By Mai Ke

This summer, Christopher Nolan’s film The Odyssey, the latest retelling of Homer’s Ancient Greek epic, will premiere worldwide. On the IMAX screen, Odysseus struggles through storms on the Aegean, his fleet scattered and his companions lost one by one, while Ithaca, the homeland he expected to reach within months, shimmers on the horizon yet remains forever out of reach. Many young professionals leaving the cinema may recognise something of their own disorientation in his story

This is not the sentimentality of a single generation, but the symptom of an era. Across the country’s office towers, co-working spaces, and cubicles that remain brightly lit long after midnight, millions of young professionals are experiencing their own version of an odyssey: navigating uncertain careers, shifting opportunities, and destinations that seem increasingly difficult to define.

In 2007, The New York Times columnist David Brooks coined the term "the Odyssey years" to describe the drifting and exploration that characterise young adulthood. Nearly two decades later, the phrase has been revived on Chinese social media with a dramatically different meaning. For Brooks, the Odyssey years represented a period of possibility. For many young people today, however, uncertainty is no longer a temporary phase but a defining feature of working life itself.

Why The Odyssey Still Resonates

The enduring appeal of The Odyssey lies in its focus on the journey rather than the destination. Unlike stories about victory and achievement, it is a story about navigating uncertainty, setbacks, and constant change.

This theme resonates strongly with contemporary careers. Older generations often followed relatively predictable pathways into stable professions and organisations. Today's graduates leave university and are faced not with a well-marked road, but with open water.

More importantly, the once-promised destination—a stable, respectable, and meaningful career—has become increasingly vague.

Workplace Storms: Why does this Generation Feel Lost?

What changed between 2007 and 2026? When Brooks wrote about the Odyssey years, the global economy had recovered from the dot-com bubble and seemed to be entering another period of growth. Exploration was often voluntary and optimistic. Young people in China could afford to experiment because the broader economic trends were positive.

Today, however, several structural forces have reshaped the landscape.

1. Economic Tsunamis

The tech downturn, waves of layoffs, and increasingly compressed industry cycles have transformed the labour market. A sector considered the next big opportunity three years ago may today be a cautionary tale. Even the major technology companies no longer represent guaranteed career security. The “curse of 35”, a widely used term in the Chinese business world used to describe the struggles of those who reach that age struggling in the job market, is no longer an urban myth but a persistent anxiety hanging over many professionals. The Chinese expression shang'an ("reaching the shore"), once primarily associated with securing stable civil service positions, has become a broader aspiration among young workers seeking stability and security. The shift from chasing dreams to pursuing safety is itself a form of collective retreat.

2. The Double-Edged Sword of Technology

The rise of artificial intelligence has accelerated this uncertainty. Each breakthrough—from ChatGPT to other large language models and workplace automation —have all generated a recurring question: Will my job be replaced? Even more unsettling is the possibility that knowledge acquired today may become obsolete tomorrow. Consequently, lifelong learning has evolved from an aspirational slogan into a survival necessity.

3. Outdated Playbooks

The paths that worked for previous generations no longer guarantee success for today’s jobseekers. Government positions have become more competitive. Stable institutional positions are less common. House prices have drastically increased in many major cities. Traditional formulas that once promised predictable outcomes in life now resemble outdated navigation charts pointing towards destinations that no longer exist.

This has also widened generational misunderstandings. Parents often believe that hard work naturally leads to success; many young professionals feel that hard work merely prevents them from falling behind.

4. The Cultural Syndrome

Social media amplifies every uncertainty. Scrolling through social feeds, one may find peers sharing that they are receiving promotions, launching startups, earning prestigious degrees, or celebrating professional milestones. At the same time, modern career advice insists that people should "follow their passion" while simultaneously building financially sustainable lives.

In practice, the result is a balancing act that feels almost impossible: finding meaningful work, achieving financial security, maintaining authenticity, and continuously improving oneself. For many, exhaustion has replaced ambition.

This is not evidence of a weaker generation. It is the consequence of navigating a fundamentally more complex environment. Today's young professionals face a complex world that no mythology can explain.

Navigating the Rough Waters of the Modern Workplace

But the story should not end here. If careers now resemble an endless voyage, perhaps  "When will I finally arrive?" is the wrong question. A better one might be, "How do I become a better navigator?" I believe there are at least a few approaches worth considering:

Accept that Transition may be Permanent

Increasingly, uncertainty appears to be a defining feature of modern careers. Rather than viewing career transitions as temporary disruptions, we may need to accept that uncertainty is something we must embrace. Careers increasingly resemble networks rather than ladders, involving detours, lateral moves, pauses, and occasional restarts.

This does not mean abandoning ambition. Rather, it means redefining success. Changing jobs does not failure. Career transitions are not acts of running away. Taking a gap year does not necessarily result only in lost time. These experiences are part of the voyage itself and may yield payoffs further down the line.

Build Capabilities Instead of Chasing Certainty

Without reliable maps, navigation depends on capabilities rather than destinations.

The first necessary capability is the building of transferable skills. Rather than mastering only specific technical expertise, professionals must develop meta-skills in an environment where the value of technical skills depreciates rapidly. This requires learning quickly, adapting to change, and sharpening problem-solving abilities. Instead of becoming narrowly specialised, individuals should strive to become “π-shaped professionals”: people with both depth and breadth who can transfer knowledge across domains.

Second, those trying to build careers should invest in meaningful relationships. My research suggests that no professional succeeds alone. Many opportunities emerge not from technical expertise alone but from weak ties—people we do not speak to frequently yet who can create unexpected opportunities at critical moments. Building diverse professional networks creates a fleet, eliminating the need to sail and navigate alone.

Third, psychological resilience should be cultivated. Learning to coexist with anxiety is essential. Anxiety cannot be eliminated, but it can be managed.  While destructive anxiety consumes attention without generating action, constructive anxiety creates motivation for preparation and growth. Seeking mentorship, professional coaching, or psychological support are not signs of weakness but strategic investment.

Finally, young professionals should develop multiple identities. Careers should not become the sole source of their identity. Being a learner, mentor, creator, volunteer, or community member provides alternative anchors when professional circumstances become unstable. We should also be cautious of the traps of “hustle culture”. Being busy does not necessarily produce meaningful progress, and burnout should not be seen as a badge of honour.

Practical Strategies for the Modern Career Odyssey

Several practical habits can make uncertainty more manageable.

Adopt strategic opportunism by remaining open to emerging possibilities rather than locking yourself into rigid career plans. Balance exploration with commitment, recognising when to deepen expertise and when to pivot to a new direction.

Experiment through small, reversible steps. Instead of making dramatic career changes, test new directions through side projects, freelance work, short-term assignments, or further study. Treat your career as a series of experiments rather than a single irreversible decision.

Create personal routines that introduce stability amid external volatility. Morning rituals, consistent social connections, regular exercise, and reflective journaling establish predictable rhythms even when work remains unpredictable.

Most importantly, redefine what it means to “arrive”. Instead of asking, “When will I get where I want to be?”, we might ask: “Who do I want to be at the end of this journey?” In The Odyssey, Odysseus eventually returns to Ithaca, but this isn’t the key point; the core message is that he has been profoundly transformed by the voyage itself. The real destination was never simply home; it was personal growth.

Conclusion: Becoming Odysseus

The Odyssey still resonates today not simply because it retells an ancient epic, but because it’s a story about perseverance amid uncertainty. It reminds us that some journeys were never meant to have clear endings, and some questions were never meant to have definitive answers. Yet that does not make the voyage meaningless.

The metaphor of The Odyssey therefore offers more than a compelling narrative. It provides a useful lens through which to understand today's labour market. The challenge is no longer simply reaching a particular career destination, but becoming a stronger, wiser, and more authentic version of yourself in the process of searching.

Ultimately, success in today's workplace may be measured less by how quickly one reaches a predefined goal than by the ability to learn, adapt, and create value throughout an unpredictable career journey.

Reference:

Brooks, D.(2007) Odyssey Years. New York Times.

Denby, D.(2026) Why the Odyssey Keeps Defeating Filmmakers. The New Yorker.

Tang, P. M., Koopman, J., Mai, K. M., De Cremer, D., ... & Chen, I. (2023). No person is an island: Unpacking the work and after-work consequences of interacting with artificial intelligence. Journal of Applied Psychology, 108(11), 1766-1789.

Mai Ke (Michael) is Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour at CEIBS. His research examines the intersection of business ethics, technology, and human creativity inside organisations. He has published in Nature Human Behaviour, Nature Mental Health, the Academy of Management Journal, the Journal of Applied Psychology, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Personnel Psychology, the Journal of Management Studies, and Harvard Business Review, among others.