I've been at this current job for ten years, four months. Though there are things about it I enjoy and that make coming to work an interesting prospect, matters have deteriorated since my first supervisor left in early September 2001, just before the 9/11 attacks. (No connection, just pieces of my world changing at similar times.) There have been bizarre events, crazy rumors, lazy coworkers, opposition to logic and professional practices; and through much of it I've had to deal with a disintegrating family and sudden health issues, one of which happened back in the summer and led me to reevaluate my life.
I'm not where I want to be, either as a person or as a writer.
As a result, one manuscript was finished, and other writing projects begun. (I've not entered any contests or sent any work for publication, however, since the most recent short story was published.) Also, I've been sending out resumes and responding to "help wanted" ads, looking for a job where things make sense, where I don't feel as if I'm living in an upside-down universe where right is wrong, practical is pooh-poohed, or logic or creative solutions are looked at sideways. Weird, but the only sense I've found sometimes resides in fiction.There is my faith, of course, and a lot of everyday, practical wisdom in the Bible--but even working with people who profess the same faith has not made things easier. In fact, often those are the very people who are the greatest obstacles. I don't understand it.
Anyway, I'll be posting things every once in a while about the journey toward job satisfaction. That'll be a story in itself.
5 comments:
Keanan,
I sympathize with your plight. Sometimes change is good. I can look at the job scene from the perspective of a retiree, and I see an incremental shift toward the types of attitudes you identify in the current workforce. The lack of service, rudeness, laziness, and the attitude of doing the minimum. I wish you good fortune in your search. I know there are places for motivated people with practical ideas.
Friends have often asked how/commented in amazement that I've stayed in my current employment for so long. As with most jobs, there is good mixed with the bad, and there are reasons I've remained that have nothing to do with other people's behavior. However, having weathered some serious storms, I'm now pushed forward by the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. How many tiny things have effected enormous changes?
Also, notice how rules get ignored by the management--or bent? That happens a lot, and is very frustrating. Good hunting! What about starting your own business--that's my far-in-the-future dream!
Good luck on the job search. Sometimes it's just time to move on.
I switched jobs about 2 and half years ago, and am so glad I did. It was right for the time, and I don't regret working there, but where I was had been pulling me down, and I had to get clear. I'm a lot happier and less stressed where I am now. It was a bunch of things that added up to me being gone, but I still clearly remember the moment when I asked myself "What am I doing here?" and I knew I was done. By the grace of God, something else opened up and the timing was remarkable.
Keep the faith. Things can come together when you least expect it.
Jade - I'd love to have my own business. Capital, though, is in short supply. That bookstore idea we've discussed is still something I want to do.
Eagle - Thanks for the encouragement. I am seeking first to change my job within my current organization, but I'm also looking for work outside it. I come from a large extended family (lots of cousins!), and have worked with kids since I was a kid. Time for a change!
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