Sorry, I’ve been a bit distracted over the last few days. Julia has just had some major dental work and sympathy and nursing have been called for. Along with soft food. This isn’t my natural area of expertise but I made fish pie (which lasted two days and managed a reasonable impression of sympathy.
I’ve also been very disturbed by a recent conversation at work. I generally don’t discuss such things for a number of reasons – what happens at work is not for general discussion, my colleagues and their doings are not for me to discuss in public, except in broad terms, and, finally, it involves pay, and I was always brought up not to discuss this in public. However, I have found this so disturbing that I am going to mention it, even though I won’t go into detail.
It turns out that my workmate thinks I am being paid more than him. Not more per hour, just for more hours. A simple calculation would show this isn’t true. However, he obviously latched on to something that was said a few months ago and has magnified it into a problem despite there being no truth in it.
I am now wondering if it is worth carrying on for the next 18 months until I can retire, or whether I should try to eke out a living on eBay. I have things to sell and could certainly still afford to buy the groceries until my Old Age Pension cuts in. Life is too short to spend eighteen months working with a man who forms grudges from nothing and lets things fester for months. We have differing views on a number of things, and I don’t always find the shop a comfortable place. As I’m not prepared to let someone else define my life or occupy my time it’s something that needs looking at. I’ve already spent a day and a half thinking about it, and have spent an hour writing and re-writing about it. Enough is enough.
By the time I wake up tomorrow I will have made a decision.
(1) Carry on and ignore him
(2) Take early retirement
(3) Work out the cost of option (2) and compare with the cost of hiring a hit man
(Lightly edited 04.11.22)
As always, I scroll down the list of posts and always read the newest ones first. So, how long has this guy been working with you? How much longer have you been there than him? It seems if you have been there longer and you have seniority, you should likely be paid more per hour for your experience. Of course, that doesn’t always apply. There seems to be a “limit” on how much employers are willing to spend and after a few months, new hires are making the same as people who have been there for 20 years. I think his argument is ridiculous and it is no business what other people are making. It is up to the employer, and if I were the boss, I would insist the other guy shuts up about it or take a hike.
He has actually been there longer. But we have different ideas about what makes a good employee. e are actually well paid for what we do but he is always complaining about something. I try to stay positive and concentrate on my retirement date . . . 🙂
Hang on for a week or two and there should be a vacancy for prime minister.
Can you produce a payslip which would settle the argument?
I can produce a payslip which would settle the argument, but my view is that my pay is none of his business and he should grow up.
A good view, I agree.
🙂
I agree entirely with Lavinia
To a large extent, there is no solution.
Hang in there Simon, don’t let people get to you and force you out the door. If you feel you can, it sounds like a problem to discuss directly with the owner, if he can handle it.
Give my best to Julia. Wishing her a speedy recovery from her dental work.
To be fair to the owner, he has tried a number of times but it’s one of those cases of such small things going badly that you look like the one with a problem if you list them all.