The New York Times article How to Retire in Your 30s With $1 Million in the Bank nicely covers the "... growing movement of young professionals who are intently focused on quitting their jobs forever."
It's called the FIRE movement and the acronym stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. Key article quote on the main drivers behind the movement:
"Millennials especially have embraced this so-called FIRE movement ... seeing it as a way out of soul-sucking, time-stealing work and an economy fueled by consumerism."
As with most movements, there are different forms. Again from the article:
"Some practice “lean FIRE” (extreme frugality), others “fat FIRE” (maintaining a more typical standard of living while saving and investing), and still others “barista FIRE” (working part-time at Starbucks after retiring, for the company’s health insurance). To be “firing” is to slash one’s expenses to maximize saving while amassing income-generating investments sufficient to support oneself. To have “fired” is to have achieved that goal."
One of the movement's bibles is the 1992 book Your Money or Your Life.
It's a "how to" book on reducing consumption, increasing savings and focusing more on the non-material aspects of life.
So what this got to do with independent work?
The answer is the trends driving the interest in the FIRE movement are similar, and in some cases the same, as the trends driving the growing interest in independent work.
Key article quote from Vicki Robin, coauthor of Your Money or Your Life:
"It’s about having agency, Ms. Robin said: “The worker in this economy has very little sense of control over their existence. People are expendable. You’re a young person and you look ahead and you say, ‘What’s there for me?’”
A large body of research shows that agency is a key reason people become independent workers and like independent work. Agency, for most independent workers, means work flexibility, autonomy and control.
Research also shows a growing number of people are willing to trade income for agency. This, obviously, includes those in the FIRE movement and many independent workers.
The overlaps between the FIRE movement and growth of independent work is an example of converging trends. And when trends converge, it's a strong signal the related driving trend is powerful and likely to become mainstream.
In this case the convergence is around people seeking greater agency in both work and life. This is clearly a mainstream desire, but it's also becoming something a growing number of people are willing to change their work and lives to achieve.
As a side note, the founders of Emergent Research read and were influenced by Your Money or Your Life when it first came out. We ended up following what would now be called a fat FIRE lifestyle that led to us leaving traditional employment in our early 40's.
However, we didn't fully retire.
Instead we became high agency independent workers, focusing on work that interests us and we enjoy while making sure we also have plenty of time for our other interests.
We suspect many in the FIRE movement will become independent workers. The logic behind doing so - a continued source of income, engaging work and lots of time for passions and interests - is simply too powerful not to.
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