Commentary: Experiences and Interpretations of Work in Public and Private Life

Twenty-first Century life is both lived and understood in a world of uncertainty and risk. Uncertainty comes with natural disasters, economic downturns and global movements that intrude in people’s lives forcing upon them unexpected change. Yet the paradox of contemporary life is that at the same time as people face uncertainty and risk, they are offered new freedoms. They are offered the freedom to take chances with global ventures; to express themselves in new media, to purchase what they want (albeit without money), and to venture to be what they dream—all the while taking out insurance for every aspect of venturing so that the risk is covered while the opportunities are grasped. As Ulrich Beck (2009, p. 8) graphically describes it: