Yesterday was the first time in almost a year I posted anything to the Flickr stream. I still have been taking photos occasionally but like the blog the Flickr stream has fallen by the wayside.
There have been bad things but there have been good things too over that year.
Mainly work has been steady. People may think that it is odd but I am ever so thankful work has been more or less constant over the last year. Not that things are better but they could be infinitely worse without work.
And as more time goes on, the whole work dynamic just gets ever more strange.
People don’t take lunch anymore it seems... when did that happen? Who gave that back? Was there a memo that circulated that nobody told anyone about?
Years ago when I was working staff I clearly remember that the workweek was 35 hours with an hour for lunch each day (7 hour day with 1 hour ‘paid’ lunch break). That’s gone now. People just bring lunch or go our and quickly grab something and eat at their desks.
And there is another thing... desk space. At least in Manhattan where price per foot is so high, desk space is diminishing so that more and more people are packed into smaller space. It’s less private too - THE NOISE LEVEL IS THAT MUCH HIGHER BECAUSE OF IT.
And though some people would try to sell you that it fosters ‘collaboration’ I just see more people with noise canceling headphones trying to block out the ambient noise around them so they can think. The irony is that I work in what might be considered a creative business and the environment is set up to do all it can to negate creativity.
I like working... well, maybe I should qualify that. I realize that work is not fun often but I’m okay with that because like Red Forman the dad on That 70s Show once said to his son Eric that if work was anything but not fun they would come up with another name for it, something like ‘Happy, Fun, Playtime.’
This always gave me a laugh.
But really, I like doing a good job and I don’t shy away from work. It seems that the bar keeps getting raised higher in terms of the amount of time allotted to do a good job and that bothers me.
But I have work.
And while I have had work, the truth is that it takes more out of me than it used to. There is no more burning the candle at both ends. I have a shrinking amount of energy in reserves and it seems like the days are getting shorter.
Nobody told me that getting older was about getting tired but I guess that’s it.
Anyway, I’m rambling a bit... I worked for a client today that it’s just sad to see how much the company has ‘fallen.’ How many good people have left and how things appear to be dying on the vine and yet the same tripe keeps getting trotted out on a regular basis. The same tired old corporate clichés that no one believes and only insult the intelligence making people leave.
It’s sad.
Next week I may not have work for the first time in a long time and I am very afraid of what that means because even with all the things that are wrong about work and working, like a junkie I still need my fix, I still need to push forward.
Seems to me like I’m not the only one in that position.
There have been bad things but there have been good things too over that year.
Mainly work has been steady. People may think that it is odd but I am ever so thankful work has been more or less constant over the last year. Not that things are better but they could be infinitely worse without work.
And as more time goes on, the whole work dynamic just gets ever more strange.
People don’t take lunch anymore it seems... when did that happen? Who gave that back? Was there a memo that circulated that nobody told anyone about?
Years ago when I was working staff I clearly remember that the workweek was 35 hours with an hour for lunch each day (7 hour day with 1 hour ‘paid’ lunch break). That’s gone now. People just bring lunch or go our and quickly grab something and eat at their desks.
And there is another thing... desk space. At least in Manhattan where price per foot is so high, desk space is diminishing so that more and more people are packed into smaller space. It’s less private too - THE NOISE LEVEL IS THAT MUCH HIGHER BECAUSE OF IT.
And though some people would try to sell you that it fosters ‘collaboration’ I just see more people with noise canceling headphones trying to block out the ambient noise around them so they can think. The irony is that I work in what might be considered a creative business and the environment is set up to do all it can to negate creativity.
I like working... well, maybe I should qualify that. I realize that work is not fun often but I’m okay with that because like Red Forman the dad on That 70s Show once said to his son Eric that if work was anything but not fun they would come up with another name for it, something like ‘Happy, Fun, Playtime.’
This always gave me a laugh.
But really, I like doing a good job and I don’t shy away from work. It seems that the bar keeps getting raised higher in terms of the amount of time allotted to do a good job and that bothers me.
But I have work.
And while I have had work, the truth is that it takes more out of me than it used to. There is no more burning the candle at both ends. I have a shrinking amount of energy in reserves and it seems like the days are getting shorter.
Nobody told me that getting older was about getting tired but I guess that’s it.
Anyway, I’m rambling a bit... I worked for a client today that it’s just sad to see how much the company has ‘fallen.’ How many good people have left and how things appear to be dying on the vine and yet the same tripe keeps getting trotted out on a regular basis. The same tired old corporate clichés that no one believes and only insult the intelligence making people leave.
It’s sad.
Next week I may not have work for the first time in a long time and I am very afraid of what that means because even with all the things that are wrong about work and working, like a junkie I still need my fix, I still need to push forward.
Seems to me like I’m not the only one in that position.
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