Kevin's Watch

Few people are fortunate enough to like the occupation they engage in to provide their means of living - and I'm not one of them. What a shame that so many of us must spend large chunks of time engaged in pursuits that bore or worse even distress us, but this is how it is and as the Cornish say "you can't odds it". But many times I have heard it said, and my experience has tended to confirm this, that the exercise of having to get up and make yourself go, and mix (often) with people you do not choose to, is actually therapeutic and n some way necessary to maintaining a healthy mental state. Often in my case a troubling situation at home, will revert to a much more realistic level of import after a good stretch of gruelling pressure at work - an activity that brooks little time or patience with maudlin naval gazing.

Then there is the actual thing of 'going a job you love'. How for real is this idea? I suspect that any job - any job - that you were obliged to do for reasons other than idle time occupying, would become a chore. That no matter what you do, how you do it, the day will arrive when you will wake up and not want to do it any more - and from then to hating it will be but a short walk. Which of us then, would choose to turn a cherished activity into a drudge, a shudder inducing block of tedium forced into our lives. No: I think when it comes to work, the best we can hope for is that we actually do some good, and that in return, without killing us, or causing us just too much anguish, some good will be done to us. Best I think, to leave your expectations of loving your work at the door.

"Love" might be too strong a word, after all, I don't work because I want to, I work because people demand money from me.

That said however, I pretty much enjoy my job for the most part, and work with people I pretty much get on with for the most part as well.

It's not the best of all possible worlds, certainly. But it's a long way from the worst, so all things considered, I'm fairly happy with my job.

--A

Lucky man Av!

Believe me, I know it.

--A

Unconditionally loving one's work has to include one factor that is almost unheard of. Its something that has at least the potential to remove the idea that what you do is forced upon you.

What you do must include the aspect that you don't have to do it if you don't want to.

Imagine being a writer who is paid handsomely for your efforts. You work but you genuinely love creating. BUT there is no deadline imposed upon you. Your output is accepted any time you feel like finishing it and you are paid regardless so compensation doesn't play any part in your thought process. You still produce but only because you love to not because anyone is making you do it. And you are excited to see your work distributed to your fans who are adoring and appreciative of your efforts. Its like Christmas every day.

On the other hand you probably have a better chance of winning the Lotto than landing a job that is actually a labor of love so get out there and buy your tickets.

I tend to resent and hate any job I've ever had. I even did so with the radio DJ job I had in college, which was so much fun. So I try not to find a job in anything I'm especially fond of, because I think it will kill it.

With that said, I think the key to a good job for me is something that changes now and again, have people that I like and respect, and allows for slack time. That is the type of thing that makes me happy. All my most memorable jobs have been a variant of this. And I seem to have that at my current job, and I'm happy enough.

Ha, mine can change on almost a daily basis. I never know when I'll find myself doing something completely different from what I expected.

(Actually, nobody here knows exactly what I do...including myself.)

--A

I actually DO love my job. But I haven't always been so blessed/lucky.

I worked as a masseuse for a while. Hated it. (Getting groped didn't help.)

I worked in a few restaurants. That was pretty ok. Construction. Loved that, but hated it when I was forced to do stuff I knew was crap/ not done right. Wallpapering. Loved that and was very good at it and got paid well. But by then I had kids and I really wanted to be home with them. Being a stay-home mom was pretty great, except that we never had any money. But we made memories, so it was good.

Being a teacher is something I love and believe in. That being said, I do get tired and there are aspects of my job I hate. This article sums the truth up nicely: every job will have its upside and downside, and you just have to decide what kind of $hit you are willing to swallow in order to keep doing that. In my case, I live in the world's stupidest country and have been treated very, very shabbily by certain people over the past year. But, since I love teaching so much I am willing to put up with those downsides.

I know I am blessed.

well I am perfectly suited to my job. yelling at inmates is something I turned out to be perfect for.

but if they offered early retirement Monday I would do it. 16 years of doing this has worn on me a bit.

Trouble at work. The prick who threatened me one night has been back having a few more go's and I had requested to come off nights because this guy was starting to worry me. After little or no interest from my line managers I finally flipped yesterday when my immediate manager started riding me over some paperwork that had not been completed [I had already worked my day off {night shift} to cover for sickness and short staffing issues] and threatened to leave on the spot if it wasn't sorted immediately. I had worked my butt off the previous night doing my and another persons work, but because a few boxes on a sheet of paper had not been ticked it wasn't enough. She, on the other hand was perfectly prepared to let me work in a situation of increased risk because she 'hadn't had time' to organise new shifts. Why did I have to throw a tantrum in order to get someone to take what I was saying seriously; this seriously pisses me of.

Sorry, Peter. That sucks. I've been there - in fact, I was there last week, though the guy hasn't returned. He said I was a bad dog and he was going to get a leash and drag me home with him for a good beating. I didn't take it very seriously because he was drugged up to the point where he probably wouldn't remember me ten minutes later, but it also happened right at the end of my shift and I really didn't like the idea of him popping out at me after I left work. I was very careful to make sure I wasn't followed home.

There really isn't a good solution. Back when I was in LP I got death threats on a pretty regular basis. I had restraining orders against a couple of the worst ones, but restraining orders are utterly worthless. You can ban them from the premises, but enforcing the ban is another matter.

We don't get paid enough to deal with this stuff...

peter wrote:Why did I have to throw a tantrum in order to get someone to take what I was saying seriously; this seriously pisses me of.

Sometimes, for some reason, that's all people hear. And to be honest, it can be even more effective if you usually don't[/i[ do it, since it comes as a shock.

Still, I'd think you probably have more chance of a positive outcome than Sorus does, since I imagine the UK has more avenues you could pursue...sometimes a nanny state can be useful...just take advantage of it.

--A

You're so right there Sorus! Sorry you're going through this kind of nonsense as well - it sucks!

I confess that about a year ago, I yelled at my boss. She actually looked frightened. I am very even-tempered but when I get angry I get very, very angry. But I do not verbally abuse, I state my case in clear terms and get out of there. Between that and another co-worker practically having a breakdown and quitting, there were changes made, thank God. When people are all under stress, the squeaky wheel definitely does get the grease. And when a normally quiet wheel squeaks very loudly, it can be quiet effective.

I think I'm learning that!