Desk Job Malaise: What Do Such ‘Good’ Jobs Still Leave To Be Desired?

In this salon, machine-leaning-engineer-turned-massage-therapist Elena Polozova and somatic coach James Mayfield Smith will get very, very specific about why jobs that many of us grew up told would make us happy (such as tech jobs, high-paying corporate jobs with good benefits, etc.) often don’t, and what we can do about it. 

“I have such a good job and I’m still not satisfied, am I ungrateful or broken?” You’re not — there’s more to the story.

This will be a participatory salon! So come especially if you’re still inside one such ‘Good Desk Job,’ and seeking to clarify for yourself what’s missing. We’ll have space for it in the group conversation, and James will bring his coaching experience to help you identify any amorphous unmet emotional needs.

The purpose of this salon is not to say such jobs are ‘bad,’ but rather to create necessary space that acknowledges they’re not the sum total of all human life, development, or evolution. Moreover, we seek to dissolve the shame that many people can feel around being unhappy in these ‘good’ desk jobs. “I have such a good job and I’m still not satisfied, am I ungrateful or broken?” You’re not — there’s more to the story.

In Elena’s case: she grew up with messaging that a prestigious resume was the be-all end-all. This carried her through an MIT degree and a job at Meta, where she kept nursing a quiet, yearning question — ‘Is this all there is to life?’ After eventually leaving due to a mounting chronic illness, and van-life-ing across the US, she can now report — ‘Oh my god, yes! There is so much more to life.’

In her case the missing pieces were movement, earth connection, emotional health, and sensory delight — what are yours?

Optional suggested reading:

• Elena shares some of the story of her transition from math and tech to the woods and massage therapy
• James shares the story of how somatic work healed him and transformed his life
• How Elena expanded her emotional range
• Elena’s desk

cover art by http://www.elpacaya.com/

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