Zizi Sparks: Who says you can't be happy in a nine-to-five?

There shouldn't be anything wrong with wanting to work in a corporate, 40-hour week job. Photo / Getty Images

OPINION

A number of acquaintances I follow on Instagram have entered new careers recently. They are careers I doubt existed five years ago in such a big way.

There is the "work-life balance coach", the "mindset and self-love coach" and the "financial coach".

All these people here to teach others how to live life and mostly marketing themselves using social media sites like Instagram.

One sprouts stats such as "people don't get work-life balance until they're in their 50s".

Another talks about how to change your mindset to achieve your goals.

Another talks about trading health for happiness in an effort to earn money in a corporate career and promises to teach you how to "make peace with money" or be happy and earn money.

The common theme I take from these coaches is that in order to be happy and live my life to the fullest, I need to quit my job, discover what really makes me happy, put myself first and be my own boss.

They talk about putting your job first like it's the wrong thing to do, that hard work is bad and imply achieving work-life balance can't be done if you're working a nine-to-five job.

While I am all for taking control of your future, work-life balance and being happy, it frustrates me that some life coaches make it seem like you can't do those things without quitting your job and going your own way.

Why can't you have work-life balance when younger, while working a corporate job, why can't you have health, happiness and money and what is wrong with putting your job first?

There shouldn't be anything wrong with wanting to work in a corporate, 40-hour week job and nothing wrong with not wanting to "be your own boss".

It's amazing these (mostly) women have taken control of their futures and are happy, living their best lives and working for themselves. If it is what they want that's great. But if it's not what you want, that's okay too.

It is possible to take control of your future, be happy and live your best life without quitting your job.

I for one love my job. I love my hours, I work hard to achieve work-life balance, I have a budget to follow which allows me to do something for me if I want to and I spend quality time with people who are important to me all while working a 40-hour job.

My job is rewarding and challenging and my hard work has visible results.

One of these coaches wrote, "I'm not in the business of working hard, I'm in the business of prioritising myself". Me? I'm in the business of doing both. It is possible.