By Financial Freedom (guest contributor)
I’ve recently been bogged down by the culture of working late into the office at night, and even during the recent Labor Day public holiday. This got me thinking about the rationale of working for corporations with similar work cultures, which have unfavorably shaped my lifestyle, something I do not want.
Quitting is the easy option, but upon considering other factors, it doesn’t seem too rational. I do not blame my company. Instead, I spend my weekends recharging physically and psychologically, ready for a fresh start to a new week.
A Consumerist Culture
The problem with most of these companies is that they did not make their millions in revenue by earnestly promoting the value of their products. Instead, what they did was to create a culture convincing hundreds of millions of people to buy products they do not need, with money they do not have, to satisfy people they do not like. Credit cards, Starbucks and luxury goods are the accomplices of these corporations in our modern society.
The reason why companies create such cultures is to sustain an environment where employees like you and me take a breather from work only in the evenings and on weekends. You simply try to fit in your desired lifestyle into such short windows of time, while spending 40 to 60 hours a week on work.
Technology is not the key
Recent advancements in technology and productivity enhancement have led us to falsely believe that we might be able to work less hours while producing the same quantity and quality of work. But we have been proven terribly wrong. Companies will take advantage of this to give us even more work, in order to increase company revenue.
Today, we’ve been led into a culture that has been engineered to leave us tired, hungry for indulgence, and willing to pay substantial amounts for convenience and entertainment. Most importantly, we are dissatisfied with our lives, always wanting things we don’t have, don’t need and don’t like. Yet we continue to purchase these items because it always seems like something in life is missing.
Perseverance is the key
To my dear friends who are walking the same path as me towards financial freedom, our goal is clear. If we persevere, we will get there. It seems all too easy to simply give up and resign ourselves to our fate right now. But this would not change anything and we know we can make this happen. Perseverance is the one trait that we need to successfully learn, so that we can walk out as winners in this journey.
By Financial Freedom, a Singapore personal finance blog whose founder is a contributor to CPF’s IMSavvy.
