I read this article with this morning's coffee. 2023 was the year I gave up on a few things ... trying to be a full-time freelancer. Trying to made my herb'n'spice business full-time. And contracting.
I went back to a full-time, permanent job. It took me six months to find, because I wouldn't compromise on the things I needed to maintain my own mental health; primary is what's now called "a flexible workplace", but was just called "telecommuting" before 2020.
Workplaces are already pushing back on flexibility, and it's one reason why I gave up on the contracting I'd been doing since 2016. The micromanaging bullies of the workplace are re-asserting their power to make employees' lives a misery in person.
I did finally find the perfect role, at an organisation I've been wanting to work in for most of my life, in a "geographically-dispersed" team that means I can work from home for weeks on end if I so choose.
It's taken another 6 months for what I'm calling a "mild PTSD" from the constant hustle and lack of security in most of the roles I've been in since ... hmmmm. Most of my working life, if I'm to be honest. There's been a few positions where I've been in a tight-knit team where being constantly judged and kept on-edge weren't the norm, but they have themselves been the exception.
And you don't realise just how stressful they are until you get into a role where you can unwind and pace properly. Where contact from one's manager is no longer cause for the guilty/worried jump ... what have I done wrong now? What do I need to fix? What horrible change is coming down the line this time? Who's complaining?
I still don't quite know how to handle the fact my manager is _mentoring_ me, helping me get to a future envisaged position. The concept I might still be in this job in a few years' time is itself astonishing.
What I do know is this ... gentleness, I guess? ... should be the norm. No-one should have to jump nervously or in intense irritation when an email from someone higher up the hierarchy turns up. One _should_ be able to rely on one's peers to provide support and helpful feedback on content.
Into all these Feelings dropped this Guardian article, and it seemed to dovetail. Even with small things such as my wardrobe updates, which definitely lean toward soft, quiet fabrics; ones that are both comfortable to sit and work in, AND look so neat and tidy that they absolutely are workwear. Even into my newly-peri-menopausal assertiveness that prioritises my own comfort - and if that means I run a heater in the middle of summer because it's actually quite chilly, and I wear long sleeves and leggings and fur-lined boots for the same reason - then so be it.
I read this article with this morning's coffee. 2023 was the year I gave up on a few things ... trying to be a full-time freelancer. Trying to made my herb'n'spice business full-time. And contracting.
I went back to a full-time, permanent job. It took me six months to find, because I wouldn't compromise on the things I needed to maintain my own mental health; primary is what's now called "a flexible workplace", but was just called "telecommuting" before 2020.
Workplaces are already pushing back on flexibility, and it's one reason why I gave up on the contracting I'd been doing since 2016. The micromanaging bullies of the workplace are re-asserting their power to make employees' lives a misery in person.
I did finally find the perfect role, at an organisation I've been wanting to work in for most of my life, in a "geographically-dispersed" team that means I can work from home for weeks on end if I so choose.
It's taken another 6 months for what I'm calling a "mild PTSD" from the constant hustle and lack of security in most of the roles I've been in since ... hmmmm. Most of my working life, if I'm to be honest. There's been a few positions where I've been in a tight-knit team where being constantly judged and kept on-edge weren't the norm, but they have themselves been the exception.
And you don't realise just how stressful they are until you get into a role where you can unwind and pace properly. Where contact from one's manager is no longer cause for the guilty/worried jump ... what have I done wrong now? What do I need to fix? What horrible change is coming down the line this time? Who's complaining?
I still don't quite know how to handle the fact my manager is _mentoring_ me, helping me get to a future envisaged position. The concept I might still be in this job in a few years' time is itself astonishing.
What I do know is this ... gentleness, I guess? ... should be the norm. No-one should have to jump nervously or in intense irritation when an email from someone higher up the hierarchy turns up. One _should_ be able to rely on one's peers to provide support and helpful feedback on content.
Into all these Feelings dropped this Guardian article, and it seemed to dovetail. Even with small things such as my wardrobe updates, which definitely lean toward soft, quiet fabrics; ones that are both comfortable to sit and work in, AND look so neat and tidy that they absolutely are workwear. Even into my newly-peri-menopausal assertiveness that prioritises my own comfort - and if that means I run a heater in the middle of summer because it's actually quite chilly, and I wear long sleeves and leggings and fur-lined boots for the same reason - then so be it.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/article/2024/jul/21/i-never-realised-how-much-freedom-and-comfort-softness-could-bring
Comfort and empathy in all things ... even the workplace. It can be done. But it's still a fight. Sigh.