and interrelated factors. First is the technology. The possibilities of a virtual office - when you can connect with anyone anywhere - detract from the very notion of where and when to do work. The owners of modern coffee houses understand that they are becoming more like offices than coffee shops. For example, Starbucks coffee shop philosophy is the role of third place, “not home and not work,” which means that a coffee shop is essentially an office for many people. The technology also implies that having certain office locations is no longer a necessity, and this trend is gaining momentum. At the moment I am in a cafe, connected to the Internet and electricity, and I have coffee. I am connected to the world, and I am writing this article.
Secondly, changes in institutions. Institutions - this is how we believe the company should look, or how we celebrate Christmas, they change. Traditions that seemed unshakable are on the agenda today with the note “make urgent changes”. The status quo, how things were done, norms and declarations, everything is revised based on what value all this has. And wherever questions and searches are turned, and where it was forbidden, frustration and indignation are observed. The lack of flexibility and ability to adapt institutional shifts gives the moles an impulse to our “runaway lemming” (approx. Ed .: downshifter). We know that institutions that cannot adapt perish. Wherever there is a refusal to adapt, some use technology to “slip” changes, thereby creating a basis for alternate reality, protecting their foundations.
Thirdly, it is a shift in values ​​that is clearly traced in the new generation, which has already become a sign of new “downshifters corporations”. They ask new questions at work. I recently spoke with a man who develops talents in the top 500 company (ed.: Fortune 500). He contrasted the questions asked by representatives of the noisy generation (those who are now between 35 and 55 years old) and those questions asked by the representatives of the new generation. The first ones ask such questions: “What compensation package will I have?”, “How fast can I move up the career ladder?”, “What does the career ladder in the company consist of?”. The second asks completely different questions, such as, for example, what does a company stand on (note: company values) and how can it increase its value in the labor market. "If I work here, can I live a full life?"
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/30990/
All Articles