How do you stay mindful when you fear the unknown? I've always had this issue. I suspect it's a very existential crisis we all grapple with from time to time.
Because there's no way you can know what the future brings.
Take the pandemic for instance. That fucker came out of nowhere.
Before the pandemic, I actually did family planning. Let's laugh and cry together.
I finished my studies, got a stable job (that recently conducted layoffs...I'm slowly learning there are not many things that are stable including my sanity), and my partner and I waited a year before deciding to have a baby. We planned, we actually planned.
Then the pandemic happened, ripping away my stupid ideas of idyllic motherhood.
At the same time I was family planning, my friend decided to try working abroad. She had romanticized the idea for a while and picked the UK, specifically gorgeous Scotland to kick off that journey.
She lived for a year in Edinburgh during the pandemic. Not able to travel through Europe like she had wanted to, COVID-19 also marred her experience.
When she returned home to Canada, she plunged into the job market but it took her 9 months to find a job.
Not long after she found one, I was laid off from my dream job in journalism. This wasn't supposed to happen...is the kind of story we tell ourselves.
When I think back to what's happened in the past -- what will be soon -- five years, I think, "no wonder I'm so stressed!"
It took me a year to find a job, in an industry – marketing – that is definitely not stable. Layoffs are common and may get more common with the rise of AI. Earlier in 2024, IBM decided to cut 3,900 marketing and communication jobs and froze hiring for other roles that could also be replaced by AI.
As I use ChatGPT at work to meet expectations of outputting content faster and faster, I have not been able to stave off my fears of one day inevitably being laid off, especially as I work for a tech company.
According to Business News Daily, the tech industry is the most likely to conduct layoffs in product management, quality assurance, marketing, finance, and IT roles.
And when you suddenly find yourself unemployed, it's not uncommon to take several months to find jobs. Known as long-term unemployment, the numbers of people unemployed for longer than 6 months are rising.
Statistics Canada reported that there were 1.4 million people unemployed in June 2024 in Canada, and these numbers have continued increasing since April 2023.
As the unemployment rate increased, so did the numbers of long-term unemployed people.
In Canada, as of June 2024, 17.6% of unemployed people had been out of work for over 6 months, an increase of 4% from 2023. In the US, as of October, 2024, the number of long-term unemployed people accounted for 22.9% of all unemployed people, which like in Canada has also continued to rise.
To date, the unemployment rate is not showing signs of slowing down in Canada, reaching 6.6% in August 2024.
This is not a North American trend, it’s a global one.
And the longer people remain without work, the harder it becomes to integrate into the workforce. During job hunting, my friend and I would dread the question, “and why now? Why are you looking for work now?” In other words, why have you been unemployed for this long?
There are many reasons for long-term unemployment but primarily, it’s a skills issue. The longer individuals stay unemployed, the less relevant their skills will be as the job market changes, making it unlikely for employers to hire them.
The funny thing is that there are lots of jobs out there. In the US, according to the US Chamber of Commerce, "if every unemployed person in the country found a job, we would still have millions of open jobs."
So how come is the unemployment rate rising? Why is there such a massive labour shortage?
There are many reasons why this is happening, some of it echoes the behaviours of people seeking employment, others that of the employers themselves.
In 2022, the US Chamber of Commerce surveyed people looking for employment and found that
a vast majority (66%) of Americans who lost their job during the pandemic were either not actively or only somewhat actively looking for a job.
Many more were more decisive about the jobs they were looking for. For instance, 49% were unwilling to take on work that was not remote.
The pandemic certainly changed the way we live, with many retiring during it, many women and men becoming homemakers and some more transitioning from full-time to part-time work.
But it makes sense, the stresses of the pandemic, especially on those with caregiving duties, forced us to reckon with our notion of work-life balance.
And what about employers?
They're also being pickier than ever before, according to a recent Fortune article.
Fortune is referring to findings from the Beige book, an economics analysis performed by the US Federal Reserve in early September 2024, which stated "Employers were more selective with their hires and less likely to expand their workforces, citing concerns about demand and an uncertain economic outlook."
Not to mention, when I was searching for work, many employers began using AI to sift through resumes. I know humans introduce bias, but AI introduces human bias faster.
It’s honestly making me rethink getting more education since certain industries show more stability than others.
And I'm not the only one: 36% of people surveyed by the Chamber of Commerce are focusing on acquiring new skills, education or training so they can enter the job market feeling better prepared.
Allow me to wallow in regret for a bit.
A while ago, I made the switch from science to writing, and though I did it because I love writing, I am no longer doing journalism, which is what I loved the most.
As I think about my family, and the future of my child, can I risk being subject to layoffs every few months or even years?
Recently, I heard of layoffs not due to finances but rather due to structural changes within a company.
I thought it would be economical things I should fear, after all I lost my journalism job to print media being obsolete, but even if something as fickle as reshuffling people around could make you susceptible to losing your job, then maybe I need to be thinking more about the future.
Is this the beginning of the end for working for something you’re passionate for?
I think so. But it’s also the beginning of more job hopping – for certain industries – to acquire the skills you need to stay relevant, and more ongoing training. And I don’t know if I have the energy, passion I used to have when I was younger to pursue additional training.
The book I am reading right now, “Long Life Learning” argues that due to technological advancements like AI and a longer life, we will be working for longer (the scientist in me thinks there is no way our bodies will be able to work until 100 years old even if we get to live until 150).
But it also argues that in this longer lifespan, we will be making more work transitions than ever before perhaps because we need modified work due to disabilities (certainly something that would need to happen if we’re working until we’re 100 years old), or because our skills have now become outdated as time goes on.
This is what I am starting to realize now. Having made the transition from science into writing in 2019, I’ve only had 5 years of experience full time writing.
Two of those years were dedicated to technical writing in the sciences where I began to gain experience in marketing and content writing, one to having a child, and less than one to journalism, before I found myself unemployed. Here and there I did freelancing in marketing for science companies and somehow luckily for Nike through an amazing company called ONA. Still a highlight of my short writing stint.
So though I should cut myself some slack for basically starting anew in a field, I also need to come to grip with the reality that I may not have what it takes compared to people who have been in the field for decades, or that have now been working for multiple workplaces.
I’m a bit mortified of what’s to come, and how to develop the skills I need to do better in an unpredictable landscape.
Others feel the same. Many Gen Zs and Millennials like me have a negative outlook of the future.
Deloitte conducted a survey of 23,000 Gen Z and Millennials across 44 countries to understand their experiences and expectations at work.
They found that less than a third of Gen Zs and millennials have hope for the economy to improve within the next year, with many citing financial worries.
PwC found a similar outlook, with finances being top of mind. One of the ways employees were looking for better futures was by switching to employers with more training options, opportunities for upskilling their experience.
And once more it makes sense. Pursuing education right now would make a big dent in my pocket, but gaining experience at work would be a win-win.
So this is where I need to lean in right now. Being patient with myself and allowing my experience to grow.
Despite the unpredictability that the past few years has thrown at me, at all of us, I’m slowly discovering that surviving in this era requires more than just a new set of skills. It’s about reshaping how I think about career growth, stability, and even success.
One shift I’m making is recognizing that my career doesn’t need to follow a traditional path. In fact, many of the people I have interviewed throughout the years have had unconventional career paths.
While it was scary to leap from science to writing, the skills I picked up in science—like research, critical thinking, and clear communication—are the backbone of my content creation today. They’re my ‘transferable assets,’ and they remind me that our experiences, regardless of industry, can build bridges to future roles.
I won’t lie; re-skilling feels overwhelming, especially in an age where technology advances faster than we can keep up. But I’m starting to look at my current role as more of a learning ground than a final destination. Perhaps this isn’t just a period of survival—it’s also a period of self-discovery.
Plus when it comes to AI, maybe we won't end up like the Terminator, but rather like a more optimistic Michelle R. Weise, the author of "Long Life Learning" puts it, we are just going to be "human+," enhanced by technology. At least, I hope she's right.
I’ve come to see that each pivot brings a new set of tools and perspectives. It’s as if every twist in my career path is building a toolkit, and one day, maybe, I’ll understand exactly what it was all for.
I think back to when I had “the plan.” That carefully structured vision for a steady job, a growing family, and a clear path. That idealism feels naïve now, but it also gives me hope that I can still plan, just differently.
Instead of relying on job titles or traditional career ladders, maybe the real goal is to chase opportunities that allow for continuous growth. It’s a hard pill to swallow, though, that I might never feel “secure” in the old sense. And maybe that’s okay.
What I’m realizing now is that flexibility is my best asset. This doesn’t mean I don’t still crave stability—I do. But in place of it, I’m leaning into resilience, curiosity, and an openness to what comes next. There’s a bittersweet freedom in knowing that I’m no longer bound by a single industry or job title, even if that freedom feels precarious at times.
As I navigate this strange, often tumultuous career path, I remind myself of something valuable: I am not alone. So many of us are in this same boat, learning to redefine what work means, how we find value in it, and what we want from it. Maybe the future won’t be a straight path but a patchwork of experiences, each one teaching us something new.
And as I try to build a new puzzle with the pieces I've been given, I hope I can teach my son as he one day navigates the working world that building the puzzle and not the puzzle itself is what truly matters.
I feel your words Mari: “(…) flexibility is my best asset. This doesn’t mean I don’t still crave stability—I do. But in place of it, I’m leaning into resilience, curiosity, and an openness to what comes next. There’s a bittersweet freedom in knowing that I’m no longer bound by a single industry or job title, even if that freedom feels precarious at times.” This is me, thanks for share your thoughts Mari.