Time capsule : The hate for one's job

My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.

Note : this is a time capsule; to be opened after 10 years from now. Lie down and cry then. You shall suffer from koinophobia. My darling, there is no escape. 
 


I have worked 22 months in a company which recruited me through my graduation college. Plus additional one and a half months of internship (not internet-ingship). In this time frame, I have failed to find one person, one single person from whom I have heard that he likes his job. Except for myself, that is.

Once I had proudly declared in a meeting , with senior HRs and my fellow newly joined mates that I really liked my job. And I still do, even after leaving it. In fact I loved it. I loved to go to office every day; weekends used to bore me because there was no office. I didn't want to go to movies or restaurants with my girl friend (a real gift from Gods of ancient Greece) . I didn't want to study for entrance exams. I just wanted to go back to my desk, with my laptop, with my glorious ink pen, listening to people, telling off people, making excel sheets, making power points, using ERP. It was delightful to work your ass off.

Partly the reason I had this strange enthusiasm about my job goes down to the fact that I had an excellent mentor. I learned the ABC's of an organization via him. I wish he becomes a corporate trainer one day.Thou shall be lucky to have trained under him. ( Of course, he didn't like his job as well) .The other reason was that I was given freedom at work. I made my own decisions, I decided whom to mark in cc. Some other reasons were that I didn't have to spend a day per week in a bus. My office was walking distance from my house ( I never walked, not once). This sort of  culture and working environment is difficult to find . In that sense, I do consider myself lucky.

Back to the people. What were the reasons for there unhappiness ?  Some had teenage bosses, whilst others had night shifts and a few had sleep for 6 hours a day .The majority had more experience than me. Almost all of these experienced people were married, and some had kids as well. Problems were related to the appraisals mostly; monetary and intangible. Some were caught in the wrong job and had a minimal job satisfaction.

Reasons may have been myriad, but one thing connected them all. All of them considered themselves to be a ticking time bomb. They all told me that they were going to quit their job soon.Some would throw a resignation letter at the face of their boss the very next day. To follow their dreams; to start their own business; to join a better company; to join an organization which paid them handsomely; to travel, and even as simple as to buy a gun.

Only a handful did, as far as I can remember. All of them for further studies. At least half of the rest like their job anyway. You could see in their eyes and tell that it was in the moment they were unhappy.

It all appeared good for me. I have told the reader why was I happy. Now I will tell you why I was not unhappy, for I had this fear that I will become much like everyone else, a zombie waiting to be bitten by a human in a dead town.

1.) I didn't work long enough. I am fairly confident that if I had worked a year more, I would have made statements like everyone else (I did make some during my 22 month stint- although very privately, and always added "just kidding" silently ).  Too much routine in anything can break anyone's desire (except sports, there is no too much in a sport you love.)

2.) I had no liabilities.

3.) I was prepared for this. I had seen my father work 14 hours, from Monday to Saturday for the past 10 years (10 years because before that I was too busy watching Pokemon).  I had seen him stay at places which might not come up on Google Maps. I had seen him fret. I had seen him not take a vacation. I could sense disappointment in him sometimes. I could sense fear for once. But I never heard from him that he didn't like his job. He loved it. I can guarantee it.


I have left my job for further studies as well. And again I am going to enter an agonizing period where I would wish every second that the course got over, much like my graduation days. I have never liked schools, never had a big gang of friends, never really needed one. I was happy in my solitude, with a few wonderful friends, singing and dancing whenever I liked.

But this time when I pass out, it will not be the same. I will have to work for the next 34 years, I will have responsibilities - loans, children, aging parents. But one thing will remain with me - volontà.
I might fail. I might end up bankrupt. I might end up dead, but much like the Italian teams , you can never take away to grinta.