When I was in graduate school, I had a professor whose claim to fame, for which he was occasionally cited in the literature, was coining the expression “occupational multiplicity” several decades ago. This phrase described the phenomenon, frequently observed among West Indians, of having more than one job or multiple sources of income from jobs and enterprise and the like. The phrase hasn’t ever been fleshed out into a sociological “concept” but is simply an amusing way of describing the phenomenon in question.
The interesting thing about occupational multiplicity is that it is both a strategy for dealing with job instability and a means of empowerment even in the absence of such instability. A number of West Indians I have known claimed to have chosen a life of part time and ad hoc work combined with entrepreneurship even when full time employment was available to them. They explained that their freedom was important to them and that a full time job meant dependency and subservience. They wanted to be able to set their own hours, to be available for cricket practice and matches at any time in season, and to be free to act on opportunities as they arose. In addition, they engaged in other activities for their own account such as keeping a kitchen garden, keeping some livestock, improving their houses, investing in land, and bartering with their neighbors. Their money income was not as high or as regular as it might have been if they had full time jobs, but the other benefits of their lifestyle were considerable.
I envy those guys.
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3 comments:
A handful of American friends have had this lifestyle and have confided in me that they are frequently criticized for it. "Get a real job" is often advice. Interestingly enough, the harshest criticism has come from conservative Christians.
Steve,
I guess we just can't stand it when someone else has a little more freedom than we do. There seem to be so many obstacles to pursuing this lifestyle, not the least of which is the health insurance "market" in which self employed or marginally employed people are at a disadvantage. For my own part, I would like to pursue this lifestyle but am hampered by sloth and cowardice.
Not only health insurance, but housing (whether renting or qualifying for a mortgage) and other things one needs to "qualify" for. Adding a wife and kids only multiplies the difficulty. Okay, back to sleep...
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