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Losing two jobs in one year

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Re: Losing two jobs in one year

#131

Post by hiAndrewQuinn »

lukan wrote: post #58
hiAndrewQuinn wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not a tribalism thing. My work is how I directly make the world a much richer place than it would be without me - otherwise I wouldn't be able to skim off some percentage of that value as a salary/income. That's something to be tremendously and persistently proud of, no matter who you are or what you're doing. Besides: If your one and only goal with work really is "do as little as possible to not die", this is e…

"Yet we almost never see people do that." There are plenty of people doing that (until their funds run out, which always happens faster than planned). "My work is how I directly make the world a much richer place than it would be without me " And richer in real ressources? Numbers of money are a arbitary thing and do not necessary relate, if they actually make the world a better place.

If there really were plenty of serious, committed people doing that, but washing out because they just can't stop massively overspending when they get to Namibia etc, why don't they just buy an annuity?

(How annuities work, roughly: Say you have $100,000 in that nest egg. I'm sure you could find some financial firm willing to take it off your hands today and give you $4,000 per year for 50 years, and maybe even in perpetuity. That's because $100k sitting around in their index funds will likely have ballooned to $1m+ over that timeframe, whereas the payout to you would be a mere $200k.)

The fact such annuities aren't very common suggests your phantom population isn't either.

Re: Losing two jobs in one year

#132

Post by sersi »

tock wrote: post #102
Epa095 wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Idk, depends on what tickles your fancy I guess. But I have never had a job where there's nothing fun or interesting. It can't all just be that mundane and easy? Personally I find joy in two different settings - the hard problems, where I have to go for a walk around the apartment, and think about it when I shover. These are rare. - putting on some music, pouring myself some coffee, and just coding up something relat…

I do find some joy building hard stuff. But if I didn't need the money I really wouldn't work. When I fancy hard work I'll just contribute to OSS.

9 months ago I early retired (I'm in my 40s)... I've just decided to find a new job because I'm bored. Opensource is fun and I did contribute somewhat but I find that working on an interesting problem in a team is just fun and I missed it.

Re: Losing two jobs in one year

#133

Post by lanthade »

taurath wrote: post #71
Epa095 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How booring. Has there really not been anything fun and exciting in any of your nine jobs?

Can’t do it that long if the work doesn’t speak to you in some way

There’s a whole class of people working in manufacturing who are lining up to disagree. I recall seeing a woman on a TV show once who had been doing the same job in a sausage plant for 40+ years. She wasn’t a beaten down slave, she just found her joy and identity elsewhere.

Re: Losing two jobs in one year

#134

Post by shipscode »

bogota wrote: post #48

This is something i think has been slowly changing in the US. At least among the people i know. Work is now just work. Five years ago it had to be your passion it is what you wanted or at least i wanted to be defined by. After seeing how little any company cares about people work is what i try to spend the least amount of time doing. At 5 or ideally 4 i clock out and only respond if I am paged. Additionally i have ch…

Goodwill dissipates hard when your remote only company starts mandating an injection.

Re: Losing two jobs in one year

#135

Post by k8svet »

nlitened wrote: post #52
bogota wrote: post #48

This is something i think has been slowly changing in the US. At least among the people i know. Work is now just work. Five years ago it had to be your passion it is what you wanted or at least i wanted to be defined by. After seeing how little any company cares about people work is what i try to spend the least amount of time doing. At 5 or ideally 4 i clock out and only respond if I am paged. Additionally i have ch…

> This is something i think has been slowly changing in the US. At least among the people i know. I think your cohort is just aging.

As a young 30 something I cannot disagree more. I'm flabbergasted at have met my bff's ex and found out he was an old school company man. I've never seen a person so used and so unaware of it in my life and of course he finally left with nothing to show for years of being a victim of labor laws violations. His dad was like a life long Walmart mid-upper-level person.

No one I know, besides him, has job loyalty. Not the senior dev in Seattle making 400k, not the dog trainer, not the chef, not even my parents. And younger generations are just more and more cynical about it.

As they should be.

Re: Losing two jobs in one year

#136

Post by odiroot »

iamflimflam1 wrote: post #51

Whenever I read articles like this, I’m so grateful that in the U.K. healthcare is not tied to your job. The NHS may struggle and have its issues. But I have never had to experience the stress of the thought of losing access to care.

I really wish NHS was as good in practice as people praise it online. Even seeing a GP is now a fight with the system.

Re: Losing two jobs in one year

#137

Post by k8svet »

thierrydamiba wrote: post #10
aquarkortwo wrote: post #3

"Something else changed. Suddenly, the two layoffs stopped being of any consequence. They quite frankly didn’t matter anymore." Beautiful piece. I feel this very deeply these days. Loved ones are all that matter in life (including ones no longer in my life). The ideas here remind me a bit of the book "Man's Search for Meaning."

How do you balance this mindset with the cold hard reality that one needs to make money? I’m currently unemployed and I am lucky to have a generous runway, but that runway will run out eventually. The idea that nothing matters outside of family, friends, etc is tempting but I have made sacrifices in relationships with others and myself to be a more employable candidate. For example I’m taking LLM classes on Sunday mo…

It's just framing, imo. Yes, I need to work to survive, but I'm not going to lose sight of the plot. My boss is not my dad, I don't care about his approval or making him happy beyond the confines of my job. And if/when I get laid off, I'm not likely to take that as a reflection of self.

If anything the detachment is powerful for those of us that have been raised to be people pleasers and expect loyalty to be repaid in kind.

It's much easier to realize you're a cog, it's not personal, and like a lot of things in life the pretense and fear of failure is often a huge upfront limiter.

Re: Losing two jobs in one year

#139

Post by shipscode »

The health insurance aspect of the story seems intentionally dramatized, the author forgets to mention being able to opt in to COBRA altogether if their insurance ran out.

Stories like this are also why a lot of women now are embracing the tradwife trend.

Re: Losing two jobs in one year

#140

Post by canaus »

shipscode wrote: post #134
bogota wrote: post #48

This is something i think has been slowly changing in the US. At least among the people i know. Work is now just work. Five years ago it had to be your passion it is what you wanted or at least i wanted to be defined by. After seeing how little any company cares about people work is what i try to spend the least amount of time doing. At 5 or ideally 4 i clock out and only respond if I am paged. Additionally i have ch…

Goodwill dissipates hard when your remote only company starts mandating an injection.

Oh boy… This is a sentiment a large portion of workers feel, and a large portion of workers aren’t remote.
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