Downshifting

CHAPTER 2

9

THE WORK TRAP

Young executives experience a high as they begin their first job. The title, the secretary, lunches with the “big boys,” the sense of power, the heady feeling of associating with the affluent—there is something seductive and quickly addicting about all of this.

BARRIE GREIFF AND PRESTON MUNTER, TRADEOFFS: EXECUTIVE, FAMILY AND ORGANIZATIONAL LIFE¹

WORK TRAPPING PRESSURES

In the last chapter we saw how workplace pressures often make downshifting attractive and desirable. However, to borrow from the vernacular, cutting back “ain’t gonna be easy.” If you are like most individuals contemplating reducing your work time, anxiety over potentially reduced income is right in the forefront. It’s like cutting back on desserts—it ...