Abstract
Frugalism is a way of life in which individuals aim for financial independence, thus allowing for early retirement. The phenomenon has hardly been researched so far and has only been made known through mass media reporting. Under the heading "Frugalism - Retirement at 40?!", numerous (blog) articles link frugalism and its search for independence from income earned by way of gainful employment to the motive of 'escape' from labour. However, as this paper will show, reports about this phenomenon up to date largely ignore that frugalism much rather entails a pronounced desire for the self-organisation of labour, meaning that generally a frugalist’s goal is not to ‘flee’ from work, but to determine working conditions within his or her own responsibility – i.e., independently of external influences such as financial constraints and/or corporate hierarchies. In this 'new normal', frugalists are drastically shaking up the classic understanding of labour as an indispensable means of securing one's livelihood. Based on findings from an explorative study consisting of qualitative interviews with frugalists, this paper gives insights into 'frugalistic' work orientations and practices and will, thus, outline the meaning that frugalists attribute to work