By+Stephanie+Buck

My great aunt loved to press flowers. She lived in the Northeast corner of California—the part nobody talks about—where the elevation is so high and the climate so dry youll get nosebleeds. The flowers were bright orange Indian paintbrush， delicate lupine， earthy sage.

Often shed hike the mountains that border Nevada， or the stream beds that crust1 over in summer， searching for new plant life. Shed compare her treasures to botany2 books， then label and press them for safekeeping. A few times， she couldnt find entries at all； shed discovered plant species that no one had named. This earned her small accolades3 from the scientific community， but really she just loved to press flowers.

She was a hobbyist by nature. When not caring for family， she would dry pine needles and weave them into coasters or Christmas ornaments. But she was also a product of her time. In the post-war era， hobbies were what people did in their spare time， after work： basketball， cooking， writing poetry， fixing motorcycles. These were activities people didnt feel whole without.

My great aunt died not long ago， in 2000， but she would have a hard time understanding how my generation uses its spare time. For many of us， the hobby is dead. Our work lives have merged with our free time， and hobbies are now often indistinguishable from second jobs. In a culture obsessed with productivity， the hobby has become the next venture.

After the US survived two world wars and the economic fragility they wrought，4 the American middle class discovered a new definition of leisure. The Industrial Revolution had already freed up more time than ever before. By 1950， the average work week hovered5 around 40 hours， down from 70 in 1860. Union membership peaked in 1954 at 35% of the population， contributing to job security and higher wages， and GDP rose 250% between 1945 and 1960.

This economic prosperity， together with technological innovation， created the modern corporation. These organizations offered structured work weeks， job security， higher pay， and paid vacations， but let their employees go home at 5pm.

From disposable income the leisure industry was born—and welcomed by 60 million people. The American road trip， motels， summer camps， and amusement parks all vied for6 travel dollars. People built model planes in their basements and learned to cook fancy foreign food. Youth culture emerged because， for the first time in American history， children were generally not expected to help with work. By 1958， spending on leisure activities amounted to $34 billion per year.

Leisure came to define a persons identity during this time， in many cases superseding7 career identity. Having a hobby was not only accessible， it was a status symbol. It meant one had time to relax， a privilege previously enjoyed only by the very wealthy. The “automatic nature” of many jobs led to “an increasing number of workers to look not to work but to leisure for satisfaction，”wrote New York Times book reviewer Erik Barnouw in 1958：

“The history of past centuries has been written mainly in terms of the work men did. We may be coming to a time when mens leisure activities will be at least an equally fruitful field for inquiry， reflecting not only the achievements of an age but also its tensions， frustrations， and search for values.”

Barnouw was wrong， of course. Post-war prosperity petered out8， replaced by civil unrest， oil shortages， and economic uncertainty. Though the US economy rebounded in the mid-1980s， the power of the unions continued to decline and foreign competition to increase. The idea of a job for life and a solid pension disappeared from many professions. 1993 marked a pivotal9 year： Sears laid off 50，000 workers due to competition from Walmart； Xerox cut 10，000 jobs， nearly 10% of its staff； and IBM let go 60，000 workers， the companys first layoffs in its 80-year history.

By the time of the recession of the late aughts10， traditional jobs simply werent available to many young people. And those who did work were discontent. In 2010， only 42.6% of workers were satisfied in their jobs， an all-time low since research began in 1987.

With fewer reasons to stay in one job， workers began to explore a wider variety of options. For some， these options included turning a hobby into a business. Young people turned to what they loved， what they were good at， with an entrepreneurial mindset angled toward self-employment. Its why we have so many artisan lollipops and food trucks.

The American economy has fared better in recent years， but the millennial dogma to follow ones bliss remains.11 According to a 2015 poll， older Americans primary concern about their first job was earning money or learning skills. By contrast， 57% of millennials prioritized12 doing something they found enjoyable and that made a difference. Half said they would take a pay cut to find work that matches their values， and would switch jobs as their values changed.

Instead of viewing work as the inevitable grind13 and hobbies as core to ones identity， as in the post-war era， todays professionals strive to equate career with leisure. A Quartz piece published earlier calls this new phenomenon“the journey of duality.” Phyllis Korkki writes，“The secret to a side hustle for the soul is to believe in the power of incrementalism.14 Know that 20 minutes here and there add up. We can make it a priority to find time to devote to personally meaningful endeavors15.”

Loving what one does is a utopian ideal. Few will argue against it. But its worth remembering a couple of things. Hobbies were something a broad swathe of16 people could enjoy， while the side hustle is much more middle-class phenomenon. And even those who can afford what Robert A. Stebbins， author of Serious Leisure： a Perspective for Our Time， calls “l(fā)eisure careers，”might be better off taking a break from being productive.

Thats tough when were being conditioned to love our jobs. But perhaps we can tear a page from the post-war book regarding boundaries. If the future of work is bliss， we still need to know when to put it down and pick up something else， whether its family game night， hockey league， or just being with nature—happiness simply for the sake of it.

For my great aunt， flower collecting was a path to peace outside the home. It was a meditative return to nature， something she could own and be alone with. It was not work. Her flower-pressing excursions17 were citizen science by happy coincidence.

Still， I cant help but imagine her today， perhaps earning a paycheck as she hunted for new plant species， logging18 47 hours per week among the dusty hills of Northeast California. Would it taint19 the purity of her hobby？ Or would it enhance her life？

Maybe it wouldnt be the worst thing. Then again， Im a millennial.

我的姨奶奶鐘愛壓干花。她住在加州的東北角——那個無人談及的角落，海拔高且氣候干燥到能讓人流鼻血。那里的花兒有亮橙色的火焰草，精致的羽扇豆，還有樸實的鼠尾草。

她常常徒步登上與內(nèi)華達州接壤的山上，或者行至夏日里結成硬塊的河床，尋覓新植物物種。她把尋到的寶貝與植物學書籍做比照，然后標記、壓干，妥善保管起來。有好幾次，她根本找不到相應的物種條目；因為她發(fā)現(xiàn)了未被他人命名的植物種類。這也讓她得到科學界小小的贊譽，但其實她只是喜歡壓干花而已。

她就是個天生的業(yè)余愛好者。在不為家務操心時，她會曬干松針，然后編進杯墊或者圣誕飾品里。但她也是那個時代的產(chǎn)物。在戰(zhàn)后時期，愛好是人們在空余時間、下班之后做的事：打籃球、烹飪、寫詩、修機車。這是人們感覺完整生活中不可或缺的活動。

我的姨奶奶在不久前，也就是2000年去世了，否則她會對我這一代人使用空閑時間的方式感到費解。對于我們中的許多人而言，愛好已死。我們的工作生活和我們的空閑時間已融為一體，如今的愛好往往與兼職無異。在一種執(zhí)迷于生產(chǎn)力的文化中，愛好淪為了又一種投資。

美國挨過了兩次世界大戰(zhàn)及其導致的經(jīng)濟脆弱后，美國的中產(chǎn)階級發(fā)現(xiàn)了休閑的新定義。工業(yè)革命帶來了前所未有的更多的空閑時間。到1950年，平均每周工作時長約為40小時，遠遠低于1860年的70小時。工會成員數(shù)量在1954年達到了高峰，占到人口總數(shù)的35%，為工作保障和薪資提高做出了貢獻，國內(nèi)生產(chǎn)總值在1945年至1960年間上漲了250%。

經(jīng)濟繁榮與科技創(chuàng)新一同衍生出了現(xiàn)代企業(yè)。這些機構提供結構化的工作周、工作保障、更高薪酬和帶薪假期，但還讓他們的員工下午五點就下班回家。

從可支配收入中，休閑產(chǎn)業(yè)應運而生——并受到了六千萬人的歡迎。美國的公路旅行、汽車旅館、夏令營和游樂園都競相爭奪旅游收入。人們在自家地下室搭建航模，或學做花哨的外國菜。青年文化誕生，因為在美國歷史上，孩子們第一次不用再工作貼補家里了。

到1958年，人們每年在休閑上的花銷達到了340億美元。

這樣一來，休閑方式逐漸定義了個人身份，甚至在很多情境下，取代了其在事業(yè)上的身份。擁有一項愛好不再是難事，還成了地位的象征。愛好意味著一個人有閑暇放松，而之前這是只有富豪才得以享有的特權。許多工作的自動化性質(zhì)導致了越來越多的勞動者不再滿足于工作所帶來的樂趣，而是轉向休閑?！都~約時報》書評撰稿人埃里克·巴爾諾在1958年如是寫道：

“過去幾個世紀的歷史主要記載了人們做哪些工作。如今我們可能來到了一個時代——人們的休閑活動成了至少同樣卓有成效的研究領域，這反映的不僅僅是時代的成就，還有時代的不安、挫敗和對價值的追尋?！?/p>

當然，巴爾諾說錯了。戰(zhàn)后的繁榮逐漸消失，取而代之的是國內(nèi)動亂、石油短缺及經(jīng)濟的不確定性。盡管美國經(jīng)濟在20世紀80年代中期反彈，但工會力量日漸式微，外國競爭加劇。很多職業(yè)中工作終身制和可靠養(yǎng)老金的概念不復存在。1993年是關鍵的一年：西爾斯百貨因遭遇沃爾瑪競爭而裁員五萬人；施樂公司削減一萬個職位，占到其員工總數(shù)的近十分之一；IBM解雇六萬名員工，這是該公司80年歷史上第一次裁員。

到了21世紀初的經(jīng)濟蕭條期，許多年輕人根本無法找到傳統(tǒng)的工作。而那些在職的人也不甚滿意。在2010年，僅有42.6%的員工對自己的工作滿意，這個數(shù)據(jù)是該項研究自1987年來的最低值。

既然越來越少的理由支持勞動者留在一個崗位上，他們便開始去拓展更廣闊的就業(yè)選擇。對于某些人而言，這其中就包括將愛好變成事業(yè)。年輕人們帶著自我創(chuàng)業(yè)的心態(tài)，轉而投入他們或傾心或擅長的工作。這就是我們?yōu)槭裁从羞@么多的手工藝棒棒糖和流動美食車。

近年來，美國經(jīng)濟走向復蘇，但千禧一代追隨幸福的教條始終未變。在2015年的一項投票中，老一輩美國人對自己第一份工作的首要關注點是賺錢或學習技能。與此相反，57%的千禧一代更在乎從事自己享受的，或者能夠有所作為的工作。有一半的人說他們寧愿接受減薪去做符合他們價值觀的工作，而當他們的價值觀改變時就要換工作。

不再像戰(zhàn)后時期將工作視為不可避免的苦差、將愛好視為個人身份的核心，如今的職業(yè)工作者致力于將事業(yè)與休閑等同起來。前不久，一篇《石英》上的刊文將這一新現(xiàn)象稱為“二元性之旅”。菲麗絲·寇奇寫道：“人們?yōu)樾撵`所需而成功兼職的秘訣在于要堅信漸進主義的力量。知道從這里或那里擠出的20分鐘總會積少成多。我們要優(yōu)先考慮的是，擠出時間投入到對個人有意義的努力中去?！?/p>

熱愛你所從事的工作是烏托邦式的理想。極少有人會反對。但有幾件事情你得記住。愛好是大多數(shù)人可以享受的領域，而兼職更多的是中產(chǎn)階級的現(xiàn)象。即使是那些能得以從事羅伯特·A. 斯特賓斯在《正經(jīng)休閑：一種看待我們時間的視角》一書中所說的“休閑職業(yè)”的人，能夠暫停下來工作可能情況會變得更好。

這點很難做到，因為我們已經(jīng)適應了去熱愛自己的工作。但我們能從戰(zhàn)后一本關于界限的書上撕下一頁用于借鑒。假如工作前程似錦，我們?nèi)孕柚篮螘r放下工作，并撿起其他東西，不論是家庭游戲之夜、冰球聯(lián)盟，還是只是走進自然——為了快樂而快樂著。

對我的姨奶奶而言，采集花朵是家以外尋得寧靜之路。像是一種回歸自然的冥想，是她能專享并自得其樂的所在。這不是工作。她的壓花遠足是因機緣際會而成的民間科學。

然而，我忍不住去想象，如果今日她每周在加州東北部積滿塵土的山丘上遠足47個小時，尋覓新的植物，并賺到了收入，這會污染了她這項愛好的純潔性嗎？還是會提高她的生活質(zhì)量？

也許，這并不是件最糟糕的事。畢竟，我屬于千禧世代的一員。