Last weekend I read an interview with Steve Stichtman, writer of the book Blue Chip Manager, in a Dutch magazine on career management. He says:

“I got the feeling that the top of Maslow’s pyramid – self development – isn’t the real top. The desire, that emerges when all one’s needs have been fulfilled, is an almost holistic longing to be part of something bigger. That explains the emphasis of the young generation on work and private life, on idealism and spiritualism. They want to be happy as a whole person, not only as a working person.” (Intermediair)

It’s interesting to see this shift all around me. Many of my friends quit their jobs and became freelancers. Or they quit their jobs to travel the world. They spent three months touring Australia or South America, or going to Africa to do volunteer work helping the poor. It shows that self-actualization can’t be found in working 60 hours a week. Why would they otherwise quit their perfect jobs, to do something completely unrelated? As a collegue of mine said the other day, in the West we have everything. There is nothing left to aspire for. This may be true for our material situation, but as Stichtman points out that doesn’t mean we are satisfied internally.