A Freedom of Sorts

One of the freedoms of the lack of employment is that one no longer has the worry of work. I realise this may sound at odds at the difficult plight through which we are currently going. What I mean is that the worry of going into work, wondering what employers, managers and bosses are thinking is gone. There is less stress. No more Human Resources people. What a horrible term "human resources" is and in some cases, not all, the people that man these departments are the very worst of people. It is a term a generation fought the second world war to avoid. Yet slowly democracies have become subservient to these sort of people, to health and safety, rather than using common sense.

In the days of employment each meeting I had with fellow workers or clients always seemed onerous. There was the preparation, the worry that if the meeting didn't go well, however unlikely that it was, that a client would complain or an employer wouldn't be happy with the way you had conducted the meeting or that you hadn't followed some procedure. Of course you did all this to ensure your appraisal was good and that you would not end up in a situation where you had no means to support yourself and your family. But, the fact is, no matter who you are working for, in these straitened times, and for many years to come, it doesn't matter how well you do your job, how conscientious you are, you can still be thrown onto the scrap heap by your employer with very little recourse. A States sponsored redundancy scheme doesn't go very far if there are no middle earning white collar jobs available particularly if you are approaching middle age.

Now I find I have to make my own decisions, attend various departments and have my own meetings. It doesn't feel like work but a lot is achieved. It is immensely liberating. So whilst I have to find tax payments and Social security payments I think it is preferable to having to toe the line of some corporate edict.

As to the future, perhaps I should prepare for the elections in the autumn of 2011 - best be prepared with sensible policies and start early!