Multiple Career Paths (Risk Management)

After recently reading an old (but classic) article in Harvard Business Review entitled Why You Should Have (at Least) Two Careers, I got to thinking about a third reason this is important.

People normally cite that 1) you shouldn't put all your financial eggs in one basket in case that basket falls. We then extrapolate this to say that 2) multiple income streams helps to mitigate the risk.

I believe there is a third, but just as important aspect to consider. And it's 'not to put all your emotional eggs in one basket as well'.

We spend 30% of our adult life at work and as such it is easy for work to be the basis of our emotions, often taking precedent over family and friends. The issue I see is that when things go bad at work, the emotional backlash can cast a shadow on your entire mood. So spreading your emotional attachment over multiple careers has the same benefits as financial risk management but for emotional risk.

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