End of Holiday Musings

With my holiday rapidly coming to an end, I'm left to reflect on how therapeutic a few weeks off of work can be. Not only have all the aches and pains I was suffering before I went on leave vanished, but I'm feeling much more relaxed and at peace with the world. Even my libido has returned. All of which just goes to confirm that the Ancient Greeks were right: work is a disutility; a curse placed upon man by the gods. Really, it's horrendous. And getting worse as the modern trend to try and 'de-skill' even clerical and managerial posts continues, and decision-making is ever more centralised into the hands of a few, mostly incompetent, senior managers, continues apace. I've come to the conclusion that there's no escaping it - even vocations traditionally seen as having a high degree of professional autonomy, such as teaching, or even medicine, are increasingly dominated by targets, rigid guide lines and prescribed procedures that can't be deviated from. Initiative is now reserved only for those at the top, not us mere minions.

Consequently, I've decided that work is just something that has to be endured. Deriving some kind of pleasure or even, God forbid, any sense of professional pride, is no longer an option. I increasingly understand why many people get so absorbed in their out of work activities. Whether it's voluntary work or just a hobby, these can be so much more satisfying. That's why I keep churning out material for The Sleaze and continue to maintain this blog - both provide me with a degree of creative satisfaction that few, if any, jobs could ever give me. The same applies to those bloody films I now turn out at a rate any Hollywood B-studio would envy. They also allow me a degree of autonomy and initiative work no longer allows the majority of us. These past few weeks have brought home to me exactly how much I detest my current employment. The problem is that I don't see any alternatives that will allow me me any greater level of job satisfaction. So, as of Monday, I'll just have to grit my teeth and endure it until the next period of leave I take.