A New Kind of Normal

Once again, we have a dubious data point (see “Exceptable Jobs Report [sic]“ for more on the subject) suggesting that things are returning to “normal.”

And yet, we have realities like this (via John Mauldin’s Thoughts from the Frontline) –

This chart, from Rich Yamarone of Bloomberg,…shows that government transfer payments have been an increasing share of disposable income since the beginning of 2008. Without that government spending, consumer spending would be much worse than it is. But then so is the federal deficit. There is no free lunch. –

and reports like this (via The Associated Press) –

In Buffalo, N.Y., Rosanne DiPizio, vice president of her family’s DiPizio Construction, says there isn’t enough work for her company to justify hiring right now. It relies mostly on government road-construction contracts. And governments have been cutting back.

DiPizio also runs a concrete plant that would normally employ 100. It’s down to 85.

“We will employ more if we have more work,” she says. “It’s that simple.”

In truth, now is not the time to be betting on Washington-Wall Street fantasies. Now is the time to be adjusting to a new kind of normal. For some insights on what that might mean, check out a recent article from the Christian Science Monitor, “The Job-Shifters: People Who Reinvent Themselves Mid-Career”:

Reinventing oneself for a new career is seldom elegant. It’s usually born of struggle, doubt, or loss. Sometimes all three. It’s only afterward, as über-entrepreneur Steve Jobs once suggested, that you can look back and see how every step and stubbed toe made sense.

But from the turmoil come stories, sometimes dramatic narratives, of people who chuck the safety of a paycheck, either by necessity or choice, to craft a new life story worth telling. Often, the denouement involves less money and more fulfillment.

If the Great Recession and its chaotic aftermath have a story line, it goes something like this: The worst economic downturn in nearly 80 years throws millions of Americans out of work – 15.4 million are unemployed at the peak, 13.1 million are still without a job two years later.

Out of that crucible, an increasing number of workers are trying to reinvent themselves to fit in with a fragile, fast-moving world. For some, it’s a voluntary change. For many, it isn’t. It’s a rough-and-tumble necessity. The future demands it.

“The status quo doesn’t work anymore,” says Pamela Mitchell, founder of the Reinvention Institute, a training and coaching firm in greater Miami and author of “The 10 Laws of Career Reinvention.” Workers need to realize that there’s no longer a “safe” industry where they can serve out a career. “The only true safety is for me to build my own personal job diversity,” she says. “That’s the ‘aha!’ [moment]. Job security comes from within.”