I'm Part of a Trend?

I'm a little late in getting to this (courtesy of the grand computer meltdown), but Virginia Postrel blogs on a USA Today article related to the trend of Gen X and Yers choosing a less chaotic and hardcore approach to work in favor of more time spent on leisure and with family.

I have a handful of female friends I've been close to since high school (and in some cases longer). In school, we were "smart girls" and, as a result, felt a lot of pressure to have significant careers (we came of age in the late 80s/early 90s before the Supermom backlash). Just recently, as we near 30, the pressure to do great things has intensified. At the same time, we're at an age filled with personal pressure to hit milestones - settle down, get married, buy a house, have kids. I suppose we're not the first generation to deal with these conflicting forces, but we're not more than the third. We don't have a lot of history to fall back on as we decide which path to choose. Do we fail to meet the expectations set for us in the workplace or do we relegate personal matters to second place?

Increasingly, as the article suggests, we've been leaning towards a less intense focus on work and more time and energy spent on other things - relationships, hobbies, etc. I might be at the forefront of our little crew: I'm certainly working a lot less than I was seven months ago, at my full time job. But what Virginia alludes to, but doesn't expand on, is the ability for people to work less and make more money now, thanks to technology. I work from home - and because of that, I'm significantly more efficient than I used to be. Plus, since I am an independent consultant, my overhead is low (laptop and cell phone, plus a handful of marketing expenses and a few office supplies here and there) and I'm able to actually make a lot more per hour than in the past.

As a result, I spend a lot more time with Cooper (and with my parents and even his parents) than I used to. When I have kids, I'll be able to continue to work from home without sacrificing much in the way of income - or in terms of "family time". I've got myself a pretty good deal here.

On top of that, who's to say that a home office won't be the birthplace for the next great big idea? Maybe our generation hasn't evaded the intense pressure - maybe it's just shifted to the home office-front.