Poll:Not working vs. more free time?

[Danmar]

"Lazy" is a word that has negative connotations that I am guessing were not intended. It implies doing nothing, and all you have to do is read a few posts about what people here who have already taken the leap are doing with their time to realize they are far from doing nothing.

So maybe "relaxed", "laid back", "content" are more descriptive.

He used the word. just saying.

 

[JmfromTx]

I liked my job but I like being retired more. I voted #1 but #2 was a close second.

 

[skyvue]

It might not be the work as much as it's coping with the dissatisfiers of rush hour, workplace attire, department meetings, arbitrary deadlines, mandatory training... I could go on and on.

I'm still looking for a company where work is suspended due to high surf. Until then I'll remain "self-employed".

Yes, it is not the work itself (building and enhancing our companies software applications) but the incredibly unproductive things such as the "program of the month", office politics, "doing what the boss wants even though everyone else knows it's crazy", non-value added tasks such as status reports, continous improvement plans, etc....basically things found in most of Corporate America. At this point I feel a lot like Peter Gibbons from Office Space. I played the game well until about 37 or so then it just got to me.

 

[skyvue]

He used the word. just saying.

I take no offense to the word. If "lazy" means I would prefer not to have to work, then I am that!

 

[Danmar]

Since I retired I am starting to wonder if perhaps I became one of those awful bosses we keep referring to? i think I may have become quite negative and cynical in the last few years of work. It would seem to be quite unlikely if noboby on this forum who was in a position of authority prior to retirement might actually have been or became a poor boss. Has anyone else reexamined their career and might do it a little differently if they had a second chance(not that anyone would want one of course)?
Or are all the problems with work someone else's fault. Just wondering.

 

[REWahoo]

Since I retired I am starting to wonder if perhaps I became one of those awful bosses we keep referring to? i think I may have become quite negative and cynical in the last few years of work. It would seem to be quite unlikely if noboby on this forum who was in a position of authority prior to retirement might actually have been or became a poor boss. Has anyone else reexamined their career and might do it a little differently if they had a second chance(not that anyone would want one of course)?

You go first...

 

[Danmar]

You go first...

Thought I did?

 

[REWahoo]

Thought I did?

Yes...

Since I retired I am starting to wonder if perhaps I became one of those awful bosses we keep referring to? i think I may have become quite negative and cynical in the last few years of work. ... Has anyone else reexamined their career...

...and no:

... and might do it a little differently if they had a second chance(not that anyone would want one of course)?
Or are all the problems with work someone else's fault. Just wondering.

Not clear to me that you are saying you would do it differently if you had the chance for a 'do-over', that you have some regrets in how you treated those who worked for you. Is that the case?

 

[Danmar]

Yes...

...and no:

Not clear to me that you are saying you would do it differently if you had the chance for a 'do-over', that you have some regrets in how you treated those who worked for you. Is that the case?

yes. i might do it differently. Not sure about how I treated others. But I certainly could have been a more productive, positive employee in the last few years. Maybe we get cynical or negative towards the end of our careers? Anyway, I could have done better and I regret that I didn't.

 

[ladypatriot]

I didn't retire because I hated my job. I worked with preschool children and I loved them. But a day with the kids began to exhaust me physically and emotionally. And last summer, I realized that I was dreading the beginning of the school year. I knew then it was time.

So, I didn't have an awful job I was fleeing from. I was retiring to find more time for myself, to spend time with my hobbies (and finding new ones) that I had so often set aside while I was raising a family and working.

 

[steelyman]

Maybe we get cynical or negative towards the end of our careers? Anyway, I could have done better and I regret that I didn't.

I suppose what one does going forwards (not backwards) is what counts.

 

[Nords]

My high school Advanced Math (algebra II + trig) teacher was pretty well known in surfing circles back in the 1960's. He had the unofficial "wink" and days off permitted whenever the North Shore was breaking. When he returned he wasn't at all secretive about the reason for his absence, and would tell us all about it (and then back to Advanced Math).
So there ya go. I still wonder how he managed to arrange that cushy situation!

Hey hey hey, is this a Punahou story? I read something similar in a surfing history book. IIRC it was either John Kelly or Peter Cole who sneaked away for some North Shore surfing one afternoon, only to be busted by their school principal who was sitting on the beach as they walked by with their board. "Unfortunately" (depending on your point of view), the (married) principal was sitting on the beach with a very attractive girlfriend.

Kelly (Cole?) said that they exchanged the silent guy's signal with the principal for "Noted, but we will never speak of this again" and went their separate ways...

Since I retired I am starting to wonder if perhaps I became one of those awful bosses we keep referring to? i think I may have become quite negative and cynical in the last few years of work.

Well, introspection is always the first clue...

It would seem to be quite unlikely if noboby on this forum who was in a position of authority prior to retirement might actually have been or became a poor boss. Has anyone else reexamined their career and might do it a little differently if they had a second chance(not that anyone would want one of course)?

I made the majority of my mistakes earlier in my career, when I had a lot less sleep and much more stress. These days I'm still apologizing to my shipmates for some of the work-related interactions. I became a lot more mellow and comfortable with that responsibility later in my career.

When I was at my final command before retirement, I became the guy who wasn't afraid to point out the naked emperors. That worked well as long as I had a CO who was willing to step in to say "Um, Admiral, what Nords meant to say was..." while the admiral's aide was furiously scribbling notes for the staff inquiry.

When I no longer had that type of CO support, I took care of the troops but otherwise mostly became invisible.

 

[W2R]

Hey hey hey, is this a Punahou story? I read something similar in a surfing history book. IIRC it was either John Kelly or Peter Cole who [....]

Yes, it's a Punahou story, but it was Mr. Price*. Mr. Cole was another math teacher there that year (1965), and I remember him too; nice guy. They both were. We had a great math faculty.

In retrospect they must have been in cahoots in their escapes when the North Shore was breaking; I'll bet your story about the principal explains how they got away with it.

*(Unless maybe Mr. Cole was taking Mr. Price's class for a few months and I forgot? I thought it was Mr. Price, though. I wasn't paying a WHOLE lot of attention in math because I already knew it, and because the cutest guy [-]on Oahu[/-] on earth in my teenage opinion was in that class and sat across from me.)

 

[donheff]

Since I retired I am starting to wonder if perhaps I became one of those awful bosses we keep referring to? i think I may have become quite negative and cynical in the last few years of work.

As the years of management flew by I found the "been there, done that" line running through my head more and more with each "new" ground breaking initiative. By the time I ERed that refrain was playing more often than not. I realized that I was becoming one of those cynical managers I never wanted to become when I was younger. I always treated my team well and tried not to be overtly cynical no matter how hard it became to put positive a spin on onerous requirements. Still... Time to leave.

 

[Danmar]

As the years of management flew by I found the "been there, done that" line running through my head more and more with each "new" ground breaking initiative. By the time I ERed that refrain was playing more often than not. I realized that I was becoming one of those cynical managers I never wanted to become when I was younger. I always treated my team well and tried not to be overtly cynical not matter how hard it became to put positive a spin on onerous requirements. Still... Time to leave.

That reflects my experience as well. i sometimes refered to my retirement as " I was past my best before date(as in food dates) so it was time to go" @ Nords. i took that role in the last couple of years as well. The guy who wasn't afraid to call a spade....The CEO seemed generally OK wih this and it was kind of fun. But not as much fun as ER

 

[kumquat]

Since I retired I am starting to wonder if perhaps I became one of those awful bosses we keep referring to? ...............Has anyone else reexamined their career and might do it a little differently if they had a second chance(not that anyone would want one of course)?
Or are all the problems with work someone else's fault. Just wondering.

Toward the end, I started to see myself as the sponge that sopped up the sh*t that fell downhill so that it didn't splatter on my staff. If cynicism includes feeling your role is to protect your staff from the bureaucratic BS and allow them to get something done, then I became a bit of a cynic. I also became the guy who wasn't afraid to give a honest opinion, even if was contrary to what the 'brass' thought. Many of these opinions were formed after listening to opinions of my team. Isn't FI wonderful?

Was I one of the awful ones? I don't know. I do know my former staff members are quite friendly when I run into them and (even though I retired 4 years ago) I get a few requests for references.

That part of my life is over and the new part does not involve naval gazing so I may never know if I was part of the problem or the solution. Like my T-shirt says "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate" and I have precipitated out.

 

[kcowan]

I'm still looking for a company where work is suspended due to high surf. Until then I'll remain "self-employed".

In our town, people would call in sick when there was fresh powder snow on the three in-city ski areas. When it was raining, long days would compensate for those days off.

I voted more time off because I really enjoyed my j*b. It wasn't until several years of pursuing whatever I want to every day that I developed a distaste for the overhead of w*rking.

I used to say I was a private portfolio manager when people asked what I did all day. Now I can claim to be a freelance forum contributor.

Sometimes when people persist, I say that we are independently wealthy, because that is what FIRE is all about. Most people get very quiet when I say that, so I only use it sparingly.

 

[Major Tom]

I liked my job, so I voted more free time.

 

[kcowan]

The guy who wasn't afraid to call a spade....The CEO seemed generally OK wih this and it was kind of fun. But not as much fun as ER

I developed a distaste for incompetence in my 5th year of w*rk. I took some courses that helped me tolerate mediocrity and eventually I discovered a way to motivate even the most unmotivated. After that, my career took off. And life was much easier. But after 35 years, I figured that the man had gotten his pound of flesh.

 

[scrabbler1]

Since I retired I am starting to wonder if perhaps I became one of those awful bosses we keep referring to? i think I may have become quite negative and cynical in the last few years of work. It would seem to be quite unlikely if noboby on this forum who was in a position of authority prior to retirement might actually have been or became a poor boss. Has anyone else reexamined their career and might do it a little differently if they had a second chance(not that anyone would want one of course)?
Or are all the problems with work someone else's fault. Just wondering.

At my former company, we had for a few years a 360-review where someone could complete a form with a bunch of questions graded on a 1-7 basis (agree strongly, agree, disagree, etc.) along with free response comments about anyone up the chain of command. This was optional, of course, and anonymous, with the handwritten answers changed to typewritten ones to protect the handwriting. These forms, if completed, were not part of one's official evaluation but included as an addendum.

I completed a few of them for my bosses and got a few from my subordinates. The feedback was positive but I did make a note of any (mild) constructive criticism.

When I switched to working part-time, my supervisory duties over others diminished for some of those years. But not being in the office every day had to be a plus for those working for me whether they liked me or not!

I was considered a go-to guy for most of my years, so I always tried to send them away happy even if I did not know the answer to their questions or had to send them elsewhere or did not have the answer they wanted to hear (none of which thankfully happened a lot).

 

[packrat44]

A prior co-worker once made the comment to me "I am so busy now I don't know when I ever found time to go to our paying job."

There are enough other things to do in life without having that time being depleted with going to a paying job. On the flip side, my DW once had a patient who had taken early retirement and later found he lacked the money to travel and see his grandchildren.

Finding the fine line between more time and enough money will always be a challenge.

 

[Coolius]

Not having to go to work was what I voted for.

Towards the last few months of my job, the workload and pressure became heavier and heavier, a s did the almost daily calls for status reports from the boss - which meant a lot of work both during and after office hours ( I was responsible for sales in Asia ).

The commute also seemed to become more hectic, with what seemed to be more and more of the worst drivers in the US using the freeways as drag racing strips. And not a single CHP to be seen ( probably all at Dunkin' Donuts ).

Yeah, these days I wake up and smile to myself at the thought of not having to dress up, go to the car and wander out into the war zone of California Freeways.

 

[Walt34]

For me, it was not having to go to work. Specifically, and as I have mentioned many, MANY times in threads here adn in other forums and blogs, it was the COMMUTE, the dang COMMUTE, which I had to get rid of, and totally.

That was a huge part in the decision to retire and move. D.C. area traffic is notorious and it wasn't until we moved that I realized how nice it is to not have to plan our daily lives around it.

The other issue was dealing with the bureaucratic BS. I worked in computer forensics, which of course is a fast-changing field and I got tired of having to justify ongoing training, and equipment and software upgrades. The last time we bought new hardware the vendor upgraded the order because they no longer made what had finally made it through the procurement process. I loved the work, but the workplace made me leave.

So for now, while I do have a job, it also has a 3.4 mile commute, it pays surprisingly well for what I do, the workload is light (yesterday at work I read Speedlights & Speedlites: Creative Photography at Lightspeed) the hours suit me, and I can get time off when I want it. What's not to like?

And I've learned something about job stress. Next week will be a huge GAO inspection that almost everyone is stressed over. But I'm just a contractor and I have my KMA hat so I don't care. What's the worst that could happen? I could get fired. If that happens I'll tour some local art galleries and see if it is realistic to try my hand at selling locally-made photographs of local landmarks. Or I'll go to the local university, take some classes in photography, and find out why my prints aren't selling.

Or I'll just go fishing.

 

[rescueme]

So there ya go. I still wonder how he managed to arrange that cushy situation!

He knew Nords?

 

[easysurfer]

Looks like I'm with the majority as I voted for not having to work!