It's after 5:30 pm and I'm sitting here..still at work.. no idea when I'll be able to leave. It's soooooo frustrating! Mind you, it's one of those weeks anyway where everything is frustrating but this staying after hours is truly frustrating. It's just gotten me thinking, I've never really worked anywhere but in London and I wonder what the work-life balance situation is in different cities across the world?
Work-Life balance is something I've been thinking about a lot over the past few months (see previous post). All my friends who've worked in India say there is NO such thing as work-life balance there. Most people work on Saturdays, it's common enough to bring work home and work over the weekends. And here's the funny thing, apparently most people don't mind! Really?
Hmmm..now in the UK, Londoners are amongst the hardest workers with us working approximately 33% longer hours than the rest of the UK. Plus add to that the higher number of hours involved in travelling to work and it all adds up to insane hours (FYI, I spend two hours a day travelling..and I think that deserves a whole new post of its own). But even then, we're apparently on holiday compared to the intense work hours that my friends tell me people put in in India. Which is why weekends are sacred here. In fact, barely anybody gets any work done on a Friday evening and most people are out of the office by 4ish.
Which is all well and good, except for the fact that none of it really helps my current situation. I.want.to.go.home. Aaaaaaarrrggghhhh!
Plus I really really wanted to go to the gym today! And it frustrates me that I have to sit here watching my fat cells multiply and my cellulite wobble. I wonder if there's any legal loophole where I can sue my employer for making me fat? And then they'd have to pay for my plastic surgery!And then I could get the body I always wanted! Ah fantasyland!
Growing up in India, the 'work hard, play not so hard' discipline was always grilled into us. Everybody like everybody works hard there which means in order to get ahead in the rat race, people start staying late at work or working weekends, but then everybody else also starts staying late or working weekends, then a whole new way of 'i-am-a-harder-worker-than-thou'has to be invented. It's a vicious cycle this one-upmanship. Which is not to say it doesn't happen here in London. It definitely does, and I for one, am no longer interested in playing the game any longer.
Actually that's a lie.
I'm fairly ambitious and know that I won't get anywhere in life if I don't play the game at least a little bit. But can I step off the field for just a little bit? I think I have a part-hippy gene which consistently collides with my Type-A gene which is why I constantly oscillate between two states of being. Which is fine. It all adds to my rather charming allure I think. No?
Anyway, it is now 6:05 pm and there is no sign of the brand consultant I'm supposed to be meet... Oh..hang on..right! he's here. Gotta go guys!
Update: I finally escaped at 7:15pm(after a surprisingly fruitful meeting), after which I did make it to the gym (yay me!) till the cleaner finally kicked me out (true story!) whereupon I went home and had a meal worthy of someone who's been starving for five days (again, true story). A day well spent!
Thursday, 10 March 2011
Tuesday, 1 March 2011
Get Out There
It's been one of those weeks.AND its only Wednesday!
I'm not normally one to get all moany and grumpy about work because to be honest, I love what I do.
(Sidenote: I work in Fashion. and before you get all 'oooooo, how glamorous! must be such fun' yada yada.. Let me tell you, it's not glamorous at all. It's mostly a lot of panicking, constantly calling up people and begging them to deliver that fabric or this dress, loads of drama and tears, and a mild reminder from someone when I'm on the verge of a breakdown that 'It's only clothes..' - at which point I have a complete breakdown! Anyway, more on this later. but yeah, I work in Fashion.)
So back to my shitty week. I live and work in London, which is such a great place to be working in Fashion. The city is crawling with self-proclaimed fashionistas! It's vibrant, alive and a melting pot of ideas, thoughts and inspiration! I work with a luxury fashion brand - it's a small company and a small team. London is full of loads of small businesses and you would be surprised at how many 'Fashion Labels' involve approximately 3-4 people squirelling away behind the scenes. It's no wonder nervous breakdowns and high drama are routine in this business cosnidering the insane workload most of handle and don't get paid for. Which I guess brings us neatly to my shitty day.
So, working within a small company means that I'm consistently juggling 25 balls at once. Normally I thrive on the diversity and high paced nature of my role but of late a niggling voice in my head has been saying 'Is this all there is to it?'. A wise person once said to me that every job has a 'shelf life', the proverbial 'tipping point' - a point at which you realise that actually, I've learnt all there is to learn and I could be doing a whole lot more. And I guess, I've reached that point where I feel like I need to move on. Realisation is a great thing, acceptance is even better but where it goes all pear-shaped for me in this situation is motivation, the determination to go out there and Do Things(Gawd, I could so NOT be an alcoholic, I would totally fail the AA Five step programme).
Which is very weird, considering motivation is the one thing I'm good at. I've always been a really self-motivated person, barging on and taking charge of my life. But But But,you guys, this is the first time in my life that I'm comfortable.I may not be on the route to greatness, but I'm happy. For the most part, all is well in my life. Work may not be the most satisfying, but it's still fun. Family is hale and hearty and the love life is doing gooood (yes, more on that later as well). So I guess, the fire in my belly has dimmed a little bit and I'm wary of stoking it up again. I'm a bit apprehensive of upsetting the tiny semblance of balance that I have in my life at the moment. And let's be honest, I'm afraid of what I may find out there..what if nobody wants me? It's a shit economy, there are NO jobs out there, and what if I go out there and nobody wants me? Scary stuff.
However, as the aforementioned wise person said to me, I can't let that stop me. I HAVE to get myself off my arse and Do Things.
And I guess they're right. So I'm hoping the next few months see me motivating myself and going out there and getting that job.So yes, I'll lose the careful balance I've achieved somehow, but you know, this fire in my belly thing won't go away and I know I'll slowly start hating myself if I don't go out there and Do the Things I'm supposed to be doing. I'm still young and unburdened and the fire in my belly isn't giving me acidity as yet.. so yeah, it's about the right time to motivate myself.
I'll let you know how I get on :)
I'm not normally one to get all moany and grumpy about work because to be honest, I love what I do.
(Sidenote: I work in Fashion. and before you get all 'oooooo, how glamorous! must be such fun' yada yada.. Let me tell you, it's not glamorous at all. It's mostly a lot of panicking, constantly calling up people and begging them to deliver that fabric or this dress, loads of drama and tears, and a mild reminder from someone when I'm on the verge of a breakdown that 'It's only clothes..' - at which point I have a complete breakdown! Anyway, more on this later. but yeah, I work in Fashion.)
So back to my shitty week. I live and work in London, which is such a great place to be working in Fashion. The city is crawling with self-proclaimed fashionistas! It's vibrant, alive and a melting pot of ideas, thoughts and inspiration! I work with a luxury fashion brand - it's a small company and a small team. London is full of loads of small businesses and you would be surprised at how many 'Fashion Labels' involve approximately 3-4 people squirelling away behind the scenes. It's no wonder nervous breakdowns and high drama are routine in this business cosnidering the insane workload most of handle and don't get paid for. Which I guess brings us neatly to my shitty day.
So, working within a small company means that I'm consistently juggling 25 balls at once. Normally I thrive on the diversity and high paced nature of my role but of late a niggling voice in my head has been saying 'Is this all there is to it?'. A wise person once said to me that every job has a 'shelf life', the proverbial 'tipping point' - a point at which you realise that actually, I've learnt all there is to learn and I could be doing a whole lot more. And I guess, I've reached that point where I feel like I need to move on. Realisation is a great thing, acceptance is even better but where it goes all pear-shaped for me in this situation is motivation, the determination to go out there and Do Things(Gawd, I could so NOT be an alcoholic, I would totally fail the AA Five step programme).
Which is very weird, considering motivation is the one thing I'm good at. I've always been a really self-motivated person, barging on and taking charge of my life. But But But,you guys, this is the first time in my life that I'm comfortable.I may not be on the route to greatness, but I'm happy. For the most part, all is well in my life. Work may not be the most satisfying, but it's still fun. Family is hale and hearty and the love life is doing gooood (yes, more on that later as well). So I guess, the fire in my belly has dimmed a little bit and I'm wary of stoking it up again. I'm a bit apprehensive of upsetting the tiny semblance of balance that I have in my life at the moment. And let's be honest, I'm afraid of what I may find out there..what if nobody wants me? It's a shit economy, there are NO jobs out there, and what if I go out there and nobody wants me? Scary stuff.
However, as the aforementioned wise person said to me, I can't let that stop me. I HAVE to get myself off my arse and Do Things.
And I guess they're right. So I'm hoping the next few months see me motivating myself and going out there and getting that job.So yes, I'll lose the careful balance I've achieved somehow, but you know, this fire in my belly thing won't go away and I know I'll slowly start hating myself if I don't go out there and Do the Things I'm supposed to be doing. I'm still young and unburdened and the fire in my belly isn't giving me acidity as yet.. so yeah, it's about the right time to motivate myself.
I'll let you know how I get on :)
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