While I have been a proponent of this quality-of-life-approach for many years and implemented it within my own career twice, I had never labeled it as paid voluntarism prior to reading the new book, With Purpose, by Ken Dychtwald, PhD. Thanks to Dychtwald, instead of describing the concept in narrative form, I now have a quick & descriptive heading for introducing the topic when I'm discussing innovative career approaches for 2009 and beyond.First, what is paid voluntarism? In With Purpose, Dychtwald describes it as a later-in-life merging of work and voluntarism. It is likely to include working for a not-for-profit organization and applying your transferrable skills to a position where you exceed the job description's requirements, make less money than you did in the past and still increase your overall life satisfaction through a sense of purpose and an ideal match to your interests and talents. This has the potential to be a win-win scenario where the organization attracts talent that may otherwise be outside it's hiring range of pay and, you, the individual get a "dream job."
While Dychtwald describes paid voluntarism as a form of phased retirement, I think that it can be useful across the lifespan under the right personal circumstances. I first chose this approach to my career when I was in my twenties; many of us are willing to make less money than our market value for a job description and work environment that offer us an upgrade in personally meaningful work. For people who are considering new options due to the changes in our economy, paid voluntarism could also offer a career choice that turns an unexpected, unwelcome life change into an opportunity for renewed purpose and an overall boost in quality of life.
Paid voluntarism is just one topic addressed in With Purpose. Dychtwald, and his writing partner, Daniel Kadlec, share many current philosophies on the meaning of life as it relates to work in America. If you’re looking for a book that might help you reflect on your life and your work within the same moment, you may especially appreciate this book.
With Purpose: Going from Success to Significance in Work and Life
Ken Dychtwald & Daniel Kadlec
Published by Collins Living 2009
Interested in traditional voluntarism?
Serving others has been shown to be an effective treatment for some types of depression. And, even when life and work are going great, volunteering has the potential to boost quality of life to its highest levels through making a meaningful difference in the lives of others.
For more information on volunteering:
http://www.pointsoflight.org/
What does the mug in the picture say?
Peace.
it does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.
- unknown
