The Ethical Careers Guide: How to find the work you love, Paul Allen (New Internationalist, 2017)
Readers may recognise Paul Allan from the Guardian, where he writes about the voluntary sector – or the BBC, where he has run environmental projects.
In 2007, he wrote Your Ethical Business, a start-up guide to creating a socially and environmentally responsible business – but here he’s concentrating on helping people find jobs that make them happy.
“You will spend around 100,000 hours of your life at work,” he writes. “It’s a long time to be doing something you don’t like.”
This guide is aimed at anyone who wants to do something meaningful with their working life –doing something they love while making a positive difference to the world.
Related: We review an in-depth look at the platform co-op movement
A good job, he believes, is one that fits with your morals, makes you feel good about going to work, and isn’t just about making money.
He understands that people’s individual idea of a ‘meaningful’ job is different, though, and as such the book is less of a manual and more of an inspirational guide for job seekers (school leavers and graduates) and career switchers.
There are interviews with people who have ‘been there and done it’, useful case studies and lots of practical information – including guides to social enterprises, community interest companies and co-operatives as business models that those leaving education or looking to change jobs may not know a lot about.
“Co-ops are a big deal,” he writes. “There are more member owners of co-ops (just over 15 million) that there are direct shareholders of businesses in the UK.”
