Jobs Are Good, Actually

When I quit my corporate job, I thought everything about my life would change. 

I was in my early thirties and had been working for the man since college. For years, I had fantasized about the day when I could finally be my own boss and never attend another meeting that should have been an email. I was excited to no longer have a manager. 

Then, I started working for myself and learned that I was the worst manager I’d ever had. 

I thought my drive to always be available, work on weekends, and emoji every Slack message resulted from the culture of the companies I worked for. It was a rude awakening when I learned that my tendency to overwork persisted even without a boss. It’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s me. 

I felt great when I crossed an adequate number of items off my to-do list and like crap when I didn’t. I had a hard time clocking out, even though I was the only one setting the schedule. I celebrated each of my wins, which felt great until I remembered that I was responsible for all of my losses as well. 

A couple of years later, I’m still working for myself. I’ve gotten better at setting boundaries and separating my self-worth from my output. But I’ve learned that there are many great aspects of having a job that get overshadowed by the romanticization of self-employment. 

Freeing yourself from the shackles of W-2 employment is not the only path to happiness in the digital economy, despite what the lifestyle influencers and Instagram reels might say. In an age where we revere the work-from-anywhere freelancers and the surf-at-noon small business owners, here are some reasons why having a full-time job can actually be… good.