well, to be fair, you can only collect unemployment insurance if you've had a job and been laid off but I do know many people who sit on it as long as they possibly can instead of finding a job right away. since you're self-employed, you should be able to apply for an EI exemption, I think. I know that my father does not pay into EI, since he is not eligible to collect it.
Software Developer. I practice the thousand monkeys with a thousand typewriters school of software development.
I really admire your aspirations. I hope all of your wishes come true! I used to work on a farm and damn, was it hard! There is something to be said for a job that involves tough physical labor, working out in the hot sun, a direct product that you have produced and can be proud of. I love and hated it.
Well, I let the food industry trap me back in. I took a min. wage job as a jack of all trades at a local pizza place, mostly driver (mad mad bank there, even with min. wage checks), then got transferred as a manager to a place owned by the same guy closer to my house. Then that guy sold that store, now I work for a guy who doesn't like to follow labor laws, I work 8 hours of overtime every week and get paid straight time for it. I only get one day off and I'm severely underpaid to be a restaurant manager, even if it is a piddly pizza parlor. But the pros outweigh the cons, I only work 8:30-4:30 every day, I get every Sunday off, and we're closed major holidays. I love my crew, I work with some good friends and have become good friends with the ones I wasn't friends with previously have quickly become friends. My boss doesn't pay worth a shit and screws me out of overtime, but he's a fun guy and it's easily the most laid back place I've ever worked. My stress levels are at an all-time low. Overall, i'd say I'm happy. My husband's also got an underpaying job in IT, but together we are doing really well. We actually can afford to travel for Christmas this year which is amazing!
I work in an office. It isn't the paper industry but otherwise it is remarkably similar to the tv show THe Office. I just got a promotion (which so far seems to be a pay raise with no added responsibility), I'm always getting praise from my manager and I outperform many of my coworkers, so as you can imagine I'm somewhat amazed at all the company time I waste reading pointless articles on msn.com and googling office prank ideas. And printing funny hipaa violation memes (it's a thing, I work in healthcare) to discretely place on people's unlocked and unguarded work stations. And I spend a lot of time feeling annoyed at coworkers because they steal my food out of the fridge or sit in the bathroom stall immediately beside me when they're all empty. Oh and I lock myself in the handicap stall a few times a day to do some leg squats or a good yoga flow. Yep. That's my work day in a nut shell.
Hahaaa I did an internship in an office environment and it really reminded me so much of The office! All the boring routine talk and situations. Day in day out. Man I really developed thoughts like these people don't live for anything if this is the majority of their lifes. Some seem pretty happy though But clearly not for me. I was counting the hours there. Even lunch breaks were dreadful. Not because people might took my food or anything. Everybody played by the rules there.... Disgustingly boring!!! I now wish they did stole my food. It would have broken the routine.
My job is extremely unpredictable, strange, and sometimes highly stressful. It's also a really good balance of sitting, walking, running/etc, but on days where I don't get to move around much, I definitely do what Meliai does! Glad I'm not the only one . Most days, I really enjoy it, but I sometimes find myself wishing for the quiet, predictable, office routine. It seems so sane compared to the on again/off again crisis situation I walk into daily.
The work routine itself was not the most unbearable actually. It was these people that all talked and acted like they're stuck in a rut. They rarely said something interesting. It was especially mind numbing because of the people I worked with, the environment, not the work itself. I can actually thrive pretty well in a predictable job as long as the people I work with or the environment are ok. It also helps to just be busy. I rather have no interaction at all and go on with what I'm doing than have the same uninspired remarks in my ears every goddamn day. Like the comedy show The office the people on the office I worked were just breathing cliché's. You know if there would come a joke it was like that tuna sandwich remark of that jolly Andy Bernard. They were nice people, they ment it good but really they were so unoriginal and stuck in their day time lifes that I could basicly feel my brain cells die off. If anything can trigger misantrophic feelings in me it was that work environment during that internship. Yeps it was that uninspiring.
I think my manager could see my morale was getting low, I have 0 tolerance for cattiness and office drama - so she moved me and now I sit next to one of the only guys in the office. We just joke around all day and I don't have to hear boring stories or people talking shit about others. The work itself is varied and somewhat interesting but 40 hours a week confined in a small building with a bunch of small minded women doesn't foster the best environment.
Co-workers seriously make or break a job. You could love what you do but if the people suck, the job does too.
Really. One person can makes the difference (esp if it is the one right next to you ). And the less busy you are the more you depend on how well you can deal with your co workers. Obviously
Excellent point. My parents help me with rent and such, and I pay for my utilities and car insurance using what social security is available to me. But that's what I do.
I guess I never did fully answer the original question. I currently own two businesses, but one of them is more of a hobby than a serious investment for me. It's a small specialty retail store, where most of the profits go to pay the store's full time manager. I'm interested in the product line, so I like playing around with the store sometimes. I don't spend a lot of time there. My main business is an office operation that provides a service to other companies, mostly small businesses, but some large ones too. We all travel out to visit our clients now and then. The employees are paid mostly on commission, so I don't need to motivate them to work hard. If they slack off, their pay goes down. They can work from home on Monday and Friday, if they choose to do so. They have enough experience to know what's needed. I think it's a mostly positive work environment, but we aren't very close, since people are in and out so much and everybody is focused on making money efficiently. My main role is handing out new assignments and coordinating larger projects that require multiple employees, in addition to serving my own client list. I also go out and try to get new customers. We don't have much in the way of office rules, and definitely no dress code. I trust people to have a feel for what their clients expect of them. I don't care what they wear in the office because it has nothing to do with their work. Anybody can do office work in a T-shirt, shorts, and no shoes. The customers will never know. I'll never have bullshit rules that have nothing to do with what our clients are paying for.