Invest for life

In a brilliant article written by Barbara Kiviat,she drives her point home with a pithy statement: “All the while,we blissfully ignored a little concept economists like to call human capital. The cognition you’ve got up there in your head—your education and training—it’s worth something.”

Today a steady job is being held higher than a big bonus. And work is now a high-value advantage.

By the time I had finished reading the article,I was a subscriber to the job-as-an-asset school of thinking.

Today,nothing could be truer. While we are not as badly off as the Americans,India is also looking at tough times. We actually know people who have been laid off—and this is just the beginning. It hit home when I was talking to a friend who had recently lost her job. She was financially sound. Her husband was the primary provider. But emotionally,she was depressed. She had always linked her self-worth with her job.

As women,I think we hold our work in higher esteem,especially since we fought so hard for the right to have a career. Gone are the times when you worked till you got married. My office comprises largely of young women — all of whom are superbly qualified and committed. They get married,have children but stay part of the Elle family as well. A job,a career or the work place has become an extension of self. The support it offers—emotionally,creatively and financially — makes it undeniably our greatest asset. In fact,I am wondering what took us so long to figure this out.

The Time magazine article ends with another great line: “So often we don’t know the true value of what we have until it’s gone.” As recently as six months ago,we were all treating our jobs as a way to trade up. I would meet young people who had moved three times in three months and were demanding a 40 per cent increase in pay. Today,they are back and more realistic. The long term holds greater value,especially since that is no longer on offer. All the good jobs,like the good men,have been taken. I have been with the magazine for nine years now. But I got lucky. I am crazy about what I do.

Two decades ago,I stumbled into journalism and found my calling. I remember I spent my entire time at my first job with this sense of incredulousness: I could not believe someone would pay me to do what I love. I even donated my first month’s salary to my colleagues. Because even then,I knew it was a fabulous investment in my greatest asset.

Nonita Kalra is Editor-in-Chief,ELLE