Have you ever felt underappreciated at work… not motivated because it wouldn’t matter whether you worked yourself to death or didn’t work hardly at all? Welcome to big business! The fast paced cutthroat life of climbing the corporate ladder. The world of cookie cutter careers, where the promises of joy and contentment are rarely found. If you don’t believe me just give it time.
This week I just found out that I have to take the next two weeks off work without pay. I think they call it “furlough”. I guess that is the nice way for a billion dollar corporation to say “We want to save some money so we thought we would take yours, have a great vacation, now that you have no money, oh yah, when you get back we need you to take an additional two weeks off without pay next quarter as well”.
I know I am complaining and I apologize, I guess I am just trying to give you a real life first hand example of why I am always saying there has to be more to life than a career. Your career will not love, care and nurture you. It will send you on a path for more and more and then once you have tons of bills many times it will dump you in a dangerous and helpless position. Don’t get me wrong, I am not telling you to be a bad employee. When you’re at work, work hard. Just make sure it is not your life, make sure the success of your life does not rise and fall on the success of your career. I think that is one of the secrets to life. How do you do it? I am not totally sure, but I can tell you that not being in any debt except for maybe a house payment would make it a lot easier. Anyway, wish me luck and leave a comment if you have any ideas on how to actually pull off this secret to life…
Thursday, April 07, 2005
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25 comments:
I think one's self-esteem is tied up with productive work to some extent, but things you have no control over, like this shouldn't worry you too much. Good luck
So much of what we feel about ourselves is attached to our jobs; and that is a shame. I am sorry to hear of their attempts to save $ for the company at your expense. Hard to believe, isn't it?
I believe this story is rather enlightening. Follows the same basic concept. Sucks, doesn't it?
Wow! Great post. I feel the exact same way!
And I agree. Step one to keeping your sanity is to not NEED your employer because you're soaked in debt.
You have to be YOU, Inc., in order to stay alive. Save your money, cash reserved, limited liabilities.
Because the ass-fuck is definately coming.
Start your own business, I think, but then you really are risking everything.
Find a different job big companies often suck.
I have worked in a huge car company. They began to get more and more in debt so they were moving things like offices to cheaper buildings, less staff incentives, longer working hours for the same pay. I could see what was happening and work life was not the slightest bit fun anymore.
Now I have 2 part-time jobs in small offices (one job has 2 people in the office with several employees coming in from time to time, and the other office has about 13 employees) I work my contracted hours and my work life doesn't effect my family and the people I care about.
There is definitely more to life than your career, and if you don't want the stresses and strains of what you do for a job to effect the people around you you have to find a place that suits you, that will treat you like a person and not a number.
That's my bit of input to you anyway!! Hope it helped
guh
Freaking corporations.. Much like Office Space, I guess you have to find a way to steal funds, or burn down the building or something, and you can use the excuse that you had too much free time on your hands. :p
I hope you're at least enjoying your two week layoff..
so true...so true.
I used to work for one of the leading athletic sport shoe companies, and one day it just hit me. This corporate ladder thing is for the birds, so I quit and haven't missed it one day since. Well, except for maybe the discounts on the brand! You're just a number to them, and unfortunately....replaceable.
I agree with you that avoiding debt is part of it. Another part, I think, is learning to live below ones means in a culture where we are encouraged to live beyond them.
I remember someone telling me that learning to live with less would mean more freedom, and that made sense to me.
You don't have to be an employee to have a career. I started my own biz with no money to invest. I pay as I go. I make less than what I did when I was employed, but the savings on therapy is huge. ;)
You know, work conditions and company cultures differ from organization to organization. Take me, for example. Ihe worked nine years in the financial services industry. Now I'm in the specialty food industry. Huge difference. If you don't like one company, find another that doesn't force you to take furloughs. I'm making a tad bit less than I did working at the BIG BANK, but I absolutely LOVE the company I work for now. It's a definite tradeoff, but I'm happier for it.
Well, I do feel appreciated, but it's definitely not because of my job. I feel appreciated because everytime I come home from work, all three of my kids come running over with a smile, a hug, and a kiss. Those are the greatest moments ever!
Here's another little article for those of us who are a little disillusioned by big business... Bank of America suck.
Why are you apologizing for complaining? It's your blog! You have every right to!
I think a good balance between work and the rest of one's life would be a good work out...like yoga or dancing classes; they relax you and you feel happy and refreshed. Oh, and on weekends: NO WORK! I also think that people shouldn't be so greedy and voluntarily work overtime (unless you REALLY need the money) because that's how it starts to take over your life; work has to go down a few levels on the priority list.
Basically it narrows down to you and your choice: life or no life.
http://pwincessdiaries.blogspot.com
I am only assuming this by the time stamps on the majority of your postings Cure... and please correct me if I am wrong... but it appears to me that you are not that great of an employee. It appears to me that every time you post your topics you should in fact BE WORKING. But instead of doing what these evil companies are PAYING YOU TO DO you are using there $$$ and there time to write up this BS. You wonder why you were laid off for two weeks... you should wonder why you were not laid off indefinitely. Talk about appreciate do you appreciate that you have a job? Ironic. Again correct me if I am completely wrong here and be a (wo)man about it… don’t lie.
This may sound a bit harsh… I don’t care it is reality. You deserve what you get unless you change it. No I am not mad at the world, quite the opposite. However what does tick me off is when people sit BACK and complain about getting laid off for a SHORT period of time when they are so incredibly lucky that they did not get caned. Do you even realize how lucky you are to have opportunities in America try moving to China and then bitch about your job. You don’t want to do it fine there are 1,298,847,624 others that will work longer hours and for less money than you.
Maybe you need some responsibility… do you have children or even wife? I have one motivational reason to get me through my “Career” it’s called my kids. They will not go without because of me not being there for them financially, mentally or physically.
Again prove me wrong and please enlighten us all as to what you are doing to rid your career burden? By the way do you even have a degree? As I see it your name is I complain but have no CURE.
By the way I didn’t even like the movie you stole your name from: Hitch: Cure for the Common MAN.
Flame away I won’t be back I will have moved on and “done something.” Nothing worse than a phony savior.
"...underappreciated at work… not motivated because it wouldn’t matter whether you worked yourself to death or didn’t work hardly at all?"
That part could apply to my job too, and its hardly big business. In fact myself and my boss are the only people invovoled in it.
But as for being FORCED to take unpaid vacations....Thats awful!!
The secret to pulling this off is simple it is called an AK47. LOL just kidding. I don't believe there is an answer just circumstances that you must A- Deal with ~or~ B- Overcome. After May 31'st when we get laid off I plan on going back to school. I figure that if i put the effort in now I can benefit later.
I must now start a paper fight with the "CURE"... he sits right next to me and I am bored.
Oh and i forgot to make this perfectly clear YOUR DAMN RIGHT I am posting on company time :)
ooo your site works again!
how'd you spend the vacation? :D
Hey Nathan! I have two words for you: Thrift Store.
and Used Car
which is actually four words, but I didn't think about the car thing until after I had typed the other part and I hat ueising backspace. As you can se e. Live below your means, you need less than you think. You have great taste, which is often expensive to maintian. So start listening to more early nineties grunge and your yuppie taste will slowly dissolve and you will want nothing more than a pair of baggy jeans with holes in them. You won't even need a haircut, or shampoo for that matter. In fact, going grunge takes care of many superfluous expenses. Good luck. I look forewared to hearing about how this goes. The entire yuppie to grunge transformation should take about a year. And then you will know every thriftstore's new arrivals day by heart, have a mechanic friend who fixes your busted-ass car for cheap, and be debt free. And I love you.-Amy
I posted on company time, every place i worked at, despite "no internet" policy. not fired. I was told i "work too fast" by other employees (who sat and shuffled paper instead of working). and i had 2 full time jobs! I hear the pain of your corporate cry. passive resistance helped me.i can be more annoying than usual when called to the task.
do what you want. live well and free.
now i am happy. moved away from corps. :P i still wake up when i want, get paid as much or more, and i am in control. buah buah buah *evil laugh*
Nice daylight savings time site... You should check out this : **free coupon** site.
That sucks. Start your own business -- that's what I'm gonna do ... someday.
Just browsing, very interesting.
i don't know how i stumbled onto this page anymore..but i felt very connected to your series of thoughts on knowing that work cannot be the happiness bringer in your life. i cannot offer many strategies on maintaining this..but i think surrounding yourself with the alternate projects that you love..so that you never forget their value is important. good luck.
its great story i rally happy for this things ,,
thanks
___________________
Richard
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