Good News for the Humanities

Choosing a college major is an important decision for any student. The selection of a college major dictates not only what a student will study for at least four years, but will also affect future levels of income and potentially future job satisfaction. Students interested in the humanities have long been faced with the decision of choosing between majors that will land them a good job (i.e., finance) or feed their intrinsic passion (English, philosophy, and history are the top three choices). Until recently, the two paths have been considered mutually exclusive. Many humanities graduates can recall being asked the question, “What do you do with a degree in…?”

A recent article in The Huffington Post calls this dichotomy into question. Research from the American Association of Colleges and Universities suggests instead that over the course of a lifetime, graduates with degrees in the humanities earn similar amounts of money compared to students with pre-professional degrees. Furthermore, it has been shown that there is fulfillment in focusing your career on what you are passionate about. Students are more motivated to learn what they enjoy and excel in. If a course of study is not enjoyed, it becomes tedious or frustrating and may lead students to take extra time completing a degree, which is an expensive prospect these days.

Many people point out that graduating humanities students lack skills needed to enter the workforce, but these so-called missing skills are commonly taught on the job. However, the critical thinking skills most humanities majors hone in college are invaluable. Moreover, when you are able to become immersed in what you do every day, it ceases to be just a “job” that you do from 9 to 5 and ventures into the idea of a career and perhaps a calling, allowing for a much greater sense of personal fulfillment and greater job satisfaction over the course of your life.

At CEC Associates, we meet many people who have yet to find their niche in the world of work. Please see our Career Assessment page for assistance on finding your calling.   

How Did We Get So Busy?

People work in order to earn enough money to buy what they need (food, shelter, and clothing).  But what is left over is disposable, to be used to pursue and purchase one's individual interests.  Of course, this disposable aspect of income and its importance varies dramatically from country to country.

Americans lead all nations in the percentage of disposable income.  While countries like England, France, and Italy put in as many regular work hours as those in the U.S. do, Europeans do not work as many hours for discretionary income as Americans choose to.  Instead of quitting while they are ahead, Americans find new things to need. 

Most types of material consumption (i.e., anything beyond subsistence) are strongly habit-forming.  That is, the consumer grows accustomed to what he has purchased, and is ready to continue buying.  For example, the more technological pieces we buy, the more we need, etc. 

Joseph Stiglitz, of Columbia University, argues that people’s choices are molded by society and become self-reinforcing over time.  We “learn how to consume by consuming,” he wrote, and how to “enjoy leisure by enjoying leisure.”

The average employed American now works roughly 140 hours more per year than the average Englishman and 300 hours more than the average Frenchman.  Current French law mandates that workers get 30 paid vacation days per year; British law enforces 28; and the U.S. requires zero paid vacation days for their workers.  As a result, Europeans are predicted to reduce their work hours and become more skilled at taking time off for leisure, while Americans, who have become master consumers, will continue to work long hours to buy more things.

This brief summary comes from a recent article, “No Time,” by Elizabeth Kolbert, which appeared in The New Yorker of May 26, 2014. Her article offers a new way to look at what American workers do with their earnings.

How do you side on the question of more free time for the important things of life versus more income for non-essentials? Are the French happier than Americans because they are not as addicted to material goods as we are?

Circles of Safety

As most of our readers are undoubtedly aware, strong leadership in any business is essential for the company to thrive and evolve. What is often less discussed, however, is what makes an effective leader. How do strong leaders think, act, and communicate?

Simon Sinek, author of Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action, believes that one leads by implementing a sense of trust, cooperation, and perhaps most importantly, care. Using the example of U.S. Army Captain William D. Swenson, whose column was ambushed in Afghanistan in 2009, Sinek reveals that a great concern for any leader should be for those below him/her to feel safe, as it is only when they feel safe that they will fully trust and cooperate. In the midst of a changing economy and inevitable competition from other companies, the only variable that can truly be controlled “are the conditions inside the organization. There’s where leadership matters, because it’s the leader who sets the tone. When leaders make a choice to put the people first, remarkable things happen.”

Of course, one doesn’t have to be an army lieutenant or CEO to lead. Each member of a company, regardless of rank, has the volition to make sacrifices that lessen the burden on other employees, while simultaneously benefitting the company as a whole. The “natural response,” as Sinek articulates, is for others to make sacrifices in return.

As an example, imagining walking into your office early one morning and witnessing your boss standing on a stepstool replacing light bulbs, as a large circuit had blown the night before. When asked what he is doing, your boss informs you that he is replacing all 28 light bulbs in the lobby area and has replaced five thus far. He does not ask you for help or suggest that you take over, but simply continues the task. It is likely that you will offer to help him and perhaps even more likely that you will insist on taking over the job. Your recognition, whether conscious or unconscious, of your superior’s sacrifice will lead you to want to remove some of his burden. Without even knowing it, you have followed the leader.

Consider:

How do you demonstrate leadership within your company?

What do you believe makes someone a strong leader?

For information on leadership and Sinek’s “circles of safety,” view his TED Talk, How great leaders inspire action.