Abstract
The Australian creative economy is a growing labour market, employing 5.9% of the national workforce and increasing at a faster rate than aggregate national employment (McCutcheon and Cunningham 2022). Despite robust employment metrics, creative work remains complex shaped by external economic forces and its own internal structures (Luckman and Andrew 2020). Economic rationalism and technological change have seen workers fluctuate between unpredictable periods of creative work, non-creative work, and unemployment (Comunion and England 2020). Despite irregular employment, McRobbie notes that creative workers persist in their practice and maintain their creative identity (2016).
Creatives are drawn through passion to “work with heart” (Suchy 1999), but this innate driver can be problematic. Passion is linked to resilience, emotional intelligence, ambition and a strong sense of purpose (Bridgstock 2005), yet it is not enough to sustain a creative career in a volatile economic environment. This tension complicates career sustainability for those drawn to creative work. Not surprisingly, job precarity drives many to leave the sector, especially when facing major life decisions such as home ownership, having children, or retirement planning (McRobbie 2016). This compromises both individual career longevity and the retention of an experienced workforce vital to commercial and public cultural production. This is represented through what I refer to as the ‘Thunderstruck Paradox’.
This research considers creative workers in three post-youth stages drawn from Zacher and Froidevaux’s life course model (2021): ‘early adulthood’, ‘middle adulthood’ and ‘late adulthood’. It asks how individuals who identify as creative workers have navigated, withstood, or surrendered to the precarious and protean career model dominant in the creative labour market. Informed by primary survey data (A252797), the research offers insight into creative careers by highlighting how systemic precarity restricts inclusion, fair work, and career longevity—ultimately limiting rich cultural production. It contributes to a society that values creatives' rights to long-term, fair and meaningful work (SDG8).