Another Day in Paradise?

 

Phil Collins' Another Day in Paradise isn’t really about paradise, is it? It’s about someone walking past a woman suffering in the street, barely registering her existence, rationalizing her misery away—because, really, what can you do? It’s a catchy tune about the casual, passive cruelty of being comfortably distant from a problem, of knowing something is broken but choosing not to look too closely.

Much like the Iraqi labor market in 2025.

For most professionals here, “another day in paradise” means another day at a job where the work-life balance is a suggestion at best and a cruel joke at worst. Not so much balance as a slow, methodical erosion of personal time, a steady dissolving of evenings, weekends, and any concept of rest into an amorphous blend of emails, phone calls, and urgent last-minute meetings. The idea of logging off is something that happens in Western TED Talks, not in Baghdad.

And then there are those who can’t even get into the labor force at all. Every year, tens of thousands of fresh graduates pour into the market, armed with degrees, ambition, and the faint hope that they’ll find work. But the reality is: there aren’t enough companies, enough industries, enough growth to contain them. The economy isn’t elastic. The number of jobs available isn’t expanding at the rate young professionals are entering the market. So, many will do what those before them did—leave, downgrade expectations, or exist in the limbo of unpaid internships that may turn into jobs but mostly don’t.

For those inside the workforce, the rules are blurry. Companies have little protection, employees have even less. Contracts are vague, rights are malleable, enforcement is sporadic. What you deserve and what you get often depend on who you know, rather than what the law says. And speaking of laws—this year marks ten years since our labor law last saw an amendment. A decade without adjustment, in an era where everything else changes in seconds. The same framework meant to regulate employment in 2015 is still being stretched to govern 2025, which is a bit like trying to install Windows 95 on a quantum computer and expecting it to work.

And what about those who actually love their careers? Those who want to build, innovate, lead? Well, if you're not one of the few people who luck into those rare, high-value positions, then good luck. The upper echelons of the workforce are more of an exclusive club than a meritocracy. Not enough executive roles, not enough leadership pipelines, not enough growth to support the ones who want to thrive instead of just survive.

So, to the fresh graduates, the overworked employees, the underpaid managers, the frustrated business owners—enjoy another day in paradise.

Because, as Collins reminds us, most people walking past this mess will just turn up the collar, keep walking, and pretend they don’t see it.