A Reason for Downgrading

The employment market operates by the law of the survival of the fittest. As such, it is only natural that employees seek for advancement in their careers. Rarely would anyone settle for anything less than their previous job, whether in rank or in monetary rewards. There are some who do. I am one of them who did.

When I was younger, I decided to explore the world by working overseas. Like most people, I expected to land myself in a better job when I moved from Malaysia to a country like Australia. To my dismay, the job hunting process was a rather cold and unfriendly one. Through a recommendation, I landed myself in a small tax agent as a graduate accountant. It was a far cry from the position I once held as a senior auditor in a Big 4 public accounting firm, supervising a team and handling public listed clients in my portfolio.

Despite the 'downgrade', it was probably one of the happiest and most care-free jobs that I ever had! I remember the place and the people most vividly. There were only twelve of us, including the two partners of the firm. As the most junior staff in the team, I had to seek help and guidance from everyone. I slowly earned the respect of the partners by delivering quality work. I soon became friends with my colleagues and we occasionally go out for lunch. My colleagues never fail to amaze me every time they recount stories of how people left the firm within a few days or weeks of joining! It was amusing. The one thing I did not enjoy was being part of a team who 'feared' the temper of the big boss, even though he was much respected for his expertise in tax. Besides that and the fact that it was a small company, there was really nothing much to complain about. Good work was always recognised and rewarded. There was no need to supervise anyone. There was no such thing as overtime. My most treasured memories were browsing the bookstore while waiting to clock in at the right time in the morning and enjoying a leisurely lunch with a book at a nearby park. What simple bliss! I left after a year because tax was not my cup of tea.

There was another time where I made a conscious decision to downgrade for the sake of health, both physically and emotionally. I have no regrets. Then I was working for a large and reputable multinational. I was working like a machine. I was not sure whether it was my efficiency level that was lacking or whether there was something wrong with the system. The sky was always dark when I stepped into the office. It was again dark when I stepped out, hoping to reach home before midnight. Then like clockwork, I would get into a taxi, reach home, bathe and knock off to sleep. The next day, the cycle would repeat itself and the next day, and the next. The feeling of self-pity hit me every time the clock struck 7.00 pm and I was still in the office waiting for my dinner to be delivered. I finally unplugged that machine. I left despite being promoted and given a salary increment. I even left the country. I threw my career out of the window. I decided to start afresh working as a human, not a machine.

It is hard to remain happy in one's job. I asked my boss whether it was possible for me to move out of a managerial position. To my surprise, many months down the road, my bosses recommended me to move from my current department to another and to undertake an individual contributor role as a specialist. It is a role whereby I could learn more of the industry of the company and to learn new skills. In a sense, this is a downgrade in terms of position; moving down from a managerial position where you delegate work to the others, to becoming one of the others who have been delegated to do the work! I am beginning to see how vastly different it is to change roles from one to the other. Even then, one is not more superior than the other, neither is one easier than the other. I have now taken that step for the sake of gaining knowledge, a wider experience and for self development. But secretly it is also as a means of escape from the previous role which I am beginning to miss. Will this be worthwhile? I do not know. But I will never know if I choose to stay put instead of stepping by faith into the unknown. I will take the risk.