When our three young adult children graduated from college and university in the Spring of 2008 we couldn't have been prouder. Our son knew already that he was on his way toward his next degree, but our daughters asked if they could come home for a few months as they considered their options. They both found steady work although one juggled four jobs, sometimes working 20 hours one week and 60 another. The uncertainty was not pleasant and the work was not in their areas of education. The "few" months turned out to be seventeen and eighteen months, but they have moved out again. Both have gone back to school, the university grad to college and the college grad to a degree program. We learned first hand about the so-called Boomerang generation and the difficulty young people are experiencing in finding work during an economic downturn.
We know the term "Protestant work ethic" although we often associate it with a Calvinist approach to employment where people are "driven" in their work to the detriment of all else. In fact John Calvin whose 500th anniversary is celebrated this year had a deep conviction that work is part of the Godly life, and that it can be both a sign of grace and a response to salvation in Christ. For Calvin our daily labours can bring meaning to life, although God is the ultimate source of life's purpose. Bet you don't think about the theology of work when you head out the door in the morning singing "I owe, I owe, it's off to work I go!"
What are your thoughts about work in these tough times? Do you know people who are unemployed or under-employed because of the downturn? Some of you have chosen to be stay-at-home parents for a time. Is this ever awkward in your circle of friends? At least one reader has ventured into self-employment. Nerve-wracking or satisfying? How is retirement after a life-time of work?
I think it is unfortunate when I hear people say how much they dislike their jobs. With work, at 40 hours a week, being such a significant part of one's life, it only makes sense to do something that is meaningful to yourself.
ReplyDeleteLife is too short to wake up each morning dreading the next 8 hours. I have been there....never want to be there again!
Attitude is a big part of it; even with seemingly menial jobs, in many cases having a different way of thinking about your tasks can change your outlook on your work.
I do have sympathy for people who are out of work in this economic climate, and the impact it has on their health and their families.
I am one of the unemployed who has not been able to find work in my field of experience and so I am looking at going back to school but have just discovered that the hoped for government funding has been frozen because there has been a greater draw on it than expected and there is little money left. It has been over 10 months since I have been gainfully employed and want to work, so do I take a survival job (that's the name used by the E.I. counsellors)? My problem is that I need $1200. a month to just pay rent, phone, internet and bus fare and a minimum wage job at best would pay $1600, a month before any deductions - at the moment I am spending more than $200 a month for food and misc. spending. There are no easy answers or choices and I worry about those people who have others depending on them.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me, Johnny, that a growing number of people who have found satisfaction in their jobs in the past do so no longer ecause of looming lay-offs and pressures within the workplace during tough economic times. This is a sad development as well.
ReplyDeleteSusan, I'm sure that all the readers of this blog hope and pray you find work which allows you to use your skills and provides reasonable pay. I appreciate thati t's hard not to be discouraged.