Young Workers Are Lucky But Miserable

Sept. 2, 2003 -- The job market is so bad that unemployment went down — because people were so discouraged they stopped looking for work. But the jobless aren't the only ones complaining.

Meet the employed, educated "quarterlifers" in crisis. They're 20- and 30-somethings who might appear to have it made in this cruel economy, but are still asking themselves, à la the late Miss Peggy Lee: "Is That All There Is?"

"If someone took a poll yesterday and asked Americans where there was more stress and anxiety in their lives and where their biggest fears for the future lie, they would say their job," said Stephen Pollan, author of Second Acts: Creating the Life You Really Want, Building the Career You Truly Desire. "This is endemic in America."

For those roughly 21 to 35 years of age, Pollan said, there's a special brand of discontent. They're looking to their work for fulfillment — and more often than not, it's not happening.

Maybe that helps explain, along with employer fickleness, why two-thirds of 20-somethings have stuck with their current employers for less than three years, according to the Labor Department.

When their search for fulfillment goes unrewarded, the resulting malaise creeps in to the rest of their lives, say quarterlifers.

And All I Got Was This Cubicle?

Anne Robinson, 32, of Charlotte, N.C., seems to be one of America's golden children. Ivy League-educated with multiple degrees, she has a job in corporate communications.

Yet after years of pursuing education with blazing idealism, she's found that the reality of post-college life did not meet her expectations.

"What a rude awakening on your first day in the cubicle," she said. "I'd like to work at a job that sends me home at night proud of what I did for the day."

And less time in the car and more hours devoted to yoga and dog-walking would be nice, too.

For Robinson, unhappiness at work translates into discontent about life in general. "I wish I were able to better separate sense of self from career," she said. "I know the people around me are sick of hearing me complain."

This search for fulfillment is played out daily on the Web site www.quarterlifecrisis.com, where 20-somethings can look for jobs or apartments, commiserate on message boards and look for support groups in their area.

Quarterlife Crisis: The Unique Challenges of Life in Your Twenties by co-authors Abby Wilner and Alexandra Robbins, was published two years ago, but the book has so resonated with readers — 100,000 copies later — that it spawned a network for disgruntled young adults seeking relief.

Young people have probably always suffered from quarterlife crises to some degree, said Wilner, who coined the phrase with Robbins. But it's particularly acute right now, with the economy down and rents up, Wilner said.

Even in their personal relationships, quarterlifers don't often find stability, Wilner said. They take longer to marry than their parents did, changing partners like they change jobs.

"We have short attention spans. Maybe it's growing up around technology, we're used to flipping channels," said Wilner, 27. "But it takes longer than ever to feel like a real adult. It's taking so long, we may not have midlife crises. We'll be so relieved when we're settled down, we won't want to change anything."

Soon, Wilner will begin offering traveling seminars and workshops for quarterlifers in crisis.

Seeking ‘Pura Vida’

Kristen Padilla of Albany, N.Y., has found solace in Wilner's book. Padilla graduated from college one year ago with an accounting degree, and already has a stable government job. Still, she longs for change.

"I don't want to be at this job for the rest of my life, in fact, I don't know how long I am going to make it," she said. "It's not fulfilling any lifelong dream."

But Padilla is planning action, and looking at part-time classes in women's studies, her minor in college and something she loves.

Like many quarterlifers, Padilla has found that her dreams for a different life run up against more pragmatic expectations from family. "They're pretty much under the impression I am living the good life," Padilla says. "My dad thinks I am going to be a manager."

Aabir Malik, 23, of Austin, Texas, had his own quarterlife crisis of sorts just six months after graduating from business school last year. He got a well-paying consulting job, but his ambitions hit the cubicle wall when he couldn't stomach the lifestyle.

"I get no happiness bouncing from city to city, the onlyperson I interact with is the hotel clerk at check-in," he recalled of his working days.

"I looked around the office and saw no smiles, no onewas laughing. All the jokes hinged upon being laidoff and what great severance packages people wouldget," he said. "Is this what life is about? I didn't think so, so I quit."

Malik's first stop was Colorado, where he became a ski instructor for the winter season. Then he moved to Costa Rica for three months, living, as he called it, the "pura vida" — the pure life.

Now, Malik's back in Austin, but looking for a job somewhere new. Maybe Boulder, Colo., or somewhere in California or Oregon.

"We'll see," he said.