The Great Re-Evaluation – Toward a Better Life With Grazing

Lately there’s been talk about “The Great Resignation.” Employers who find it more difficult to fill vacancies blame government subsidies and employees’ unwillingness to work. Others do the math and point out that there are over 10 million vacancies and only 7 million people to fill them. So, as Derek Thompson writes for The Atlantic, employees who quit are actually taking better jobs elsewhere. The low-wage service sector like hotels and restaurants has seen more quits than any other part of the economy. But, Thompson writes, the sector is not bleeding jobs. “Quite the opposite: Accommodation and food services added 2 million employees in 2021, more than any other subsector I could identify.” He concludes that workers are moving to jobs to get more of what they want: challenges, money, benefits, etc.

Perhaps this isn’t so much a Great Resignation as it is a Great Re-Evaluation.

In an interview with NPR, UC Berkeley economist Ulrike Malmendier suggests there’s something deeper behind the Great Resignation: The pandemic and the rise of remote work have changed the way we view our lives and the world. Anthony Klotz, who studies workplace exits, agrees. “There is evidence that people have been doing thinking during the pandemic in terms of how their life is going and have had some epiphanies and decided they want to make some changes to their life.”

But it’s not just pandemics that lead us to evaluate where we are. As Troy Bishopp describes in this week’s “The Thinking Grazier,” his brother’s death focused him on what it would take to lead a more fulfilling life. For me, it was the death of a good friend this past July, someone not much older than I am. I hadn’t seen her in a while, but had always planned to see her “soon.” Then it was too late and instead of sitting around a campfire with her, I was singing for her at her memorial service.

Troy decided time with the family, his “grandchildren days,” took priority, and he learned how to plan his grazing life around that. I changed my work/life blend as well. After almost nine years as a mostly one-woman band putting out weekly articles for On Pasture, I needed a change too. I reorganized the website and the publication schedule to make more time for life, family and friends.

What’s In It For You?

When I started On Pasture in 2013, my goal was to make life better for graziers. That hasn’t changed at all. But it’s not just the latest fencing technique or the number of times a day you move your livestock that make you a better grazier. It’s also about all those things outside of grazing that makes life worthwhile. So in the days, weeks and months ahead you’ll see more here about making grazing decisions that aren’t just good for the animals and the landscape, but lead to a more fulfilling life for you as well.

Here’s to more fun!

Thanks for reading,

Kathy

P.S. Because I think this topic is so important, I’ve made Troy’s piece free to read for all graziers and anyone else who stops by. Share it with friends and family!