Sunday, April 06, 2014

I hate my job, I hate my job, I hate my job – what many think but won't tell the boss...

If you want a vision of the future, imagine a wage slave typing: "I hate my job. I hate my job. I hate my job," on a keyboard, for ever. That's what a Manhattan court typist is accused of doing, having been fired from his post two years ago, after jeopardising upwards of 30 trials, according to the New York Post. Many of the court transcripts were "complete gibberish" as the stenographer was alledgedly suffering the effects of alcohol abuse, but the one that has caught public attention contains the phrase "I hate my job" over and over again. Officials are reportedly struggling to mitigate the damage, and the typist now says he's in recovery, but it's worth considering how long it took the court officials to realise he hadn't been taking proper notes at all.

You can't help but feel a small pang of joy at part of the story, though. Surely everyone, at some point, has longed, but perhaps not dared, to do the same. In a dreary Coventry bedsit in 2007, I read Herman Melville's Bartleby the Scrivener, the tale of a new employee who calmly refuses to do anything he is paid to do, to the complete bafflement of his boss, and found myself thinking in wonder: "This is the greatest story I have ever read." No wonder it still resonates. Who hasn't sat in their office, and felt like saying to their bosses: "I would prefer not to," when asked to stuff envelopes or run to the post office?

For some bizarre reason, it's still taboo to admit that most jobs are unspeakably dull. On application forms, it's anathema to write: "Reason for leaving last job: hated it", and "Reason for applying for this post: I like money." The fact that so many people gleefully shared this story shows that many of us, deep down, harbour a suspicion that our jobs aren't necessarily what we want to be doing for the rest of our lives. A lot of us aren't always happy and fulfilled at work, and aren't always completely productive. Full story...

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  4. 80 is the new 60 when it comes to retirement...
  5. The biggest victim of the debt ceiling deal: your retirement...

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