View Full Version : Emotionally divesting from work
Ultralight
11-4-15, 8:54am
Emotional divestment is a practice. I know this.
As I mentioned in other threads, my workplace recently went through a "restructure."
What was a crew of 12 is now a crew of 6. The other six got shifted to other jobs. So now all their work was lumped upon we remaining six. We also have no contact with anyone outside our department whereas before we interacted and worked with others. There is also simultaneously an "unofficial" hiring freeze and constant surveillance of our work in order to "determine appropriate staffing levels" over the next year.
We used to have a work-from-home day too, but they took that away. So we have virtually no "work-life balance."
All these demoralizing disappointments have bothered me and caused me to emotionally invest in what goes on at my workplace (rather than just do my work well and forget about it).
So now I feel like I have to re-divest emotionally from my work and it'll be so much harder because of all the good things about my job that were taken away as part of the restructure.
Anyone have pointers for emotional divestment? Thanks.
lessisbest
11-4-15, 9:12am
You seem to be fairly young (by your picture), therefore you are just beginning your workplace experiences and probably don't have a lot of years under your belt yet. Here's my tip for the day - nothing remains the same - so expect the unexpected - be willing to change with the times - or change your line of work/career.
Hubby has been with the same company for 40-years (he's an executive, V.P., but worked his way up from the bottom of the company). They have gone through constant changes, and it's to be expected to be competitive. During the financial down-turn in 2007-08, they reduced the manufacturing workers by 50%. Lean management has lead to some of the biggest changes, and changes for the best. The business would have gone bust without these severe sacrifices and changes.
Hubby took three substantial pay cuts, and has never gotten a pay increase since that time. He does the job of three people, always working at least 12-hours a day and 1/2 a day on Sunday. Maybe work effort and ethics are different when you are the third largest stock holder in the company with 40-years invested in it than the 1st shift guy with a few years working experience.
I doubt hubby has ever given any consideration to "the psycho babble" the younger generation seems to be hooked on. If you were to ask him if he had any "pointers for emotional divestment", he wouldn't have a clue as to what you wanted/needed. If you ask him about how to improve your productivity, he'd be the best person for that example. It must be a generational thing.
Ultralight
11-4-15, 9:38am
You seem to be fairly young (by your picture), therefore you are just beginning your workplace experiences and probably don't have a lot of years under your belt yet. Here's my tip for the day - nothing remains the same - so expect the unexpected - be willing to change with the times - or change your line of work/career.
Hubby has been with the same company for 40-years (he's an executive, V.P., but worked his way up from the bottom of the company). They have gone through constant changes, and it's to be expected to be competitive. During the financial down-turn in 2007-08, they reduced the manufacturing workers by 50%. Lean management has lead to some of the biggest changes, and changes for the best. The business would have gone bust without these severe sacrifices and changes.
Hubby took three substantial pay cuts, and has never gotten a pay increase since that time. He does the job of three people, always working at least 12-hours a day and 1/2 a day on Sunday. Maybe work effort and ethics are different when you are the third largest stock holder in the company with 40-years invested in it than the 1st shift guy with a few years working experience.
I doubt hubby has ever given any consideration to "the psycho babble" the younger generation seems to be hooked on. If you were to ask him if he had any "pointers for emotional divestment", he wouldn't have a clue as to what you wanted/needed. If you ask him about how to improve your productivity, he'd be the best person for that example. It must be a generational thing.
I appreciate your thoughts. :)
I am 36, so middle aged. I have been at this job for about a year and a half. Before that I was in a somewhat similar position with a different organization for 3.5 years. Before that it was college and graduate school. And before that I just shifted from dead end job to dead end job for about 4 or 5 years.
I think the differences are probably less generational and more values-based. Your husband might value productivity more than work-life balance. He might value money more than time. He might value keeping a business profitable above all else because he is an exec with a ton of shares.
My values are the opposite. Since I cannot find work (that pays! haha) doing something I believe in then I try to find work I can do reasonably well. And I just focus my off-hours on my real life -- community involvement, fishing, being a friend, hanging out with my dog, and so forth.
It is much easier for me to focus on the good stuff in my life if I am emotionally divested from work.
Lessisbest paints a graphic picture of the kind of working life that few people want anymore. (Did they ever? I doubt it.) I'm presumably of her generation, and I despised corporate life with it's change for the sake of change, and later change for the sake of obscene profits for the few at the top and its disregard/ disdain for its workers.
To my mind, the nose to somebody else's grindstone life is no life at all. If I were you, I'd be making solid plans to switch career paths, even if it required additional schooling or a move. You don't have too much invested in the snake pit you inhabit, so make your escape while you can.
Ultralight
11-4-15, 10:17am
Lessisbest paints a graphic picture of the kind of working life that few people want anymore. (Did they ever? I doubt it.) I'm presumably of her generation, and I despised corporate life with it's change for the sake of change, and later change for the sake of obscene profits for the few at the top and its disregard/ disdain for its workers.
To my mind, the nose to somebody else's grindstone life is no life at all. If I were you, I'd be making solid plans to switch career paths, even if it required additional schooling or a move. You don't have too much invested in the snake pit you inhabit, so make your escape while you can.
Amen, sistah!!
catherine
11-4-15, 10:43am
I'm a hybrid of lessisbest's DH and Jane. I've worked the 60-70 hours a week to get ahead, but then cut myself loose when I saw I was missing out on my own life.
My advice would be:
If you are putting in the hours in order to fund the more fulfilling aspects of your life (i.e., fishing) recognize it for what it is--simply a means to an end. That should help with the emotional divestment. Sometimes I feel like Robin Hood. I work for an industry that is a direct anathema to my passion (permaculture). So I tell myself that I'm simply taking from the rich to give to the "poor" (I support organic farming associations to the extent that I can). My other reason for working is to get out of debt.
However, I can't lie--I like parts of my job, and so I stay emotional invested in those parts: If I have to write a report, I do the best report I can. If I am conducting an interview, I am there every second. So I compartmentalize the "job" from the "work"--if that makes sense. I don't want to waste my time doing less than quality work.
That's how I approach it anyway, FWIW. And I'd write more, but I have work to do! :)
Maybe work effort and ethics are different when you are the third largest stock holder in the company with 40-years invested in it than the 1st shift guy with a few years working experience.
In my industry (software development), the days are long gone when you could even THINK about working at the same place for 40 years. I've seen even excellent employees who have contributed hugely to the profitability of the company get laid off when the executives decided to increase the stock value by massive layoffs. Maybe work ethic has something to do with the lack of any kind of security, and is not a personal character flaw. In my current job, people who go above and beyond are not even noticed outside of co-workers, never mind rewarded for their extra efforts. If the person going way above and beyond is treated exactly like the person who does a bare minimum, or sometimes not even that, what do you think is going to happen?
I am wondering if you are in the right locale for the long-term. With your education and university experience, seems like other more thriving higher ed opportunities exist but you would have to move.
What was a crew of 12 is now a crew of 6. The other six got shifted to other jobs. So now all their work was lumped upon we remaining six. We also have no contact with anyone outside our department whereas before we interacted and worked with others. There is also simultaneously an "unofficial" hiring freeze and constant surveillance of our work in order to "determine appropriate staffing levels" over the next year.
Just out of curiosity, since you average over a dozen posts here a day, almost all during business hours, is the work environment really that bad? I know there are other factors at play than down time, but it seems to me that an effort to "determine appropriate staffing levels" may be in order.
I've never felt the need to emotionally divest myself from a job while I actually held that job, although to be fair I haven't had that many. My problem is in emotional divestment after I've left a job. After being discharged from the service many years ago, I spent the next 10 years or so wondering if I'd done the right thing, second guessing not making it a career. I then spent nearly 30 years in a job that I truly loved, although over time it began to wear on me in a way that made me decide that a change was in order. I've now spent the last 10 years wondering if I made the wrong choice again as I really do miss some of the elements of that career path.
I'm now 9 years into my last job ever, with the ability to retire at any time, although there are enough interesting aspects of this responsibility that make me want to see a couple of projects through to their completion, maybe another 2 years or so. I'll probably miss this one when it's over as well.
I don't know if I could have made it this far and this long without an emotional investment in my career. I wish you luck.
Ultralight
11-4-15, 11:51am
I'm a hybrid of lessisbest's DH and Jane. I've worked the 60-70 hours a week to get ahead, but then cut myself loose when I saw I was missing out on my own life.
My advice would be:
If you are putting in the hours in order to fund the more fulfilling aspects of your life (i.e., fishing) recognize it for what it is--simply a means to an end. That should help with the emotional divestment. Sometimes I feel like Robin Hood. I work for an industry that is a direct anathema to my passion (permaculture). So I tell myself that I'm simply taking from the rich to give to the "poor" (I support organic farming associations to the extent that I can). My other reason for working is to get out of debt.
However, I can't lie--I like parts of my job, and so I stay emotional invested in those parts: If I have to write a report, I do the best report I can. If I am conducting an interview, I am there every second. So I compartmentalize the "job" from the "work"--if that makes sense. I don't want to waste my time doing less than quality work.
That's how I approach it anyway, FWIW. And I'd write more, but I have work to do! :)
Okay, thanks for these insights! :)
Ultralight
11-4-15, 11:52am
If the person going way above and beyond is treated exactly like the person who does a bare minimum, or sometimes not even that, what do you think is going to happen?
Excellent question!
iris lilies
11-4-15, 11:55am
Fortunately, I loved my jobs during most of my working life. Only in that last few years did
I lose interest. So, I made a plan to get out and I executed that plan.
Ultralight
11-4-15, 12:03pm
Just out of curiosity, since you average over a dozen posts here a day, almost all during business hours, is the work environment really that bad? I know there are other factors at play than down time, but it seems to me that an effort to "determine appropriate staffing levels" may be in order.
I've never felt the need to emotionally divest myself from a job while I actually held that job, although to be fair I haven't had that many. My problem is in emotional divestment after I've left a job. After being discharged from the service many years ago, I spent the next 10 years or so wondering if I'd done the right thing, second guessing not making it a career. I then spent nearly 30 years in a job that I truly loved, although over time it began to wear on me in a way that made me decide that a change was in order. I've now spent the last 10 years wondering if I made the wrong choice again as I really do miss some of the elements of that career path.
I'm now 9 years into my last job ever, with the ability to retire at any time, although there are enough interesting aspects of this responsibility that make me want to see a couple of projects through to their completion, maybe another 2 years or so. I'll probably miss this one when it's over as well.
I don't know if I could have made it this far and this long without an emotional investment in my career. I wish you luck.
Thanks for the luck. I appreciate it.
The truth is that I yearn to do meaningful work that I can emotionally invest in.
But I have never had the opportunity to do so and still pay my rent.
I switch tasks at work often, because much of it I am profoundly detached from. Contributing to this forum keeps me intellectually stimulated while I am zombie-fied at work.
But the time to be on this forum while at work - well if I were your boss i'd consider more downsizing. It's just how it is put there. Be careful. If they look at internet logs to make the decision you're vulnerable.
ApatheticNoMore
11-4-15, 1:11pm
Contributing to this forum keeps me intellectually stimulated while I am zombie-fied at work.
yes, brain will die from lack of all stimulation otherwise. Here's a little secret about corporate America: if everyone was busy at work the full 8 hours (noone is where I work usually) and work was well organized and run efficiently (i.e. not a bunch of pointless tasks that shouldn't even exist), there would be a 50% unemployment rate. What if everyone did it? The country would collapse ...
The thing about emotional divesting is you get too divested and then it's impossible to ever invest again. Be careful what you wish for. But it's hard not to divest sometimes when work is meaningless to one, so out of one's control etc..
rodeosweetheart
11-4-15, 2:58pm
Maybe it's time to look at your job and keep a time log of how you spend your time, and what value you bring to the job, and what value the job brings to you. Maybe these things are unbalanced, and it is time to find a better fit. Maybe if you are not mentally "there" and cannot bring yourself to be, it is time to find something else to do for work.
I'm speaking as someone who has been struggling with the same issues and have decided to make a change.. .
In nursing, we are all running our butts off the whole shift. It's not comparable to corporate America at all. We are lucky to have time to eat during a 12 hour shift.
Most employees are either disengaged or "actively disengaged" (http://www.gallup.com/poll/181289/majority-employees-not-engaged-despite-gains-2014.aspx) from their jobs. If you like your job, congratulations, you are one of the lucky ones. My experience in life has been that most people don't like their jobs, but they make their peace with it by having things outside of work they find fulfilling.
In a corporate environment like the one I work in, the disengagement is evident. If you take a stroll around the cube farm, at any given time you'll see between a quarter and a third of the employees updating their Facebook pages, shopping on eBay, and otherwise not working.
I'm sure management is well aware of this. I expect the reason they don't go around firing people they see watching cat videos on YouTube is that they know perfectly well that replacing them wouldn't change anything over the long term--the replacements would start behaving the same way at the first opportunity.
Ultralight
11-4-15, 4:53pm
Most employees are either disengaged or "actively disengaged" (http://www.gallup.com/poll/181289/majority-employees-not-engaged-despite-gains-2014.aspx) from their jobs. If you like your job, congratulations, you are one of the lucky ones. My experience in life has been that most people don't like their jobs, but they make their peace with it by having things outside of work they find fulfilling.
In a corporate environment like the one I work in, the disengagement is evident. If you take a stroll around the cube farm, at any given time you'll see between a quarter and a third of the employees updating their Facebook pages, shopping on eBay, and otherwise not working.
I'm sure management is well aware of this. I expect the reason they don't go around firing people they see watching cat videos on YouTube is that they know perfectly well that replacing them wouldn't change anything over the long term--the replacements would start behaving the same way at the first opportunity.
Very true! It is probably like half the people here are watching cat videos on youtube. They also eat copious snacks, chit-chat, and put together puzzles. This is what most everyone did.
The good old days!
iris lilies
11-4-15, 5:39pm
Cat videos are so seductive, it's hard to go several hours without one!
I largely followed iris lilie's path. I've had great jobs and okay jobs and worked in some truly dysfunctional companies. When I found myself in a corner in my last job -- high enough up the ladder that I could not move laterally easily and knowing that what I hated about the job would be found in most any job of its kind -- I had to move out. It worked for me, but it's not something I think I could have done at your age.
UA, you have to drum up enough emotional investment to keep you showing up every day. If you have the fortune to manage your own schedule (in most of my jobs I did not), you may be able to devote the time to the stuff you like and minimize the time spent on what you don't. It would help to develop a sense of humor about some of the more Dilbert-esque features of most cube-farm work -- somehow this idiocy takes place and yet the building is still standing every morning when you arrive.
But it really sounds like your best move is to find what engages you and to make it happen. Maybe it doesn't happen at The Day Job but it's a second job you take or a go at your own business, until you can leave The Day Job behind. You're in a great position for that since you aren't weighed down with many commitments (mortgage, kids, etc.) or a long work history that has "specialized" you into a more limited job market.
While I was planning my own business before I left my Day Job, I found that quite energizing even though it took place after another 10 hours or so of soulless chaotic work. You might just find you have the energy for what you find compelling, even after the whistle blows at your current job.
When it comes to corporate jobs, I'm much better working a more intensely-focused 4 hours a day than the typical 8 hour day that seems to last forever. I can get more done in 4 hours than I do in 8 simply because my energy levels are much stronger with a shorter day of desk-sitting. I wish there were more good-paying part time jobs available, but it's currently like pulling teeth to get a company to agree to a part-time schedule.
UA, you may want to consider keeping your eyes open for other opportunities. Sounds like your current one is sinking into the pits.
I also agree that the desire for work-life balance is about values rather than generational.
ApatheticNoMore
11-4-15, 9:55pm
When it comes to corporate jobs, I'm much better working a more intensely-focused 4 hours a day than the typical 8 hour day that seems to last forever. I can get more done in 4 hours than I do in 8 simply because my energy levels are much stronger with a shorter day of desk-sitting. I wish there were more good-paying part time jobs available, but it's currently like pulling teeth to get a company to agree to a part-time schedule.
yes I could do 4 hours of focus as well, but they prefer 8 hours and looking at cat videos or whatever, and that's what they get. They don't want honesty, they want control. Yea pulling teeth ...
And the company internet ... I wouldn't worry about that too much, people look down playing with their smart phones many times a day around here, it's not on the company internet then I guess ...
Williamsmith
11-5-15, 8:37am
The reason screwing off is so prevalent in the workplace is that there is a lot of screwing off that goes on all the way up the chain of the ladder all the way to the top. And those at the top, who are in charge of making sure those below them aren't screwing off, make a lot more money screwing off than those at the bottom. If corporate America targeted screwing off as much as they do workers pay and benefits we could have some growth but as it is, you get what you pay for..........CEOs fly off in their corporate jets to screw off, the worker is stuck in a cubicle viewing top ten YouTube cat videos. And a favorite of some .......war footage of Muslims being blown up by missiles and rockets.
yes I could do 4 hours of focus as well, but they prefer 8 hours and looking at cat videos or whatever, and that's what they get. They don't want honesty, they want control.
Yeah, I don't think that if I told my manager, "I can come in four hours a day and get more done than I do now in a eight-hour day" it would go over too well, even though it's true.
Another big time sink, at least where I work, is meetings. Ninety percent of that time is completely wasted. Again, it's more about control than efficiency. Meetings happen not because there is a need for them, but to show that the person calling the meeting has the authority to do so. Larger meetings run by senior management seem to exist chiefly so they can talk about what a wonderful job they are doing.
freshstart
11-5-15, 12:30pm
In nursing, we are all running our butts off the whole shift. It's not comparable to corporate America at all. We are lucky to have time to eat during a 12 hour shift.
so true, I remember the days peeing was a privilege. But I don't want to speak for all, but I think the strong nurses are those whom are not divested from their work and that is what keeps us showing up for the daily shit storm (literal shit storm). You made a choice to serve others and if you have to totally divest in order to keep going, then you should leave nursing.
Towards the end, since I had flexibility and worked in the field, I did choose to divest emotionally from the office as the culture in the company changed and the best team members were pushed out in an underhanded, disgusting manner, to be replaced by new grads. Who were over their heads, left, new new grads appeared and repeat. It was a total shift in the way we provided care, the way we worked as teams and it completely razed morale. I had to divest from that (fearful I'd be next) and re-invest in nursing practice and advocacy.
I cannot imagine putting in whole days being totally divested from your job. Where is there any joy in that? We spend so much time there, how can you possibly do it if nothing "sparks your joy", to steal from Mari Kondo, uber-organizational expert, lol. But she's right, a pair of shoes don't spark your joy, out they go, of course that thinking should extend to your career. No spark of joy? You are in the wrong place.
I would not be writing on here at work that you really dislike your job. Use your phone or something.
Ultralight
11-5-15, 1:02pm
I cannot imagine putting in whole days being totally divested from your job. Where is there any joy in that?
There is no joy. But I still have bills to pay and mouths to feed. Since I cannot find good work, I just do what I can to get a paycheck.
...
Another big time sink, at least where I work, is meetings. Ninety percent of that time is completely wasted. Again, it's more about control than efficiency. Meetings happen not because there is a need for them, but to show that the person calling the meeting has the authority to do so. Larger meetings run by senior management seem to exist chiefly so they can talk about what a wonderful job they are doing.
I always hated meetings too--I think everyone does, except for the blowhards who use them to toot their own horns. There was one though,. where they flew us all down to San Francisco, put us up in a hotel, called a meeting, distributed a handout that completely covered the subject at hand, asked "Any questions?" and dismissed us. The next day, we all flew to Los Angeles. Best (and most completely unnecessary) meeting ever.
For the most part, I never considered the work I did to pay my bills a part of my life; it was a totally separate, time-sucking, necessary evil, a socially acceptable form of prostitution. I've had several jobs, some of which I didn't mind much, like technical editing, but not one that provided joy.
Ultralight
11-5-15, 1:05pm
The meetings are the worst! lol
They often say: "This is a discussion."
But what that really means is "We'll tell you what we want you to parrot back to us" and "Sit there while I revel in my petty authority over you."
Ultralight
11-5-15, 1:08pm
For the most part, I never considered the work I did to pay my bills a part of my life; it was a totally separate, time-sucking, necessary evil, a socially acceptable form of prostitution. I've had several jobs, some of which I didn't mind much, like technical editing, but not one that provided joy.
This is me. I am an unhappy hooker! haha
freshstart
11-5-15, 1:30pm
have you ever thought, now don't laugh, about becoming a Ranger in a National Park? I say this because two of my friends' sons are in school for this and LOVING it. Teaching tourists about nature and conservation, doing Rangerly things, plus fishing and living in a simple cabin in the woods, sounds infinitely better than what you are doing now.
Since they took the work at home day away would they maybe let you do 4 10hr days? I loved that set up.
The meetings are the worst! lol
They often say: "This is a discussion."
But what that really means is "We'll tell you what we want you to parrot back to us" and "Sit there while I revel in my petty authority over you."
UA, I don't know your workplace so I can't comment on that. I will comment from my perspective as someone who has often been responsible for facilitating meetings to get input from those present. It's absolutely death to the process of a significant number of the people there think the purpose is to parrot back something that someone else has said. (I'm not typically the "say-er" in this situation -- I'm often an external consultant to the department/area.)
Of course since I'm not a line manager I have no way of knowing what happens to those who participate from the perspective that it really is a discussion, and that they really can make a contribution. What's your experience with that?
I was able at various stressful times to divest from everything except the patients. That works.
Maybe ultra lite can find one small of his job to stay connected to and let go of the rest. Maybe that small part can be providing a budget to feed his dog. :D
This is a bit off-topic, but since we were talking earlier about watching videos at work, I had to share this one (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7f26d-AIrM).
Normally, I have a low threshold for cute, but this one is hilarious.
Best line: "It is when you live it."
(BTW, I wasn't goofing off. I was surfing YouTube on my lunch hour.)
iris lilies
11-5-15, 8:21pm
When I retired, I toyed with the idea of burning a dvd with top cat videos to give to the big boss because he often made reference to employees who use up bandwidth watching cat videos on company time. I would have meant this to be a funny thing,not snarky but I'd didn't do it. He was a good guy, so probably just as well.
rodeosweetheart
11-5-15, 8:46pm
I think being a park ranger sounds lovely. I wish I were young and healthy; I know just the park I'd go to.
Ultralight
11-5-15, 8:50pm
When I retired, I toyed with the idea of burning a dvd with top cat videos to give to the big boss because he often made reference to employees who use up bandwidth watching cat videos on company time. I would have meant this to be a funny thing,not snarky but I'd didn't do it. He was a good guy, so probably just as well.
Such a great idea!!!!!!!!!
Ultralight
11-5-15, 8:55pm
UA, I don't know your workplace so I can't comment on that. I will comment from my perspective as someone who has often been responsible for facilitating meetings to get input from those present. It's absolutely death to the process of a significant number of the people there think the purpose is to parrot back something that someone else has said. (I'm not typically the "say-er" in this situation -- I'm often an external consultant to the department/area.)
Of course since I'm not a line manager I have no way of knowing what happens to those who participate from the perspective that it really is a discussion, and that they really can make a contribution. What's your experience with that?
Well, my observations are that they want you to parrot back to them. They just ask questions leading you to the answer they preconceived.
Parrot talkers get rewarded. Discussers get ignored, redirected, or shunned if they do it too often. This is what I have observed with others. I try to contribute to the meetings just enough that the bosses know I am listening and will do what they want and just get on board with the program.
Though I have my moments where I ask the tough questions, which is probably why I am usually a pariah. Now though, as I am older and wiser, I just put on my "charming sociopath" hat, tell them what they want to hear, and then go about my business after the meeting.
Ultralight
11-5-15, 8:56pm
have you ever thought, now don't laugh, about becoming a Ranger in a National Park? I say this because two of my friends' sons are in school for this and LOVING it. Teaching tourists about nature and conservation, doing Rangerly things, plus fishing and living in a simple cabin in the woods, sounds infinitely better than what you are doing now.
Since they took the work at home day away would they maybe let you do 4 10hr days? I loved that set up.
I am going to apply for a wide variety of jobs. If I can get something like this, I'd like to.
Williamsmith
11-5-15, 10:06pm
Go to usajobs.gov. Search for park ranger. You will find they are mostly temporary or seasonal positions but there are some interesting venues. If I was single.....that would be an good option.
Gardenarian
11-6-15, 2:00am
Well, my observations are that they want you to parrot back to them. They just ask questions leading you to the answer they preconceived.
Parrot talkers get rewarded. Discussers get ignored, redirected, or shunned if they do it too often. This is what I have observed with others. I try to contribute to the meetings just enough that the bosses know I am listening and will do what they want and just get on board with the program.
Though I have my moments where I ask the tough questions, which is probably why I am usually a pariah. Now though, as I am older and wiser, I just put on my "charming sociopath" hat, tell them what they want to hear, and then go about my business after the meeting.
I am experiencing this at my current job. It has taken me a while to realize that all they really want is a warm body at the reference desk to meet accreditation requirements. It's very disheartening, even working part time.
Ultralight
11-6-15, 8:19am
I am experiencing this at my current job. It has taken me a while to realize that all they really want is a warm body at the reference desk to meet accreditation requirements. It's very disheartening, even working part time.
You're a librarian. That is honorable work though, whether they know it or not.
freshstart
11-6-15, 1:44pm
You're a librarian. That is honorable work though, whether they know it or not.
yes, it is. Remember the 5 librarians who fought the Patriot Act and won? Heroes. The whole association was heroic, I don't think they saw them coming.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2008/09/americas-most-dangerous-librarians
Ultralight
11-6-15, 2:05pm
yes, it is. Remember the 5 librarians who fought the Patriot Act and won? Heroes. The whole association was heroic, I don't think they saw them coming.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2008/09/americas-most-dangerous-librarians
Inspirational!
I was trained as a librarian (have an MLIS) but I wasn't very good at it. I was more interested in studying censorship than organizing information resources. haha
I was so proud of those librarians. When I worked at a library, we were very protective of our patrons' privacy. Libraries have long been at the forefront, protecting free speech even when it wasn't popular--that's why they celebrate Banned Books Week every year.
rodeosweetheart
11-6-15, 7:12pm
Our library is showing "We Steal Secrets" tonight for free at 8, and along with civil liberty, they serve cookies.
Our library sale personnel give out cookies to those standing in line the first night. I always look forward to the cookies since it means my long wait is coming to an end.
freshstart
11-6-15, 11:28pm
I was so proud of those librarians. When I worked at a library, we were very protective of our patrons' privacy. Libraries have long been at the forefront, protecting free speech even when it wasn't popular--that's why they celebrate Banned Books Week every year.
our library in a conservative town, had huge posters about our privacy and the Patriot Act, I was so proud, I love my library.
I used to strongly encourage my kids to read banned books. We would go to the library for events during Banned Books week. They are staunchly against banned books so some of it stuck and some of the books are their absolute favorites.
A relative of mine checks out The Anarchist Cookbook on a regular basis just for the illicit fun of it. Our library system is probably the only thing standing between them and the Feds. :D
A former colleague said that his dad told him years ago: "Don't fall in love with your job because your job won't love you back."
Meaning, just as others have said, keep your emotional distance even in a work environment you really like, because things change quickly and you don't want your happiness dependent on what's going on there.
Ultralight
11-7-15, 10:43pm
A former colleague said that his dad told him years ago: "Don't fall in love with your job because your job won't love you back."
Meaning, just as others have said, keep your emotional distance even in a work environment you really like, because things change quickly and you don't want your happiness dependent on what's going on there.
Makes sense! Good call.
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