Downshifting: the key to work-life balance

Yes. this is indeed possible, and the phenomenon of leaving a high-paying but stressful job to opt for a less-paying but more fulfilling one has a name: Downshifting. What’s more it is rising trend among professionals across all levels. Pointing to various reasons, personal as well as political and social, young professionals are increasingly choosing to simplify their lives,valuing passion over profit and stability offered by corporate and government jobs. 

“The Japanese concept of Ikigai holds the central place in my thinking” says Apoorva Apte from Ponda, who previously held a government job. “You have to find a job that suits your liking, and also allows you to sustain yourself. In the government, there are rigid processes, and not all ideas are easily accepted. Is it wise to kill one’s own good ideas while yielding to the whims of the bureaucracy? Wrestling with this question is what led me to quit the job and start my own venture.” Apoorva has just started a firm that offers advice to companies on how to dispose off their waste in an eco-friendly way. “True, there is instability and you have to struggle for the first few years, but there is a sense of ownership, freedom and satisfaction in this that I enjoy the most.” she says. 

Panaji-based professional Dattaprasad Shetkar was a high-flyer in the corporate world, but has another issue to highlight. “I was employed in a big company in Bangalore, but I was the only son, and my parents were getting old, so I decided to come home to Goa.” he says. In Goa too, he found a job that offered him similar position and salary as his previous job,  but he still decided to quit it and start his own brand consulting firm. “Many people have a bone to pick with early achievers. The work environment wasn’t conducive and professional, so instead of wasting time in negotiating the corporate dynamics in a relatively small city, I decided to go on my own,” he quips. 

While Dattaprasad wanted to give wings to his own creativity, advocate Kishan Prabhu from Vaghurme, Savoi Verem only wanted a peaceful life. “With jobs there are fixed timings, and there is quite a workload. Whether you are in the mood for it or not, you have to work.” Says Prabhu, who left his confirmed job at a factory to start his own practice. “Now I can manage my own time-table. In legal field, money is proportionate to the work you put in, and I can choose to work more or less depending on my own need. There is some instability, yes, but I am happier nonetheless” 

For Calangute-based former journalist Gasper D’Souza, it was the urge to explore more options. “Back in 2007, I gave up my full-time job working at a newspaper. At the time, I didn’t have much of a plan. It was rough initially, and still is sometimes. But I had my reasons. I wanted the freedom to explore different options in a creative field, options I knew I could not get working in any organisation. At the newspaper, I had performed different roles during my stint “ from web development, to writing, to photojournalism, and even did news design. Even with this variety, I wanted to explore more.” D’Souza now works as a freelance filmmaker and video-editor. “As a freelance professional, I have the option to try new things. Some fail. But that’s okay. It’s part of the game.” 

All things said and done, Downshifting has its downsides. “You have to plan to live out the hard times” says Apoorva Apte “the initial few months at least are going to be very hard.” Similarly, instability is a constant in many cases, but if you are willing to choose freedom and fulfilment, it’s a cost worth paying, say the young downshifters.