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Thread: Why do so many workplaces suck

  1. #21
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    Welcome to modern day slavery. How many times have you gone in a store which is busy with customers?
    One girl, who may or may not be out of high school, manning the register with a long line of angry customers?
    All too common here. These kids are being mistreated. As are many of us these days.

  2. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by iris lilies View Post
    More than one person has told me that they work in parochial schools despite lower pay because parents of their students are on board with educational goals. They feel as though parents are on their team.

    Not so much that in public schools, it is too often an adversarial relationship between school and parents, at least in the eyes of parents.
    Unfortunately I cannot take much less than I already make, and that is pretty decent for education but the private sector tends to make more I think. Charter schools are the big deal here, I don't know these days, lots of lower paying jobs.

    I would like to work in restorative justice or family liaison work. At least in my district all the family liaison jobs need Spanish. I probably should have taken 4 years of college Spanish instead of French.

  3. #23
    Senior Member JaneV2.0's Avatar
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    It all started going downhill in the late eighties/early nineties, with the global competition model, the ascendance of technology, and the ramping up of the profit-uber-alles mindset. I was lucky to (mostly) escape the corporate arena then, without having suffered under a bunch of boot-lickers. Most of my (lower-level) managers were tolerable to outstanding, but I could see the handwriting on the wall.

  4. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by JaneV2.0 View Post
    It all started going downhill in the late eighties/early nineties, with the global competition model, the ascendance of technology, and the ramping up of the profit-uber-alles mindset. I was lucky to (mostly) escape the corporate arena then, without having suffered under a bunch of boot-lickers. Most of my (lower-level) managers were tolerable to outstanding, but I could see the handwriting on the wall.
    Yeah. The late seventeen eighties and early nineties with all that global competition, new technologies and capitalism. If it weren’t for guys like James Watt and Adam Smith, work would still have value and dignity.

  5. #25
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    A few questions:
    1. How much money do you need to make a year to be content?
    i've thought of this, and it is how much money I need to make without saving anything. It's not 100% determined really, I'd have to think more about it. I think at this point my existing 401k and social security might have to do for me as far as savings. But basics are easy to figure but one cuts close with any margin for error (yearly rent increases of any amount they want them to be, car needs repair (I had to get a newish car recently though), etc.). And of course if the job doesn't have health insurance then it would have to be more. 40k might be safe with health insurance, that's after looking at the calculation for taxes, yea gotta take those taxes into account. Roommates? Yes that would be less. Live with my boyfriend? His long term plan sometimes seems to be for us both to live with his mom. I'm ranting, but this was literally something he has mentioned twice to me. Needless to say I'm not giving up anything I have to live with my boyfriends mom. Call that what you will ... needlessly stubborn ok ... but although she isn't horrible, I'm not living with my boyfriends mom.

    2. Would you move to another city or state for a job?
    i might be alone to do so but there are times I have thought of it although certainly not to the point of making plans. I would certainly rather not. And on paper I'm more employable than my boyfriend. So I'm over 40 and maybe don't have the most impressive credentials in the world. I don't have a criminal record in my background though.

    3. Would you take a job in a different field that you are used to?
    uh those are the only skills of any sort I actually have. Go back to school. Yes I've thought of it. There is like a long waiting time to actually get in anywhere that isn't a community college (the problem with community college is you can't get a 4 year degree from them). But I could hardly be sure whatever I am studying is something I could get a job in either. I think at this point I could study the most practical thing in the world and find noone is really hiring entry level in that or not at my age anyway. The job descriptions are really so fiddly and picky that it sometimes seems a miracle anyone gets hired (only if you have this exact industry experience etc., sometimes it seems they are literally only hiring from direct competitors, yea job searching will drive you crazy).

    The only way we can think of jobs sometimes seems in terms of being trained for a field and skillsets etc., but that has little to do with what anyone is hiring for it seems (they want identical experience). So the two lines: our way of thinking about job training and what it actually takes to get a job don't ever intersect it sometimes seems.

    4. How simply are you willing to live?
    Fairly simply. I like to eat fairly healthy so that's some money. I probably need to spend some on clothes to be somewhat presentable for work. I probably still put quarters in the dryer often rather than drying clothes by hanging them up in the apartment but I could try to change maybe (but it doesn't work in winter, the clothes don't dry). There is little else to cut short of roommates really. Vacations? Nope haven't taken one for 5 years. Cable? Nope don't have it. Entertainment? Almost never spend money on entertainment, we do free stuff. Hair cuts? Nope don't get them. Hair dye? Nope hair not grey now, maybe someday. Internet, yes but it's cheap and slow, also hard to imagine being employable without it. Car? Paid for and hard to imagine being employable without it. Gym? I like a gym membership and it's good for both my appearance and my long term health (my bones ha) so on the fence on that one. Heating and cooling sometimes? Yes, I want that. Buy books now and then? Yes I do have that habit, it's not a ton of money. Subscriptions? Nope. Cell phone, yea probably, it's a dumb phone with no data, but can't be employable for *some* jobs without one (i've been on call for two of my jobs so far). Truthfully I don't have the ultimate answer, I'm thinking about it, but those are my thoughts.
    Trees don't grow on money

  6. #26
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    It all started going downhill in the late eighties/early nineties, with the global competition model, the ascendance of technology, and the ramping up of the profit-uber-alles mindset. I was lucky to (mostly) escape the corporate arena then, without having suffered under a bunch of boot-lickers. Most of my (lower-level) managers were tolerable to outstanding, but I could see the handwriting on the wall.
    managers are seldom the problem but the mangers who simply are out to lunch and don't manage anything, ie they don't do their jobs pretty much, are a problem. What fills the power vacuum at that point isn't pretty (it's palace coups and intrigue all day long).

    Late 80s and 90s that might be (I was never employed before then). But I remember good economies during those periods too. 2008 changed much though.
    Trees don't grow on money

  7. #27
    Senior Member JaneV2.0's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LDAHL View Post
    Yeah. The late seventeen eighties and early nineties with all that global competition, new technologies and capitalism. If it weren’t for guys like James Watt and Adam Smith, work would still have value and dignity.
    Conservatives: always a couple of centuries behind.

  8. #28
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    so, I have to say, hearing everyone saying how much worse it is now than it was 10 years ago, I don't have a right to an opinion because I opted out and joined the gig economy in 2008 and with great results. I feel no pressure for long-term "boot-licking" as Jane put it. My projects last from 6 to 8 weeks, and hopefully my client relationships last longer than that, and so far they have.

    But right now, today, I've finished two interviews, and it's totally up to me whether I spend the rest of the afternoon working on a big report due in two weeks, go out and weed my garden, or try to find out where my kids are and enjoy some time with them.

    If anyone can do it, I would say, do it. I think what we need is maybe small networks of independent workers who can help support and guide each other through some of the challenges. I would love to see the return of guilds and also, for the more security-minded, an increase in worker co-operatives.
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
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  9. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by JaneV2.0 View Post
    Conservatives: always a couple of centuries behind.
    Liberals: always thinking the world began with them.

  10. #30
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LDAHL View Post
    Liberals: always thinking the world began with them.
    No, not so. But we are more than happy to include you on the Love Boat, LDAHL!
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
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