Can Creatives Quietly Quit?
There’s been a lot of talk over the past couple years about “the great resignation” and “quiet quitting.” All of this is fascinating to me. Basically it took an event on a global scale that caused social, political, economic and public health shifts on an ideological level to make people re-examine what they want their work life to look like. People who had previously seen only the opportunities in their current job or field now saw the chance to branch out and do things that were only fantasy before.
Now, we have to remember that this opportunity wasn’t afforded to everyone and the economic cost of the global events certainly limited who could be a part of that mass quitting. But I do believe that we can all take lessons from the phenomenon.
Even as a creative, who, in many ways, “Opted Out” of the stereotypical career path early on, watching it all unfold makes me take stock of where I’m at, what I want to be doing and what moves I can make to give me the career and life I can thrive in.
“Opting Out,” “Quiet Quitting,” or whatever else you want to call it is as confusing as it is terrifying. I remember early on in my career making the decision to leave behind relative security, financially and personally, to pursue a purpose, a life of adventure, and what I saw as a more fulfilling path. I think that’s what we’re all looking for when it comes right down to it. I mean yes, on a base level we all have to cover our needs. Just look at Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. But once we get the basics of food, shelter and creature comforts covered we start to look for that fulfillment from our career and work.
It can be absolutely maddening because bench marks we set, whether they be financially based, achievement based or otherwise, can come and go without providing the fulfillment we’re searching for. And thus, we see events like “The Great Resignation.” When pushed to the edge and given time to think (and the opportunities that were afforded those with some level of financial security) many decided to alter course. Look at it like one giant New Year’s Resolution carried out by an entire working population.
In a typical corporate structure that meant it was time to try a different company, one that scratches a creative itch, challenges intellectually, or allows for more growth, or simply more appreciation. But what about for people like me and you? What about the freelancing creatives who already chose early on to chase new opportunities and avoid the corporate structure altogether? What do we do when faced with a lack of fulfilment? Because maddeningly, the life of freedom we chose carries with it a certain amount of commitment to our craft. And even though we can chase different jobs and clients at some point it can feel like doing the same thing over and over again.
Over the course of my career I’ve shifted my course drastically many times. I left the promise of a salary job. I left the semi full time job with open creative options, but a boss who didn’t appreciate (or pay) me. And over the pandemic when everyone else was quitting or finding new jobs I branched out with the urging of friends to help start companies, something I felt would challenge me and help me learn and grow by being around great people and pushing myself out of my freelance comfort zone.
And constant movement forward with the occasional branch or horizontal move has helped. But I still face steps backwards and constant self doubt, along with bouts of depression that I know you all know too well. I always wonder what’s next.
Being a creative and a freelancer is f@#%ing hard! It hurts. It beats you down. It makes you want to cry constantly. It doesn’t come with the promise of a salary or a boss telling you what needs to be done that day. But we keep doing it. I don’t quietly or loudly quit because I’ve been obnoxiously doing the thing that makes no sense since I started my career. And it gives me purpose. It beats me down a lot. And there are times I want to find a “real job” and quit this rat race. But I know that as long as I’m driving my own life I can expand and evolve and add things as I grow.
Yes, creatives can quit as quietly or as loudly as we want. But there are a million reasons why so many of us don’t.
- GALEN MURRAY -
Freelance DP
