Topic: The thrill is gone

[grcamna2]

A steady income is a good thing Dhall but 'the old grind' surely does get Old.
I'm the same age as you born the same month and only have small part time jobs once in a while.I have readjusted my expectations(I've accepted myself despite being poor) a Lot over the years.My thing is I get bored easily & change locations every few years,I have no close family & I'm completely on my own in this new area;it's all like Starting Fresh every day.
I'm ready for new opportunities myself & I think as long as I listen more to encouraging folks like many of you here on this forum I'll keep my chin up enough to find a few new opportunities for myself around here.The biggest thing for me is to be patient with myself and then keep 'scraping off' the negative turd heads.I know I have skills and I'll find folks around who'll notice the same thing.The biggest lesson I'll ever learn is to mentally 'close the door' to stuff like 'the news' and 'profiling'.I choose to Label Myself...rather than letting the society around me Label Me,or ME buy 'their version' of who I am...
We are 'Restorers' here on sohc4 and sometimes we need some Restoring too !
Dhall, Your identity is MUCH MORE than just 'what you do'   
I've been asked the same 2 questions many times when I move into a fresh area: "So where're you from" ?  and  "What'd you Do" ? I emphasize that last word "Do" because it seems to make such a big impression on lots of people when I tell them what I "Do"....  or "don't do"      Tell you the truth Dhall,I think I could DO just about any job for a good while if I was working Together With 'the entire crew'
The places to work can get Old Real quick if 'the crew' is trying to push you out,it's happened to me more times than I can mention.
Do you think you can stand any more years doing it exactly as you've been all this time at your job ? Are there Any encouraging workers around you at all ? I hope some of them Are,because they may help you 'make it' through every day or you might help them when they're down;this is probably already working that way for you,huh? I've worked places where I thought they didn't want me around and it hasn't been easy going through buddy,that much I can tell you.
What's 'the Crew' like where you work ?
I hope some of them(even one)are 'around' when you could use a kind word & when others put you down it's good to know that's there's at least One 'pulling for you' in the right direction  Tell us more about that job Dhall

[HondanutRider]

I'm pretty sure there are companies out there who do offer part-time positions to ease people into retirement.  I know that in today's environment, more and more it seems not, but treating employees like robots or slaves doesn't pay off in the long run - at least that's what I believe.   Look at Henry Ford who liberated workers with good pay, but then probably created boredom with the assembly line.  Unions became the norm for the auto industry in response, except today look at how successful some Japanese manufacturers are (like Toyoto) without unions being needed to represent their employees.  Its probably very controversial for me to say  , but I wouldn't want to work for an organization or person who didn't respect and treat me and my fellow employees with consideration.  Working for someone is a two-way street.

Sometimes "the job" can become extremely stressful and those in charge take to driving those under them way to much.  I once worked for a manager like that (actually several  ) who was always expecting more and more from his team.  It was my thrill to be the quiet "devil's advocate".  Once for our weekly team meeting he had just arrived from his long commute into the office, and had witnessed an incident on the expressway that was all in the news about someone on the road having their back window shot out by an apparent shooting.  He was quite shaken by the incident as he related the story to us.  We had all heard about it before as it was all over the news, and as one of our colleagues acknowledged that fact, I quietly expressed: "...and he missed".  That brought a wry smile to the boss as he got the point...and he always treated us with more respect after that.

A lot of the time you get out of life (and your job) what you put into it.  Make it a "thrill" but do it in a way that doesn't compromise yourself or others.  If the job stinks - change it!  If you don't try to change, or you don't challenge the situation, then you either are happy with what's happening or you are digging a big hole.

[Stev-o]

 If the job stinks - change it! 

That is so easy to say.  Hnut - don't mean to offend, but it does not sound like you are in touch with todays job market.

The days where companies care about workers and have retirement plans are nearly gone. It's all about the bottom line.

I started working at my current job 7 years ago, my then supervisor was a 61 year old guy. I had no issues with him, he had a BMW bike, so we had that in common.
His project was to build out a small strip center including a new office for our company. Our new space did not have a dedicated office for him - red flag. Once that project was done, he was given a pink slip.
The owner calls me for a meeting to tell me, askes if "I'm ok"? Sure, no problems.
Offers me [the younger guy] a promotion and a nice pay increase, great for me but not so much for the old guy.

Companies want the older workers to leave and be replaced with younger, cheaper labor.  Better for the bottom line.

BTW, our company is really growing and a new Const Manager was needed to add to our staff last year. Guess what, a young, 30 year old was hired for the job, and would bet money the salary is not as high as the old guys.

[HondanutRider]

 If the job stinks - change it! 

That is so easy to say.  Hnut - don't mean to offend, but it does not sound like you are in touch with todays job market.

The days where companies care about workers and have retirement plans are nearly gone. It's all about the bottom line.

I started working at my current job 7 years ago, my then supervisor was a 61 year old guy. I had no issues with him, he had a BMW bike, so we had that in common.
His project was to build out a small strip center including a new office for our company. Our new space did not have a dedicated office for him - red flag. Once that project was done, he was given a pink slip.
The owner calls me for a meeting to tell me, askes if "I'm ok"? Sure, no problems.
Offers me [the younger guy] a promotion and a nice pay increase, great for me but not so much for the old guy.

Companies want the older workers to leave and be replaced with younger, cheaper labor.  Better for the bottom line.

BTW, our company is really growing and a new Const Manager was needed to add to our staff last year. Guess what, a young, 30 year old was hired for the job, and would bet money the salary is not as high as the old guys.

No offense taken, Stev...sounds like you like to dig holes.   I matured in the 1960's, so I guess my standards are biased that way.  Heck, they don't use napalm anymore and the streets of motor city no longer burn - they're empty, eh?