The more things change, the more they stay

the same...

Had an ex-colleague over for wine & muchies a couple of days ago. She's still at my old company and spent most of the time venting about the remaining people, the barriers, the silly politics, the glass ceiling, the inner strungles and navelstaring...things haven't changed much.

And yet for her, as there was for me, there's still this tremendous pull to stay. It is an exciting industry after all, it is never boring. it's cutting edge, fast-paced and I have to admit, it is a comfortable company once you get used to the up-and-down nature......
Taking a step back though, it's amazing how much we let work rule our lives. And how much we let it define how we feel. Maybe that's what's most surprising....Most of my current and ex-colleagues are perfectly smart people, well educated with a solid mind of their own. And yet when thrown together in the microcosm of a company with its competiting divisional tentacles and people, all of a sudden, many people become obsessed by what other people think and say about them, rather than using independent judgement. Worse still, often they realize it's silly, the office perceptions and gossip, but they still can't shake it off....

I must be in a contemplative phase, because I seem to be less bothered by it now. Maybe I've found my inner peace, maybe it's the experience, maybe I've disengaged a bit, maybe I'm just less easily purturbed, but I find myself saying to my friends more often 'why does it matter? You know better. Stand up for yourself, or walk away. Relax. It's not worth the fuss.'

One ex-colleague in particular is having a hard time, especially physically. She's let work stress get to her to such an extent that she's got insomnia, heart palpitations, high blood pressure, allergies and lately an ear/sinus & flu condition that doesn't want to heal. Isn't that just horrible? Other than being a friend and pointing out that the whole 'work defining her life' thing may not be working out, there's not much I can do for her. But isn't it sad? I wonder if it was like this 100 years ago, before the age of technology. Did people generally feel totally defined by work, colleagues and the value judgements there? It could just be our generation, the whole 'generation X- needing to achieve, but fighting the establisment in doign so'. I've read trend stories describing the current generation having a better balance. I'm definitely not a doomsayer for technology. Quite the contrary. I love the benefits, just curious about some of the consequences and where the boundaries are.