sneering at part-timer
Helen, 56, was surprised by the bad feelings of her boss and co-workers when she started working shorter hours, foregoing the ‘luxury trappings’ that long hours of work once bought for her. She had a high profile with the company and a lot of pressure was put on her to fulfil her obligations, but she was adamant about putting her personal life first despite all the sneering.
"Trappings are traps, merely things that imprison us," says Helen, "and I'm glad to be out of that trap and easing gently into retirement doing part-time work. I may be earning less, but my family life is so much more enhanced. And, despite all of the sneering, I am thriving with my new position at work. I am in control of my job, and that gives me tremendous satisfaction."
“I could see that they were trying to punish me for escaping the prison walls of the workplace - the ten hours a day most of us had to put in,” says Helen, “but they are the fools for sneering at the freedom I now enjoy.”
“There may be laws against harassment at work, and sneering comes close to it, but this sort of thing happens so often in workplaces that management is unlikely to do anything about it,” says Helen, “and besides which the most vocal sneerer is my boss!"
"Let’s face it, once you've changed your working hours and said 'no' to a whole raft of work responsibilities that you just don't want to put up with any more," explains Helen, "the guy who once dominated you at work now has one less person to bark orders at and this diminishes his power."
"Sneering," says Helen, "is that person's way to regain power over you. It's a power play!"
"Getting upset about sneering is understandable," says Helen, "but to allow your feelings to come to the fore would not only give the sneerer the victory he wants but it would also undermine your ability to keep in balance the professionalism you need for work and the joy you need for your private life."
Read more of Helen’s story:
part-time work eases retirement adult stepfamily a blessing!
"Trappings are traps, merely things that imprison us," says Helen, "and I'm glad to be out of that trap and easing gently into retirement doing part-time work. I may be earning less, but my family life is so much more enhanced. And, despite all of the sneering, I am thriving with my new position at work. I am in control of my job, and that gives me tremendous satisfaction."
“I could see that they were trying to punish me for escaping the prison walls of the workplace - the ten hours a day most of us had to put in,” says Helen, “but they are the fools for sneering at the freedom I now enjoy.”
“There may be laws against harassment at work, and sneering comes close to it, but this sort of thing happens so often in workplaces that management is unlikely to do anything about it,” says Helen, “and besides which the most vocal sneerer is my boss!"
"Let’s face it, once you've changed your working hours and said 'no' to a whole raft of work responsibilities that you just don't want to put up with any more," explains Helen, "the guy who once dominated you at work now has one less person to bark orders at and this diminishes his power."
"Sneering," says Helen, "is that person's way to regain power over you. It's a power play!"
"Getting upset about sneering is understandable," says Helen, "but to allow your feelings to come to the fore would not only give the sneerer the victory he wants but it would also undermine your ability to keep in balance the professionalism you need for work and the joy you need for your private life."
Read more of Helen’s story:
Labels: family, freedom, frugality, part-time work, retirement
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