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wetbenang
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Friday, August 11, 2006
THE GREEN, GREEN GRASS OF HOPE
An old friend rang last week to catch up. It was quite a surprise, as we had not been in touch for almost a year, ever since he had gotten himself yet another wonderful job.
New, exciting career responsibilities and schedule kept him so constantly challenged and fired up that he had not had much time to touch base with friends and family. Until last week, that is. It seemed that the fire was fizzling out and our friend was now extending his feelers sniffing at greener fodder, again.
Ever so superficially attentive, I asked him what went wrong. Not that I did not know the answer already.
Like with his previous five other "wonderful" career moves, the current job no longer suited him -- the bosses were getting too bossy, the office too crammy, the hours too crappy, and the colleagues too geeky. Not to mention the pay which, as usual, was getting too lousy. All in the span of less than 12 months.
Hiding my dismay, I feigned shock and outrage at the gall of his bosses who did not know how to appreciate a gem like him. Well, it would be their loss, I said, and not his. He’d be better off somewhere else where he’d be appreciated, and commensurated, accordingly, I counseled. And not wanting to be his less-than-willing Agony Uncle, I hung up. Besides, my precious lunch hour was ticking away.
Don’t get me wrong. I like the guy. He is, after all, a friend, although at a time like this, I do dread his phone calls. I would have been more sympathetic had he been a bit wiser, and kinder, to himself.
The guy changes jobs like he changes clothes. If he does this smartly, I would not mind so much. But he rushes into things, accepting job offers without really looking at what they in turn could offer him.
Now, I do understand that it is not easy to land a career that you can really like, that fits you or your personality like a glove. But if you know what you want out of a job, if you are clear on your goals, if you take a broader view of things, you would benefit, grow and draw some level of satisfaction from the job, no matter what it is.
There would always be bossy bosses, geeky colleagues, crammy office or crappy hours. It’s how you take these within your stride that is important.
I have been trying to drum this two sen’s worth of whatever to the job-seeking friend without any success. "But I want a better life, and I can only have it with more money, and the grass is greener there, that’s why I’m going over," he’d always say.
Well, perhaps the next time he calls for advice, I’ll tell him that that the grass is also always greener over the septic tank.
(Note: a longer version of this posting appeared elsewhere before)
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