Work for many people is a kind of prison. Or maybe it's more accurate to say it represents a kind of psychological prison, the alternative to which, is often inconceivable.

But what are we if we are not volitional, the active agent in our own lives capable of making decisions without the imposition of some external Other?

84.7% of the workforce within the 27 European member states of the OECD are directly employed. In the US, it's 93.9%, and this is a nation that claims to be entrepreneurial!

Here's the OECD data.

It seems that the degree to which a country is exposed to capitalist forces, the less of the population are self-sufficient. By this I mean the population become reliant on corporations to give them jobs, and in the event a body corporate decides to “restructure”, those dependant workers are turfed out.

Once You Change Your Mind

Back in my 20's when I was an employee, the older guys would remind us that we were just a number. We were commodities, mules, labour. Workers still are.

Once you realise that corporations don't really care too much for you, and that if you want reasonable control over your income (which is never really guaranteed), and more importantly your life, you'll need to take charge.

Once you change your mind about who is responsible for your life, work and happiness, then you can allow these corporate machines to exist, albeit without you.

So, if and when the day comes that this realisation hits home, bide your time. Learn what you can from the organisation, then get out.

But don't do what I did.

Instead, take time to plan your exit. Save a few bob, build something on the side that can earn you additional income. Don't wallow in your pseudo-security, waiting for the inevitable other shoe to drop–take the initiative.

Make a bold step and begin directing your own work.

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