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Happy but vulnerable: Emergence of the young precariat class
"I really can’t stand the idea of working from Monday to Friday, from 9 to 5 and then getting a paycheck only once every month,” Yogi, who works as a Bukittinggi-based freelance photographer told The Jakarta Post.
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More and more Indonesians, especially youngsters, have chosen the precariat way of life, mostly for its freedom and flexible work schedule. (Shutterstock/File)
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low mornings, unconventional working hours with freedom and a flexible work schedule is becoming a popular way for youngsters to live, thanks to the internet, which has made such a lifestyle possible.
On a Tuesday morning when most of his friends were working in their office, Yogi Elsya Aprianto, 26, was chilling and having lunch near the Harau waterfall in Payakumbuh, around two hours away from Bukittingi, West Sumatra.
“I usually have a slow morning on weekdays. Like today, I have this job to shoot a video for the Bukittingi Tourism Agency at around 6 p.m. So, I wake up late and hang out with my friends first before I meet my clients,” Yogi, who works as a Bukittinggi-based freelance photographer told The Jakarta Post.
Photography has been Yogi’s hobby and passion since he was in college. It has been around three years since he turned his hobby into his freelancing job. Yogi said he got his jobs personally and from several event organizer agencies in Bukittinggi, which often call him for video-making and photography jobs.
Yogi could easily be put in the precariat bracket, a term to describe people whose lives are precarious because they have little or no job security. Yogi knows the risks but he lives it fully.
“I could stay up late finishing my video or photo editing. I also have to self-manage my workload, maintain my networking, insurance and schedules. Yes, it is tiring but I can take the exhaustion because I love it. […]. I really can’t stand the idea of working from Monday to Friday, from 9 to 5 and then getting a paycheck only once every month,” he added.
However, like most Indonesians whose parents’ idea of having a secure job is by being a civil servant or working in a big company, Yogi’s parents often criticize his career choice.
