Will Our Jobs Continue to Define Us?
One of the most annoying things about being unemployed, or perhaps nicest depending on who you ask, is not having a schedule. I don’t have to be at work at a certain time, I can sleep in, I can do whatever I want with my day. To me this kind of sucks.
I’m not a workaholic by any stretch, but this is the first time I’ve been unemployed for longer than a week in seven years. I worked full time and went to school full time for six years, so you can imagine that I’m pretty used to having my schedule packed. Now that I’m doing neither, well it gets a little boring.
I think this also ties in with the thought that “You are your job.” For years I laughed at that, but the reality is that you are. We spend most of our waking hours at our jobs. When people ask, “What do you do?” You don’t answer, “Well I ski in the winter and 4-Wheel the rest of the time.” No, you answer, “I’m sales manager/software engineer/ect for X company.” Not having that identity is actually frightening.
In todays society you are stigmatized if you are unemployed. I know that has changed somewhat recently, what with more than 10 percent of us being out of work, but it is still there. When people meet me now and ask, I have to answer, “Well I used to work for X company, but things didn’t work out. So now I sit around in my underwear and drink beer.” Usually they ask what kind of beer. PBR of course.
I thought that once I got out of college, I wouldn’t have a problem getting a job. That degree being the Golden Ticket and all. I never had dreams of making it big, I’ve always wanted job security more than anything. I look at my father, 30 years with one company. Thats what I want. Is it there anymore? I hear more and more that the future is contract work, picking up odd jobs, anything to pay the bills. But is that secure? Perhaps more importantly, how does that define you?
