I think I have reached that point in my life where I can officially say that I am old. It hasn't slipped my mind that I probably have more days behind me than I do ahead of me. It's just one of those facts of life.
Given that fact, it's safe to say that I grew up in a different world than we live in today. You will often hear people from the 80's talk about things like kids playing in the neighborhood until it got dark out, bicycles without helmets, riding in the back back of a station wagon, and crazy stuff like that.
I can't get the GIF to work, but as Han Solo said,
"It's true, all of it"
It occurs to me that there are a lot of concepts and ideals that once held a lot of weight but don't really fit into the world we live now. Most specifically, the idea of having a work ethic. I'm not saying I am the best example of that. I know many people who have a much better work ethic than I do.
I'm not talking about sports either, I think that falls into a different category, I know a fair number of young folks who have a dedication to their preferred sport that is beyond comparison.
Work on the other hand is a totally different story.
Like I said, I come from a time when things were different. I come from a time when loyalty to your job was something to be treasured. You did your job because you were grateful to have a job that could cover your bills and leave you a little bit of fun money as well.
At some point things started to shift and now it occurs to me that there is a fine line between being loyal to your job and being taken advantage of. It's a fuzzy line for sure.
It's interesting on a daily basis how some people will decline to do tasks that I would spend my free time at home to get done. Ultimately it makes my job easier. Then again, there are other times when I find myself drawing a line in the sand over what the technology department I run is actually responsible for.
It's easy to point to generational differences and say "that's where the problem is". I don't think blaming this on the millennials is going to fly this time.
I honestly don't have a reason why this shift has happened. That's part of the reason I am talking about this in the #reflections community. It's just some random thoughts that are kicking around my head.
Let's say you have a pretty decent job that you consider a career. If you were to quit that job tomorrow, how long would it take the company to replace you? How indispensable are you? When I consider the number of hours, weekends, late nights, and early mornings I have put into my job, does my company see that as loyalty?
For the longest time my salary wasn't indicative of that. Yet here I am still working for the same company. Again, does that make me loyal or does that just mean they are taking advantage of me? Where is the line drawn?
I apologize if this post feels a bit disjointed. As I said, these are just a lot of thoughts that have been floating around in my brain space for a while.
It would be cool if we could start some discussion around this. I'll actually be surprised if this post nets more than two or three comments and $10 in rewards! It's definitely going to be one of my shorter ones!
Sports Talk Social - @bozz.sports
