work

The Will To Work

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It’s taken much of my thought over the years, and has been mentioned here and there in articles but in mine notably Work ethic and employment. But it’s been mentioned by way of comment on social media, how after first-hand experience, there is a large portion of a generation not wanting or willing to do something that is necessary, instead looking for the artistic job, or happy environment perhaps, and feel certain work is ‘beneath them’. And from my experience, this really isn’t a new problem, but is one that has spread.

Some people are just lazy, you can’t get away from that. Some are confused and don’t know what they want to do, some do but either don’t have the skills or opportunity available, so do nothing. Like I said, they were always there, and you could choose to be like that, and be left behind. Or you could get out there, make opportunities for yourself, or try something else as a fill in. But as it has been observed, and I can’t deny it, the long-term opportunities aren’t there, or are being taken away. Back in the day, you had more job security, your pay would go a bit further, you might even be able to save up and buy a house, start your own business, go travelling or afford holidays. Well, that has been well and truly thrown in the bin, for lots of people didn’t entirely notice the squeeze of systems that started a good while ago now.

Credit card and loans. Back in the day, before credit cards and loans were handed out willy nilly, we are led to believe that people had to save up for things, normal things like holidays, appliances, anything above and beyond the living costs of having a roof over your head. Cars were expensive (although you could always get a second-hand banger since I’ve been around), TV’s weren’t in every house and VCR’s were pricey too. You didn’t have the money, you waited. Birthday and Christmas money were special, because they usually went towards things that were just a bit out of your range as a kid. Same for grown-ups it seems. Before the lottery (which has an article in progress, but crosses into this one) people used to play the pools, trying to get a little win that would be little boost to the household purse. These last couple of decades though has seen borrowing on a grand scale, from citizen and government alike, borrowing and spending, borrowing more, spending more. It’s relentless. All about now, quickly, more. On the glad and sorry they used to call it, glad you’ve got it, sorry you’ve got to pay it back.

But what are people working for or towards these days? Even people who are driven and motivated and finding it tough, last few years have thrown many off kilter, rearranged plans and dreams, changed the entire trajectory of some people’s lives. So, I can’t blame people for being distracted or from having their thoughts redirected to something more meaningful. I guess society just can’t afford for everyone to do it at once which is the concern if a whole generation do it. We’ll see, i suspected it was because they are going to roll out automation and want people working remotely, or not at all. Just consuming and integrating with the metaverse they want everyone to simulate life in, while they roll out restrictive ‘smart cities’ for everyone. Sounds horrifying to me, but if it’s painted as a quiet, pollution free, controlled utopia, where you can just relax all the time and chill on the bean bags, catch up with your mates, do a bit of creative work if you ‘feel like it’ you know, google office style. That’s the hook, so you hand yourself over and before you know it you’ve got Logans Run meets the Time Machine’s Eloi. It’s a super creepy idea, and probably completely far-fetched, and I want it to be. I hope I look back at some of the things I have suggested and laugh, because I certainly don’t want to see any of them come to pass. But if they do, I can’t help thinking the ones who are going to be part of that future, just walked right into it…

(c) K Wicks

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Quiet Quitting – what does it say about you?

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I have seen talk of what some people have dubbed ‘quiet quitting’ where in some weird silent protest, you stop being productive at work and instead become a dead weight, because you ‘don’t like’ it. Believing in some way it shows up the employer or the workplace as having the issue. And maybe there are issues that need to be dealt with, but not quite sure how not working or communicating said issues is a positive thing.

Maybe I have missed a point or something, but it just sounds like a very childish thing to do, and as well as wasting time and resources for your employer, you are actually wasting your own time and selling yourself short. I have had many jobs, and have left many jobs. I may not have left right away when I knew it wasn’t for me, but I sure as shit didn’t drag everyone else down with me, which is what this sounds like to me.

Instead I took action to either change what I didn’t like about my workplace, management or role, or left to go and work hard somewhere else. It was that simple and covered in my piece Work ethic and employment. Refusing to lower my standards for someone else, rather just accepting that I was no longer of use where I was. Played out in real time in one particular job where the manager was useless, the staff knew it and we were failing as an office because of it, so I reported them. In the meeting to discuss it (I was 21 at the time), the area manager said they knew they knew the manager was crap, but good managers don’t grow on trees, I should lower my standards. And being honest, it was probably one of the best things he could have said, because it shocked me slightly that anyone would expect me to lower my standards to fit a failing system, and it also clearly showed me I was working with the wrong people. When something has run its course important to know when Walking Away is appropriate. By staying and just demotivating yourself, when you could be getting on with that you could or should be doing, seems very counter productive. To me anyway.

I also developed a certain mindset rather early on, that when I quit something it wasn’t a failure on my part, it was a move to stop wasting time and took me a step closer to what I was meant to be doing, whatever that was. It became a positive thing, although that didn’t mean I just went and quit at the drop of a hat, but my length of time at jobs became less and less throughout my 20’s as my confidence, skills and ability developed further. I realised I wouldn’t get what I was seeking from a workplace, or a boss, so at 27 started my own business in admin and finance, making sure I could work to my standard and level of professionalism. If I had lowered my standard, or reduced my interests because of someone else demotivaing me (and there have been many who could have), I quite probably wouldn’t have made it this far, still running my business. And setting up another one a few later later for all my creative endeavours.

Quiet quitting to me, means quitting on yourself, but by using someone else as way of an excuse. Take ownership of your own situation, recognise what it is you don’t like about it, or the person/people causing it, and work to change it, or remove yourself from it. Don’t sink to their level as they say, use it to realise you are not like them.

There are of course, a few people, who are not quiet quitters at all through demotivation, they are simply just lazy and don’t pull their weight, and never did. instead getting their feet under the table and doing as little as possible to get by, and get paid. Furlough really let those people shine through, but looks like many are here to stay, for a short while anyway. There will be many job losses coming over the coming months if the ridiculous and catastrophic energy debacle is allowed to continue. Where only supermarkets and homes will have power, and everything else will be closed or running on rations. Sounds fun doesn’t it? I do understand that now we have a different landscape for work and employment dawning, you can’t train or plan properly anymore and I commend any small businesses that make it through, whatever your attitude. And I don’t blame poeple for not really feeling like their heart is in it anymore, it’s been metaphorically ripped out of their chest in some cases, so being demotivated is a real problem right now, and not through laziness, but sheer worry.

So, we really need people to be thinking about making things work and actually doing it, rather than putting your feet up, switching off and thinking someone else is going to do it for you and not even caring if it works or not. This is your life, take control and take part while you still can…

(c) K Wicks

Work ethic and employment

~ MKW Publishing ~ 3 Comments

I have wanted to work since I was a child. I saw that work gave you money, and money gave you freedom to live. Understanding of course that freedom was not free, you have to earn it, buy it and maintain it. And fully believed that if you didn’t work, you would starve. I had no idea until almost a teenager that benefits were a thing. My mindset was that I should be as helpful and productive as possible, to give myself the best chance of survival. Of course, life gets in the way of whatever you think you will be, or what you want to happen. And it did. I had a rough patch for a few years from mid to late teens and I had to drop out of school and mainstream education. No exams. which of course made me think, no future. It was the mid 90’s, there a big drive for people to go to university, student loans took off and suddenly there were all sorts of courses to do and it was made accessible to people from all walks of life as they put it.

But it didn’t appeal to me for many reasons. Firstly, I did not have a subject that I was taken with at that age, I liked so many things it was hard to narrow it down to just one. I was very good at drawing at the time, so got talked into trying art college. I lasted 6 months, and of that my attendance was shocking. I did not like the relaxed setting for learning, and it was too corporate for feeling creative. Although I met some really sound people, it struck me that most of them were just wasting a couple of years by being there. To take the pressure off so their family didn’t hassle them to decide on uni. It started to become more interesting to question people on their motivations for choices, and where they hoped those decisions might lead them. Studying art felt like a complete waste of time. Because that was not what I wanted to do as a career. It looked like a very hard and thankless job ‘the struggling artist’ perception. Luckily, I do it for enjoyment now, because it really doesn’t pay the bills for me despite having created quite a portfolio of drawings, paintings, photography, books and designs.

It dawned on me though, that many people of my age group were getting themselves unneccessarily in debt, on the whim of having a degree in something, whether it would be useful or not. So I looked at that as the starting point, why did everyone want them? I’ll use my own family experience, my grandparents on one side went to University, and fully believed that if you had a degree it would mean you would be guaranteed employment. Because I think in their day, that is how it was. I held my ground and said no, a degree was not needed. Four years out of the job market when I already felt behind was not going to suit me at all, got to get on and all that, and why would you want to start so far in debt, it made no sense to me. Within a few years and a great number of jobs later, I found myself working in recruitment. Helping people find work and prepare their CV’s and understand their skills to assist placing them.

What I found were a couple of prevailing attitudes. Firstly, the worn down type, who seemed to realise their situation of extreme debt, limited jobs in their chosen field and the reality of life after uni. The other was the self-entitled one, the “I have a degree and I wont work for under £15.00 per hour”. Which is fine to have that attitude, it really is and may work in some walks of life. But when there is work available for £8.50 per hour, and you have no skills or experience for the higher rate job, you have to start somewhere. So maybe it was a good thing that I have had jobs in finance, catering, property, care homes, recruitment, pubs, and markets. That I got myself experience in all sorts of industries and with all sorts of people from different backgrounds. And even though I may be doing ok at the moment having worked really hard for it, I still might end up cleaning toilets again for £5.00 per hour, because you really don’t know what life may throw at you, but having a ‘let’s gets on, can do’ attitude can possibly help along the way.

Aside from all that, I understand we are now in very odd times for employment. Many jobs and futures have been taken away or restricted of late, automation seems to be moving in where it can and what was once a sound career may now need revisiting. In this we may have to come up with new ideas and ways forward for peple, to keep things moving and progressing at a pace that includes everyone and can be maintained.

(c) K Wicks