"Quitting your job in your 30s with no solid plan is generally considered poor decision-making. Doing it because you watched The Big Lebowski is probably even worse. But as I faced up to what would be my eighth year in an IT role, I watched Jeff Bridges meandering his way through the chaos of life in a dressing gown. And I found myself thinking: maybe the Dude had it figured out."
"For most of my working life, my identity has been strongly bolstered by work: doing well career-wise felt like evidence of my utility and respectability (despite the fact no one ever really understood what my job was anyway). And, like most millennials, I'd felt exceptionally lucky to eventually get a grad job out of university at all, especially one that paid more than a living wage."
"I was unhappy for some time, but leaving without a new role to go to had always seemed totally unthinkable. But life has a funny way of telling you when you're no longer where you should be; against my will, I was moved to another department, with a nightmare boss. I then got another role where the colleagues were lovely, but the job felt deeply uncreative and uninteresting."
A 30-something IT professional experienced deep identity attachment to work, equating career success with utility and respectability. Career roles became increasingly unsatisfying after forced departmental moves, a nightmare boss, and later an uncreative role despite friendly colleagues. Senior leadership discussions of job cuts increased workload and diminished morale. Cultural pressure as a second-generation immigrant and gratitude for a salaried grad job reinforced fear of unemployment. Persistent unhappiness made leaving feel unthinkable until repeated viewing of The Big Lebowski during a passionless project sparked fascination. The film's laid-back ethos offered an alternative perspective that intensified desire to change career direction.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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