I’ve hated the concept of 9-to-5 since childhood, maybe, because of the way I’ve seen it portrayed in the media; the world of blazers and normalcy.
I can’t do well with normal
To me, it defied the adventures I dreamed of, the spontaneity and the sparks of creativity that jumped around in my head.
Clark Kent is just a regular journalist, until he rips open his shirt, then suddenly he is Superman; this incredible SUPERHERO who saves the world; Clark Kent clocks in and out of work, Superman isn’t controlled by time, he is there when someone needs him.
Yet, Baby boomers (born 1940s to 1960s) and Gen X (born 1960s to 1980s) understand the value of clocking in and out, they find great comfort in normalcy.
Even though, those generations were the ones first introduced to Superman, they knew real life needed Clark Kent; the man with a stable salary, 401k, and all the other benefits, Superman wasn’t fit to face the real world.
What would life be like, if you couldn’t have a family to get home to after a long day of work? If your job didn’t end at a reasonable time that you knew of? If the vision of your day to day life was unknown?
That is why people who reject 9-to-5 jobs are seen as flakey and scattered.
Yep, a 9-to-5 lifestyle is the only sensible way to live.
Now comes the time for my great surprise.
Ready??
There is no such thing as a 9-to-5 job, never has been, never will be; any type of government work excluded; those people are on a realm of their own.
SHOCKING, I know!! The long debate on which style of work is better is useless, because nobody ever has or will have a job that ends at 5 o’clock.
You see, 9-to-5 is a contract between employee and employer, as we know a contract is a two-way street, however one-side is constantly breached by the employer, who expects the employee to keep up their end.
I have seen it happen, sitting down with someone; who has a stable job, when they get a phone call from their boss “Get to work immediately, there is an emergency”, “I need you to send that email now”, “We must achieve those numbers, you need to stay extra time” …etc.
A friend of mine, sat through her engagement party responding to text from her supervisor about work.
Teachers, who spend nights correcting and preparing for work that is impossible to end in eight hours.
Deciding on a meeting, five minutes before clocking-out time, without caring about the employee’s life outside of work; what kind of meeting would last five minutes?
Also, people who don’t have to work at all, but who spend their nights worrying and thinking of that big presentation, or meeting, or whatever. See, it isn’t always our employers who force us to stay in work after hours, sometimes we do it to ourselves, even if it was just mentally.
Maybe the generations are like each other, perhaps there has been miscommunication, because we are all living the same lifestyle, just on different time zones.
So, it doesn’t matter whether you are Clark Kent or Superman.
They are both the same person after all.
