安全与就业能力

尼尔·卡拉格(Neil Carragher)从阿斯利康(AstraZeneca)的首席科学家转为英国爱丁堡大学(University of Edinburgh)的临时小组组长时，已经45多岁了。当时，他有一个稳定、高薪的职位，责任重大，而且在这么高的级别上，在决策方面有相当大的自主权。听起来很完美，但他为什么要放弃这一切，以换取他在临时合同上成立一个学术团队时面临的所有不确定性呢?

“哇，听起来很有勇气，但也很冒险。”我问他。“如果你在50岁的时候没有通过竞争激烈的筛选获得教授职位，你会做什么?”你不觉得害怕吗?”

"说实话，菲利普，我从来没有真正害怕过。我一直觉得自己很有工作价值，”他回答。

这句简单而有力的话改变了我的游戏规则。在考虑职业选择时，我们通常会从安全的角度考虑，比如工作合同的长度和未来雇主的稳定性。这种愿望是可以理解的，特别是对于那些经常在30多岁时还在临时合同中工作的研究人员来说。然而，只关注安全性会限制我们对职业选择的看法。

怎样的生活?你的工作怎么样?”I asked an old friend of mine, speaking with him for the first time in a couple of months. We worked on the same floor during our PhDs and have managed to keep in touch since then. ‘My boss is an idiot, work is boring’ he replied. His answer to this question is not that unusual among people who are frustrated by their job. We spend considerable amounts of time at work, routine can turn into boredom, and it doesn’t take many toxic characters to make our lives miserable. Still, I am baffled. The last three times I asked him about work, the answer was always the same, even his poetic wording. After a very successful PhD, he chose stability over everything else. He joined a medium-sized, family-run company, a market leader in its niche. This is as safe as any job will ever get within the private sector. However, the owners of the company are overbearing characters who try to control everything within the company. My friend will never get fired, but what will happen if his mild frustration develops into a burn-out or a bore-out in the next few years? He’d be 20 years into the same static job, through which he drags himself. Hearing him speak, I assume that his learning curve is relatively flat, making him less and less employable outside of his current environment.

我们注意到的危险信号是平坦的学习曲线

让我们对比一下卡拉格的“就业心态”和我学习伙伴的“安全心态”。就业心态要灵活得多。有了它，我们就不只是看合同的长度了。相反，我们会试图回答“我能学到相关技能吗?””, which is equivalent to ‘How will this role affect my employability?’ We won’t exclude ‘risky’ career options just because they don’t come with a permanent contract. Instead, the red flag we’re aware of is a flat learning curve. We are less likely to become trapped in a safe but boring position.

那我们作为搭档和父母呢?当我们成家的时候，我们还能把安全问题放在次要地位吗?在人生的这个阶段，我们必须决定如何分配家庭和与工作相关的责任。不用说，这是一个非常私人的决定。根据你的雇主和你所在国家的税收制度，你可能会被迫分配主要养家糊口者和主要照顾者的角色。在这种情况下，双方的就业能力和技能会发生什么变化?从短期来看，这种专业化往往是更简单、财务上更有利可图的途径，但这也会导致灵活性的丧失。如果养家糊口的人长时间生病，会发生什么?这个家庭会陷入经济困境吗?更均匀地分配角色可以带来更大的弹性。 Both partners retain a decent level of employability, giving the family more leeway to adjust to new situations and absorb shocks.

就业心态给你弹性和适应能力，就像在风中弯曲的树。有时树枝会折断，但新的会在原来的地方长出来。安全心态为你提供稳定，就像一堵混凝土墙。这样的墙可以承受很多风暴，但如果它面对的风暴太强，破坏是不可逆转的。