Over the last 10 years, I’ve written several blog posts about my personal working experiences and my career, such as it was. I touched upon working specifically in IT and how that industry changed over time, both technically and in the way that other people perceived it. I have also given my thoughts on the social dynamics of the modern work environment and the way we interact with our colleagues and employers. That is another area that has changed dramatically. Naturally my retirement from full time work has been written about, as it is such a radical change in one’s life. Especially if you’re the sort of person who is clearly defined by their job, which I personally was not. This time, I want to share a few thoughts I have about what I miss about “going to work” and “having a job”. I’m not sure if “miss” is the right word. Perhaps it is more a question of things being absent. Either way, there are some aspects of being employed that I use to enjoy or at least found beneficial that I now no longer experience.

Friends and colleagues

I read a recent poll about employment in the UK that showed that for a lot of people, the thing that makes a lot of jobs bearable, are the people we work with. That was totally the case for me. There were a few problematic managers during the course of my career and I have worked with my share of idiots but for most of the time, I was fortunate to spend 9 to 5 with a good bunch of people from all walks of life. There were a lot of laughs and often a lot of drinking. I remember the time we... Nope, upon reflection its best not to recount such anecdotes. Some of those friendships have endured. Others were of the time. However, I look back fondly on all of them. Friends and colleagues often made going to work fun, when the job itself had no other intrinsic value other than providing a pay cheque.

Sharing knowledge

During my working life, each job provided a network of professional colleagues, most of whom were more than happy to share knowledge and help each other out. All it took was a phone call and advice was freely given. No one asked for anything in return, although the implicit social contract was that this unofficial service was a quid pro quo. If you could return the favour at sometime in the future, then you did so. It was a very equitable and useful gentleman’s agreement to have. It’s something I miss greatly today and AI is not a perfect substitute.

Access to resources

When you work for a big company you often get direct and indirect access to resources. Or you did in my day. My IT qualifications such as MCSEs, CCNA, PRINCE2 accreditation and others were all paid for by my employers. Phones, laptops, software and sundry IT peripherals were also provided as part of the job. Then there was the stationery, the lunches and “expenses”. Old kit that was scheduled for disposal could also be “acquired”. The moment I went self-employed all these benefits stopped. Every new skill or project that I undertake nowadays comes with a cost that falls directly to me. Such is life.

A sense of achievement and pride in one’s work

I was at the dentist recently and there on the wall, in a corner, was a half sized patch panel cabinet. It was a total dog’s dinner and it took my mind completely off whatever the hygienists was doing (which was painful). All I could think of was that I’d have never have left a panel in such a state because all you’re doing is deferring a problem that you’ll eventually have to address. Also because personal pride would not allow me to do leave such a thing. A far as I’m concerned stuff like that reflects directly on the IT department. It doesn’t matter if other people don’t notice it, if that were my responsibility, I’d know it was still there and it would keep me awake. Yes. I curiously miss this aspect of work. I guess that’s why I’m currently fine tuning this blog. It’s my current equivalent of a messy patch panel.

For the sake of balance and to offset any sense of regret, which I unequivocally do not have, here are a few things about having a full time job that I don’t miss.

Commuting

I am not a good traveller. The idea of getting up at “stupid o’clock” and getting on a cramped commuter train in this current heat just fills me with dread. I always disliked commuting as I saw it as unpleasant, uncomfortable, dead time. I guess I still do. Hence I always tried to fill these journeys by doing something constructive, such as reading or watching a documentary on my laptop. I also remember having to get out of London by any means available during the 7th July 2005 terrorists attacks. That was a grim day that still crosses my mind whenever I go to London.

Idiots, bullies and lazy employees

Although I’ve often worked with nice, decent and regular people I have also encountered some unpleasant individuals during my career. No matter how thorough people think the interview process is with regard to finding new employees, idiots always seem to beat the system. There is nothing worse than the fool who has an unworkable plan and the ear of senior management. Unless it is the person who is quite capable of doing their job but for whatever reasons chooses not to. Someone you have to carry because they never answer emails or do their part of the project. Then there are those broken human beings who see work a means to persecute others. Who revel in humiliating subordinates and making them unhappy. The one’s that hated lockdown because there was no one to bully, apart from their own family. Those pitiful bastards are out of my life forever now.

The Treadmill effect

One of the reasons I moved from a permanent position to short term IT contracting and then to self-employment, was because of the treadmill effect. A short term IT project has a start and an end date. Once it’s done you move on. Some of the permanent jobs I’ve had at the start of my career have felt like an endless slog to nowhere. Especially when I worked for the DWP processing benefit claims. The process naturally never ended and it came with a substantial portion of human misery. An average jobs can’t all be perfect and is unlikely to be totally spiritually fulfilling but feeling that you’re making no progress what so ever is utterly demoralising.

Since leaving a work environment, a decade ago, I have kept in touch with various recruitment executives and naturally still have friends who are still working. I suspect that I experienced a vastly different work culture during the late eighties, nineties and the early two thousands, compared to what exists today. I suspect I wouldn’t thrive in the modern office environment, as I speak my mind too freely and have far too many rough edges for the likes of a modern HR department. I could go back to contracting if necessary but I suspect it just wouldn’t be as fun as it used to be and fun was a very important element in my working life. However, overall I count myself fortunate that my career followed the course that it did and took place at the time that it did. I have a lot of happy memories which I reflect upon whenever I miss the aspects of work that I’ve listed above.

Related Posts