Not too long ago this week, it was Monday eve and working folks were dreading the hour they would get up to go to work the next day. I love my Sundays, but as 5:00 p.m. rolls around, I usually get a bit nostalgic for the weekend that is about to be over.
Almost a lifetime ago, when I worked in another part of the world for my Australian boss named Kenneth, I couldn’t wait for it to be Monday morning so that I could return to the office. Call me a workaholic back then, but the company culture made it easy for me to love my job. I was so loyal to that place that I could have easily blended with the wallpaper on the wall like a corporate fixture. Don’t get me wrong, I do love my current workplace, but it’s possible that forty years of the 8-to-5 work grind is finally taking its toll on my body, if not my soul.
Although I still have a few more years before I can apply for full retirement, I can’t help but wish that the years would fly by sooner so that I can proudly flash my senior citizen card and get all the discounts I’ll be entitled to. I’m sure that many of you in your late 50’s carry the same fervent wish especially in these employee-unfriendly era of corporate downsizing and layoffs.
During my two years of unemployment following my layoff, I perpetually pined for the early morning wake-ups to get ready for work. I wanted so bad to have a reason to dress up because there was a place I had to go to. Even in the winter time! Going out to my car to scrape the ice on my windshield and drive the 15 miles to my former office in bumper-to bumper traffic was a vision I longed for to become my reality. It wasn’t just the wake-up-get-dressed-and-go-to-work motions that I sorely missed, but more importantly, the bi-monthly direct deposits in my bank account.
I have a friend who must be going through the same work routine-yearning emotions I experienced not too long ago. It's been 23 months since her layoff and after the New Year if she doesn’t get a job, she will beat my two years of unemployed status mark. Although she’s looking to work for only 20 hours per week, the job market has been brutal. Sure, there are jobs everywhere, but the income offerings most often don’t pay enough to cover the mortgage payments. What makes company owners think that today's workers can survive on almost minimum wage?
I’ve been trying to lead my unemployed friend out of her long dark tunnel towards the bright light at the end, but I know it’s difficult for her to share my optimism when there are bills to be paid and no income coming in. I was in her shoes not too long ago, blindly sending out resume after resume and getting both excited and scared when a job interview came along. Before my layoff, my standard work week routine was to drive from home to the office and back. There would be the occasional trips to a friend’s home, the supermarket, dining places or the mall in between, but my geographical knowledge of the cities in my area was pretty limited. Looking for a job forced me to drive to places I’d never been to! In a way, I look back at that depressing time with a feeling of gratitude as it allowed me to discover unfamiliar territories, befriending MapQuest in the process.
The job interviews also gave me a chance to see how the rest of the working population lived. It came as a shock to me that many of the companies were dressed down and laid back. In the corporate cultures that I came from, employees wore un-casual work clothes and the ladies didn’t come to work looking like they were headed for a walk in the park. There were no flip flops where I’d come from! Obviously, corporate America had lightened up, but I wasn’t too sure that it was good for the morale of people who used to work in suit-and-tie and pantyhose environments.
Another blessing of that salary-less time was my discovering The Oprah Winfrey Show. I found Ms. Winfrey at just the right time because there was so much positive energy I gained from her television production. Throughout those two years, I’d drop anything I was doing at 4:00 p.m. on my time zone I then realized why Oprah was talked about like she were a goddess on earth. The topics discussed and guests she brought out saved me from paying the shrink a visit. Through her gem-of-a-TV-show, I kept my confidence and self-esteem at a time when I could have lost my soul because falling apart was most convenient.
No doubt about it, Ms. Winfrey is accomplishing her earthly mission because she's doing everything in her power to not let her God down. Belatedly, I have to scream to the world: A gazillion thanks, dear Oprah!
No doubt about it, Ms. Winfrey is accomplishing her earthly mission because she's doing everything in her power to not let her God down. Belatedly, I have to scream to the world: A gazillion thanks, dear Oprah!
