FIRE --- How long to decompress and normalize

[afntrn56]

I don't know what kind of situation you are in... the environment or management might not be good. IMO - some managers like some employees are not stellar performers.

But motivation is usually related to the person and their outlook. You can choose. That does not mean that one does not have frustrations and challenges.

Sorry but what I am trying to say is that motivation sometimes just happens in the right climate. The reason I am saying that is that I have been in that situation and it worked!

 

[Nords]

U betcha. I want to work, only reason I am retiring early is to let someone else worry about employees for a while. After a while the entitlement minded losers begin to drown out the good ones. My second career will be more satisfying despite less $...YMMV

IMHO managers who complain about employees NEED to change jobs!

As a "manager" at a military training command, the "good" employees just needed to have someone occasionally clear out the obstacles to their success. They'd come to me and tell me what I could do for them. It usually took me about five minutes to push through paperwork or answer questions from above. Maybe a really complicated and out-there project would take a day or so of justification (to keep the chain of command out of their hair) while they quietly went about doing what needed to be done.

OTOH the "not-so-good" employees rarely came to me to talk about problems. Instead everyone else came to talk to me about that employee's problems. Then I'd spend the rest of the week, with perhaps a bonus legal investigation or two, just to get back to the point where we could proceed with routine business.

I think it's quite appropriate to complain that 5% of the employees can take 95% of a manager's time. And even if you're the motivational offspring of Mahatma Ghandi & Mother Theresa, you're still going to have a few disgruntled malcontents who think you're not helping them achieve their true potential...

 

[afntrn56]

And even if you're the motivational offspring of Mahatma Ghandi & Mother Theresa,

You have yourself convinced for sure but I have seen 100% of employees satisfied and working towards a goal and being motivated by all that was around them. Maybe it is the only case ever in the world but it happened!!

After reading all the other negative posts I guess I am one fortunate soul to have lived this in my lifetime. I am counting my blessings now.

 

[Onward]

I have seen 100% of employees satisfied and working towards a goal and being motivated by all that was around them.

What planet are you from?

 

[afntrn56]

What planet are you from?

Earth my friend and from what I can gather damn lucky too...

 

[Midpack]

You have yourself convinced for sure but I have seen 100% of employees satisfied and working towards a goal and being motivated by all that was around them. Maybe it is the only case ever in the world but it happened!!

After reading all the other negative posts I guess I am one fortunate soul to have lived this in my lifetime. I am counting my blessings now.

They're not negative posts to begin with...

We're happy for you, no reason for any of us to not believe your story, and we're not trying to. However, there are some people (fortunately a minority all else being equal) who cannot be motivated by even the greatest managers. Some employees are just in a job that doesn't suit them (but they won't leave on their own), are just dissatisfied with their lives in general (not hard to see, just watch how they behave away from work) or any number of other reasons. I can give you lots of actual examples that are clearly all the employee's issues, as their co-workers will readily attest (and often volunteer to).

It's rarely if ever as black and white as you portray unless it's a very small organization.

Now if the disgruntled are a significant % or God forbid a majority, I agree it's probably the management.

Sounds like you've found an ideal work situation, most of us are not so lucky - as employees or managers.

 

[M Paquette]

We're happy for you, no reason for any of us to not believe your story, and we're not trying to.
...
It's rarely if ever as black and white as you portray unless it's a very small organization..

BINGO!

I've worked in places where everyone was satisfied, happy, even excited, and all working toward a common goal. Yes, these were small organizations. In fact, they were startup businesses, with a rather charismatic, motivated leader who had hand-picked everyone else in the business.

The sense of focus, and of being involved in something very special is part of a good startup experience. It's unique to that sort of environment, I believe, and not easily replicated in larger, more established businesses.

 

[MBAustin]

Don't know about the rest of you, but reading the last few posts in this thread started undoing my decompression! Unfortunately, there is a lot of "toxic" (at worst) and ineffective (at best) management out there these days, particularly in megacorps.

I FIREd last October and am very happy to be out of that environment. I have over-committed on volunteer projects, Type A coming through for sure. But I am enjoying learning to play golf and catching up on lots of projects around the house. Still feel guilty when I sleep past 8:00 a.m. or take a nap on a weekday, though. So I guess I still have some decompression to go.

 

[Geoffrey]

I wasn't sure whether I should start a new thread, or reply to this one. I'm in the adjusting/decompression phase (sort of) -- so posting to this thread made a certain amount of sense. I retired from Federal Service at the end of August and returned to the States from Japan. I thought I had retired, but soon after returning to the States I found myself signing up for a temporary (6 month) TDY assignment to New Orleans as a "rehired annuitant" with my former agency. So, I'm back on the payroll again, living out of a hotel (which is comfortable -- no complaints). The problem I have is that I am now a member of the "rehired annuitants corps" and could very well be offered (or, perhaps more to the point "tempted with") another TDY assignment when this one ends. On the one hand, it is nice to have options, but on the other hand, I suspect I am experiencing some type of separation anxiety because I find it very difficult to completely severe the cord. The siren call of the 'ol "supper dish" keeps me coming back for more. Has anyone else found it difficult to wean yourself from a steady paycheck . . . especially when you don't REALLY need it? Perhaps it's just my frugal nature . . . it's hard to pass up "easy money." And, part of the difficulty for me is that I have elected to defer my social security to maximize my payout. And, my conservatively invested nest egg isn't spinning off a whole lot of income at the moment. So, I'm sort of faced with a feast or famine scenario. If I work, I have substantially more income than I really need. If I don't work, my wife and I can certainly get by, but the budget is tighter than I would prefer. Perhaps I'm posting just to get a load off my chest . . . but, advice from others who have experienced similar transitions would be welcome.

 

[Walt34]

So, I'm sort of faced with a feast or famine scenario. If I work, I have substantially more income than I really need. If I don't work, my wife and I can certainly get by, but the budget is tighter than I would prefer. Perhaps I'm posting just to get a load off my chest . . . but, advice from others who have experienced similar transitions would be welcome.

That's about where I am with it. I saw an ad in the newspaper, fired off a hastily-written resume, and three weeks later I was working. The commute is a brutal 3.4 miles, and as one former retiree put it "Never in my life have I been paid so much to do so little."

Despite putting the bulk of the "extra" income to savings I can still buy some toys that I wouldn't have otherwise, like a motorcycle or more recently a specialized computer monitor for photo editing. DW is more financially conservative than I am, probably justifiably as based on family history she probably has another 30-40 years to go.

So for now this works for us. I have an easy job, DW is happy, financially we are far ahead of where we'd be without it, and I can indulge guilt-free my occasional "I wanna..." extravagances without subtracting from more committed resources.

Basically it boils down to what my Mom told me: "You want that? Get off your butt and earn it." Only she was more polite.

 

[Purron]

However, there are some people (fortunately a minority all else being equal) who cannot be motivated by even the greatest managers. Some employees are just in a job that doesn't suit them (but they won't leave on their own), are just dissatisfied with their lives in general (not hard to see, just watch how they behave away from work) or any number of other reasons.

I was a manager for many years and this was my experience. I was in the worst kind of management position - low level in a mega corp. The BS came in fast and furious from above and below. That's when I bolted for a position where I had no staff. I felt bad for my great employees who looked to me as and advocate and mentor, but knew I had to get out of management pronto.

 

[NW-Bound]

I was not in the typical situation like most of you were: one day you are putting in 8 hrs/day, the next day you wonder [-]what to do all day[/-] how to celebrate the new freedom.

As my work at the last start-up wound down 7 years ago, I had a year to close down the local office that I was in charge of, because the lease still had a year left. So, I guess that was one year of decompression.

Since then, I have been alternating between putzing around, maintaining my homes, doing work on my RV, and doing some work for money. It is not all or nothing like most of the people.

 

[Moemg]

, I'm sort of faced with a feast or famine scenario. If I work, I have substantially more income than I really need. If I don't work, my wife and I can certainly get by, but the budget is tighter than I would prefer. Perhaps I'm posting just to get a load off my chest . . . but, advice from others who have experienced similar transitions would be welcome.

I retired and was drawn back to a part time position ( One or two days a week ) . It was okay but after a year I knew I was done and needed to cut the cord . I fully retired but started selling on ebay . To me it was a hobby not work but I do make money at it . I really do not need the extra money and usually give it away but it keeps me motivated and as long as I enjoy it I'm going to continue .

 

[Orchidflower]

I had an extremely stressful business I ran, so it took me really around 1-1/2 years to de-stress.