During the 1980s, with the possibility of unemployment hanging over our heads, many companies put increasing demands on their staff. We went through a phase when it seemed that you were either unemployed with no work or employed but expected to do the work of two people.
The fairer economic climate of the 1990s has hardly diminished this intense pressure for working men and women. Along with the pressure, the old security of having a 'job for life' seems to have evaporated. Changing markets and continual innovations in technology mean that companies are ever having to change their staff, and employees are needing to retrain. Not surprisingly some ask: 'Isn't there a better way of earning a living?'
'Downshifting' is the label given to making a decision to try to get out of this rat-race and go for a different kind of life. Looking for another way of earning a living which will give a person more time for themselves and things that matter to them. Mostly, of course, that includes opting for less money but more time. Downshifting is not a Christian book, but it claims to be the ultimate handbook to tell you everything you need to know about swapping a high pressure lifestyle for a simpler and more rewarding way of life - an idea which may have been running through the minds of Christian people.
