Work

Seems like ages ago now, but I was sitting outside the table tennis hall talking to a fellow.  I am so not one for generalizations, but I did feel I knew where he was coming from.
This was the days before Covid19, and we had virtually full employment.  Much has happened since then, but it seems to me the principle remains.  He was saying that with unemployment the way it was, the homes of the unemployed should be pristine.
There are all sorts of reasons for unemployment, but there is an element that really does not seem to want to work.  They are happy to draw an income and to get something for nothing.
It made me think.  Work is an attitude as much as an action.   There is a time for everything.  There is a time to work and a time to party.  Many years ago I had a boss who would say, “I work hard, and I party hard.”  That to me is the way to go.  The time to work, is the time to work.
I have worked with people who really knew how to work and how to party.  I have also worked with people who seemed to spend all their time avoiding work.  I find that harder that just getting in and doing something.  I never minded others having little to do, but I did mind others passing work on as they were not willing to do anything themselves.  It is amazing but those with a good work ethic tend to be promoted while those who depend only on their time in the job tend to be overlooked.
I know someone in their 70’s.  They do not need to work but they do.  A couple of days a week.  Actually, it has been reduced through no fault of their own.  They did it for a number of reasons, but they were helping people worse of then themselves, and it got them out of the home.  It also avoided them concentrating on themselves.
I am retired now but I had mixed feelings about working from home.  I enjoyed it occasionally but liked to get back into the office too as it enabled me to mix with others.  I guess I am a social animal.  I personally find mixing with others really healthy.  It did not matter if they agreed with me or not (I can’t help it if they are wrong), it was just being together I found good.
Ending work seems to be the dream.  Work is a four-letter word.  But people retire and commonly declare, “I have never been busier,” or “I don’t know how I found time to work.”
A rest has definitely been earned, but it is the work that changes – not the attitude.