I like to work.
This doesn't mean that I like all the work I have had, have or will have. It just means that I would rather be employed than unemployed, whether that be as an employee or as someone self-employed. I think that it is pretty normal for someone to believe that they have a good work ethic, but I wonder how true it actually is, because it seems that not many people actually like working, as they are continually looking for ways to do less work.
This is of course human nature, because we are built to maximize our effort, which translates into innovating so we can do the same or more with less. Yet, I think that somewhere we have got lost along the way and rather than looking to make maximum impact with our resources, we are looking to save resources, even if that "saving" just goes to waste.
You can't save potential.
Potential is always available in the moment, but what can be accomplished is going to change from moment to moment. A moment with a hundred dollars in the hand will have a different potential to a moment just after spending it. But, the potential of that next moment might be the taste of a nice whiskey on the tongue, or it could be the feeling that it was invested into something that will buy many nice whiskeys in the future.
potential
/pə-tĕn′shəl/
noun
The inherent ability or capacity for growth, development, or future success.
Growth. Future Success.
That is old thinking.
No one cares about the future. And if growth can't be realized in the moment, it isn't worth investing in. Results have to be fast, on-demand, always available. Even if those results are meaningless in the long run, they only have to satisfy the feelings of the current moment. Feel good now, even if it leads to feeling bad in all the laters.
A lot of people have apparently drank the media and are shunning work, without really thinking what kind of future life that is going to provide. We each have the current moment in which we can act and while people talk about "valuing" their time to much to work, it would be interesting to know what they are doing with all of their valuable time saved by not working.
If we really value our time, wouldn't we be using it as best we can?
I haven't created a poll for a long time, even though I said that I would do one regularly. I think I need to write down some of my ideas so that I remember to do what I plan on doing, otherwise my thoughts get carried away with other things. I guess it is like all the people who value their time and plan on using what they have effectively, but end up streaming YouTube clips.
Today's Poll is;
What is your current working status?
You will notice that "student" isn't in there because that is not a job. When I was a fulltime student, I was also working fulltime at McDonald's to pay my way through. Working at McDonald's is a job. A shit job, but a job nonetheless.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
I've been retired for the past three years, and happily so. Before that I worked in the accounting office of a Walmart. My job was to count and process the cash from the previous days sales. My favorite part was processing the coins because I usually brought home silver coins every day. The processing machine would kick out the silver and the manager would come in and oversee an exchange for face value.
Paper bills were counted, sorted and prepared for deposit to the bank. I ordered cash from the bank when we needed an influx. There were tons of reports to prepare and it was a full time 5 day/week job.
One day, the manager came in and said a machine was replacing me along with the other girl that worked in that position. That machine did everything but kick out the silver. After the kinks got worked out of the cash machine, we were officially replaced.
Work ethics today vs. work ethics gone by, maybe not gone yet but slowly fading - that's a big topic. I have always loved my work, still do, nowadays maybe just a little bit less than I used to. I'm getting old(er) and like to choose what I work on and I also value my time away from work to do some art or blog here on Hive. But not working for the sake of scrolling through TikTok or the like - uggh - I can't even imagine.
I agree with you that young(er) generations, likely through the constant exposure to social media and to some respect also through the effects of the pandemic have a very different work attitude. Thus workplaces are changing, some of it is for the better, some of it most definitely not. IMO.
Either way, we have to make do with it. Work is important, both for oneself as well as for society as a whole. Unfortunately, corporations more often than not see only the big $$ signs, again, $ are important same as they are for us individually and I feel and hope that some of that corporate thinking is being broken up. Veeeery slowly. And not everywhere but it's a start.
Giving and taking has always been a motto of mine. To me it seems like a lot of younger folks like to take, not so much to give. Not okay in my opinion.
Right, I feel I'm rambling so I'll stop 😀
I have a job and I like my work too. Some part of it more than others. I wouldn't mind if the more boring parts would be taken over by AI or other technologies so I could spend more time doing the more interesting stuff.
I also read about a company that has improved their business processes that much in the past years that they made more production with less people. They decided to close the company every Friday and give their employees an extra day off without lowering their salaries. I think that's a very nice gesture and I wouldn't mind if more companies followed that example.
I do like working, but I wouldn't mind having some extra spare time. I think it would be a better balance then. And why not give people some more free time when they are still able to enjoy it in good health?
This will happen - but it will also start taking the interesting stuff too.
There is a push for the 4 day week all over now - though I think it might be better utilized to hire a fifth person instead.
I think that this also ties into the change in society. For instance, families used to include more grandparent help - so parents had some time away from the kids. That is more rare now. Plus, kids are less capable to look after themselves than earlier. Self-imposed issues for sure though.
It's now often the other way around. At least here in The Netherlands. Elderly people aren't allowed to move into retirement homes that easily anymore. The government expects that their kids will help them while they keep living on their own.
Fortunately it hasn't come this far yet for me, but my dad (75 years old and lives 1,5 hours away by car) will probably need some help in the years to come.
Just these days I am talking with my colleagues with work experience of over 15 years, about the way of thinking of certain young colleagues, who are just starting their careers.
They don't like to work, they don't know how to do much and it's hard for them to use even the little they know how to do. and of course, they expect a good salary.
The most recent case:
Yesterday, a supervisor stopped by to sign a release for a colleague (year 2003), who had her first day of work on Monday last week. That is, she worked for 5 working days... In order to get her a job, the entire HR department was engaged, interviews were held, codes were opened in the system, e-mail address, equipment for work, a car were purchased.
And after 5 days she concluded that it's hard work and she won't do it.
She quits her job, and invites a fellow supervisor (who is also her mentor) to pick up the business car in front of her apartment, because she hates coming to the company.
I'm speechless.
If that is the future of our new workforce, we fucked a hedgehog in the back (one of our metaphors in the form of swearing, I don't know if anyone else uses it and how it would sound in other languages, if the point is clear... It hurts...) .
I read similar stories daily nowadays. My wife is in recruiting and she sees similar, so it isn't just the media looking for drama - the media just picks the extremes.
Lols at the hedgehog metaphor!
The motto that Dad instilled in us from an early age is ‘if I don't work, I don't eat’. I know successful university students who at the same time work to pay for their studies.
Currently, I work because it keeps me active, productive, but I already enjoy a pension that half covers all my needs. Savings and interest in shares have been another livelihood for the last 10 years. Life insurance, surgery, and hospitalisation are affordable.
I have the motto: "You don't live to work, but you work to live"
me too 🙂
It isn't common here in Finland, but is common in Australia.
Life is short, but work life is too long as to it. I have started to dream my retirement time 😄 It would be better if average work life was 15 years and to be retired at age 50😋
what impact can we make professionally in 15 years though? :)
What kind of impact do we need except earning/saving money :)
Military personnel and employees with beneficial careers in the security sectors (police, firemen) have that luck.
But thay need to save their life...
One of my friends (a friend from elementary school) is retiring these days. He shortened his working life by 15, 16 years by working for the army. But I'm sure he will continue to work in the private sector.
Most I know have continued on in private.
I've stopped working because I am in the fortunate position to be able to do that but that doesn't mean I've hit the jackpot. I'm content with the roof over my head and knowing I'm ok with my grocery bills each month, plus the freedom I have, which I enjoy a lot. I could have continued to work to improve my quality of life a lot more for the coming years but there's a trade off with my freedom and flexibility which I value more. I could have voted for retirement but that sounds a little old 😄🫣
I love that you're able to do this and are actually doing it 💜.
I'd love to do the same, however, in the US without having a job you don't really have medical insurance, unlike in Europe. Sure you can buy one or just pay the doctor or hospital but we're not rich enough to do that - it is f***g expensive here and the medical system sucks.
I like the idea of growth. I would like to think that even when I am finished with my career I will still be pursuing activities that give me the ability and capacity to learn. I want to be able to keep my mind sharp and always be learning new skills.
I work two jobs.
If you don't get a good salary in SL and Hive, you will never try expensive whiskey :)
But I do try expensive whiskey
Self employed is far better than doing a shit job. I am trying to be a self employed person. It is hard but I'll try till death, no matter how difficult it is or what may come as earning.
I am working. Yesterday morning I worked in the garden, and in the evening I spent 1.5 hours writing a post on Hive. My job is interesting, but poorly paid. My only hope is investment.
I do work but I dont like it. I am probably too long in same company. weird.
Both me and my mother are disabled. We both have schizophrenia.
I think that saying that I am super introvert sounds nicer.So I only occasionally sell some painting and write on Hive.What I find interesting is that while both me and my mother have the same illness it shows itself in a different ways. I don't have friends, most of the time interacting with people is very tiring for me. at times get nervous when I speak on the phone, leave home only if it is necessary. All this I am more or less accustomed to. What really bothers me is that my memory is getting worse. Without looking at a photos I don't even remember how my dad or grandparents looked. At times I forget how to write some letters...this is annoying and scary that it will get even worse in the future.
My mother one time thought that she brought head in backpack. I believe she told me that when I was small she told me to put sugar(?) on the carpet. It had something to do with sins of humanity I think... So it seems that at the worst my mother's ilness is worse than mine. For me it is more consistent. No such extremes. I just don't have friends and don't want to leave home. But memory thing is really concerning me.
I don’t have a job and that’s why I’m currently learning so many things online including what I earn from Hive
I really don’t wish to work though
I just want to invest in so many things and earn while I’m asleep
I have a job! Just like most of us hehe! :)