6 ms·

There is a lot to unpack, but I hear you. “Perhaps I am not suited for working in a services company with rapid transitions“ I think you’re right. You read li

There is a lot to unpack, but I hear you. “Perhaps I am not suited for working in a services company with rapid transitions“ I think you’re right. You read like you’re a people pleaser. I know it because I am too. You, like me, might have a difficult time with having a dynamic yet firm grasp on our purpose in, what is more often than not, textbook Kafkaesque situations; situations we put ourselves in, and we’re accountable for, too. Good luck in your journey of discovery. And you read like you’re also young-middle aged, also like me. So, from one to another, just remember it’s quite the privilege to publish a statement declaring in a public space that you’re “taking a break” from work. I don’t think you’re a trust fund baby, but you know, not everyone who gets you would sympathize with that statement. Maybe here, perhaps. Maybe I’m totally wrong about the author, or maybe I’m sort of over the tone deaf articles I read on here, like we aren’t all so fucking lucky to have these software engineer jobs, the ones that pay. Is it worth your mental health? Of course not. Find a new company, I had to. Best decision I ever made. So if I’m wrong, it’s worth the risk because I hope it drives home the point this article reeks of privilege.

MrDresden 5y ago
> "So, from one to another, just remember it’s quite the privilege to publish a statement declaring in a public space that you’re “taking a break” from work." Why this anger towards the author for doing what he considers to be the best thing for himself? Yes, being able to take a break from work is a privilege. But it isn't one that people should be publicly shamed for when needing to exercise it. Rather we should work towards having that option on the table for as many people on this planet as possible. Worker's rights have been so completely eroded (or never even established) in so many places around the world, that it breeds this kind of sick attitude of turning against those who decide to put them selves or loved ones before the employer and work. I say this as someone who is personally about to take a long sabbatical, with full pay, because of incredible burnout after having gone through a very traumatic period involving a partners cancer treatment. This is only possible because of the incredible strong union that I am a part of.
- paskozdilar 5y ago
  > Why this anger towards the author for doing what he considers to be the best thing for himself? Because most of us don't have the luxury to take a break from work. Honestly, I feel jealousy towards people who can take a break from work. I've been feeling like I'm on a treadmill since my teen years. I am not ashamed of it, though - jealousy is a human feeling and we can't wish it away, we can only control it and not let it interfere with our lives.
  - MrDresden 5y ago
    I’ll admit I just now realise that the author seems to have shared the post here themselves. That does put it into a slightly different light.
    - awill88 5y ago
  - DocTomoe 5y ago
    > Because most of us don't have the luxury to take a break from work. If you ask the 5 whys, you'll see that you actually can take a break from work, you are just unwilling to deal with a (potentially rapid) change in lifestyle. I know enough IT people who at age 40 decided to become potters, or motorcycle repair folks, or blacksmiths. They immediately stopped earning six figures. They live in metropolitan areas no longer. But they all seem to be a lot happier now. No one is going to applaud you for your money high score when you leave that body of yours. Life is about enjoying the dance, not racing to the end.
    - paskozdilar 5y ago
      > you actually can take a break from work, you are just unwilling to deal with a (potentially rapid) change in lifestyle. A "change in lifestyle" can also mean becoming homeless and dying of starvation. In that case, true, I am quite unwilling to deal with such a change.
jxidjhdhdhdhfhf 5y ago
So what if the author is privileged? Unless you're living in a mud hut and subsistence farming, you can count yourself among the privileged as well. I guess you don't get to write anything on the internet because you might offend someone, somewhere. I love hearing about how people make deliberate choices about their life and their work, even if they are starting with something more than the average person.
- awill88 5y ago
  I love hearing it too, I'd like it to be well-received, even by those human beings living in "mud hut and subsistence farming" should they encounter their writing.
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  - jxidjhdhdhdhfhf 5y ago
    That's ridiculous. If I'm writing a recipe, I don't put 50 disclaimers in it about how I know not everyone can afford chicken and how I am so privileged to have food. Why would the author need to clutter up their writing in that way?
_hcuq 5y ago
Why are you so triggered? It looks like the dude has worked really hard for a few years and is now taking a few months break.
- awill88 5y ago
  I am not triggered, lost no sleep over it. I'm happy for them, truly. And I care about this stranger, because when I read their writing, they don't seem like a stranger to me. I see myself in them. There is a nuance I wanted to convey that I know I do not have the literary skill to accomplish.

MrDresden 5y ago

> "So, from one to another, just remember it’s quite the privilege to publish a statement declaring in a public space that you’re “taking a break” from work." Why this anger towards the author for doing what he considers to be the best thing for himself? Yes, being able to take a break from work is a privilege. But it isn't one that people should be publicly shamed for when needing to exercise it. Rather we should work towards having that option on the table for as many people on this planet as possible. Worker's rights have been so completely eroded (or never even established) in so many places around the world, that it breeds this kind of sick attitude of turning against those who decide to put them selves or loved ones before the employer and work. I say this as someone who is personally about to take a long sabbatical, with full pay, because of incredible burnout after having gone through a very traumatic period involving a partners cancer treatment. This is only possible because of the incredible strong union that I am a part of.

paskozdilar 5y ago
> Why this anger towards the author for doing what he considers to be the best thing for himself? Because most of us don't have the luxury to take a break from work. Honestly, I feel jealousy towards people who can take a break from work. I've been feeling like I'm on a treadmill since my teen years. I am not ashamed of it, though - jealousy is a human feeling and we can't wish it away, we can only control it and not let it interfere with our lives.
- MrDresden 5y ago
  I’ll admit I just now realise that the author seems to have shared the post here themselves. That does put it into a slightly different light.
  - awill88 5y ago
- DocTomoe 5y ago
  > Because most of us don't have the luxury to take a break from work. If you ask the 5 whys, you'll see that you actually can take a break from work, you are just unwilling to deal with a (potentially rapid) change in lifestyle. I know enough IT people who at age 40 decided to become potters, or motorcycle repair folks, or blacksmiths. They immediately stopped earning six figures. They live in metropolitan areas no longer. But they all seem to be a lot happier now. No one is going to applaud you for your money high score when you leave that body of yours. Life is about enjoying the dance, not racing to the end.
  - paskozdilar 5y ago
    > you actually can take a break from work, you are just unwilling to deal with a (potentially rapid) change in lifestyle. A "change in lifestyle" can also mean becoming homeless and dying of starvation. In that case, true, I am quite unwilling to deal with such a change.

jxidjhdhdhdhfhf 5y ago

So what if the author is privileged? Unless you're living in a mud hut and subsistence farming, you can count yourself among the privileged as well. I guess you don't get to write anything on the internet because you might offend someone, somewhere. I love hearing about how people make deliberate choices about their life and their work, even if they are starting with something more than the average person.

awill88 5y ago
I love hearing it too, I'd like it to be well-received, even by those human beings living in "mud hut and subsistence farming" should they encounter their writing.
- deleted 5y ago
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- deleted 5y ago
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- jxidjhdhdhdhfhf 5y ago
  That's ridiculous. If I'm writing a recipe, I don't put 50 disclaimers in it about how I know not everyone can afford chicken and how I am so privileged to have food. Why would the author need to clutter up their writing in that way?

_hcuq 5y ago

Why are you so triggered? It looks like the dude has worked really hard for a few years and is now taking a few months break.

awill88 5y ago
I am not triggered, lost no sleep over it. I'm happy for them, truly. And I care about this stranger, because when I read their writing, they don't seem like a stranger to me. I see myself in them. There is a nuance I wanted to convey that I know I do not have the literary skill to accomplish.