The Subtle Joy of Being Unstructured

People ask me why I keep thinking about giving-up my current unstructured retired-guy lifestyle and trading away my glorious free time for a low paying, potentially boring or otherwise unsatisfying part-time job.   Put in those terms, I can’t really give a logical defense for my periodic impulses to seek work.   But the impulses are there.

I’m not clear whether there is just an ingrained need to be doing something measurable, or boredom with my choices.   Part of it is the sense that I am standing still, and the world is going by.  I’m not doing any thing that matters.  No one expects me to show up and save the day.  Maybe I just miss identifying myself with a group.  I don’t know. 

Last year,  after I decided to leave the retail job I had done for a year, a friend had written to exclaim wonderment that I was still looking for the dream job.   Why wasn’t I satisfied with retirement and leisure?  In my reply I wrote:

“IF (big if) I ever go back to work, it will be in some admin or professional organization, part-time, earning at least $20 an hour, no weekends, no commute, no staff meetings and no status reports.  If that is too much to ask, then I will just stay retired: staying-up late watching TV, sleeping till nine every morning, having a leisurely breakfast (involving chicken and pork products), reading the paper, planning the rest of the day.”

As I re-read these words, I feel at peace.   The dream job did not materialize, but I am doing just fine without a job.   Many times since retiring from full-time employment, I had been struck with a sense of loss.  Not depression – more like a vague sense that I was missing something.  I decided that I missed the structure and sociability of a formal workplace – going to an office everyday, where they expect you to show-up and do something important.

But, as time has passed, I am becoming more comfortable with the prospect of full retirement and the subtle joy of not being structured.

For example, it is 10:40am and I am dressed; I have had my weekly shower and shave. I’ve fed the cats, read the Globe, eaten a bacon toast sandwich, drank 3 cups of Starbucks Cafe Verona, and spent a half hour answering email. If it wasn’t raining, I probably would be outside, finishing my painting activities, but I am in no real hurry; I can finish next week (or the next). Later this afternoon, perhaps I will mosey on down to the cheap haircut place and get a senior cut for $11.95 plus tip. (When I was working my haircuts at the fancy salon cost $35. (I did look good, but these days looking good is an unnecessary luxury). Most of the day will be amiably frittered and puttered away. I didn’t get my morning walk because of the weather, but who knows – it might clear up.

Tomorrow, assuming a partly sunny day, I plan to go fishing with a buddy. Striped bass for dinner! (Ok, if this outing is as bad as my last day of fishing , I may have to stop at the fish market on my way home.)

Last week turned out to be pretty full too. Got my teeth cleaned, repaired a broken washer arm on the dishwasher, saw my children and grandchildren, went for walks every day, scraped and painted the east side of the house, cut down an overgrown yew that was blocking a window, spent Sunday at Little Compton, R.I. eating and drinking with friends, had a day-trip to York, Maine with my wife, did laundry, went to the dump, read a book, and so-on. Nothing remunerative or remarkable, but not so bad….

Hey, It’s stopped raining, I gotta go take a walk.

Seekers Need Not Apply

After diligent searching over the past year or more, I have been somewhat discouraged by the paucity of professional part-time jobs. Beyond a few specialized industries, such as Health Care (Nurses) and Higher Education (Instructors), I have not seen a demand for part-time business professionals. It seems strange – especially during hard economic times – that companies have not realized the cost savings that could result from the hiring less-than-full-time professionals.Perhaps this is reflective of the general downturn in employment opportunities over the past few years due to the crappy economy. Just as likely, it reflects the historical attitudes of many companies towards part-time workers – a vestige of a bygone era when company loyalty was considered to be valuable, and part-timers were considered transient. Traditionally, such jobs have been plentiful in retail, customer service, farm labor and hospitality industries where the routine nature of tasks require only basic skills and moderate experience. These skill sets are highly transferable. Indeed, most employers of part-time workers treat them as interchangeable parts. These jobs typically require little judgement or creativity on the part of the worker. Tasks are proceduralized to the nth degree to eliminate potential variables, and all unexpected questions are bucked-up to the ever-present supervisor.

But for some reason,when it comes to “professional” work(i.e., Sitting in an office working at a keyboard, staring at the PC, clicking the mouse)  hiring managers   seem to ignore the patent advantages of hiring people who cannot/do not wish to work full time.
To list a few:
– Less wasted time. I know from long experience that most salaried office workers are less effective than they are busy. They worry about career, status, promotion. They waste large chunks of time sucking around Mr Big and getting very little done. A part-time worker on the other hand comes in and works 4 hours a day 5 days a week, head down and gets stuff done.
– Reduced expectation of benefits. Most part-time workers earn about $9-11 per hour in retail establishments. Elite part-timers might make 12-14 per hour. Professionals might get $20 per hour. Over a year, that amounts to a payroll cost of 20K vs an equivalent full-time worker costing three times that amount counting benefits.
– High function low cost. There are lots of guys like me who have retired from the career track. We still know how to do things and we have a pretty respectable work ethic. We don’t need constant supervision. We can handle problems and find solutions. We are not interchangeable parts. We want to feel valued. We miss the action, but not enough to make us go back to the 40+ hour a week grind. And we are willing to the same level of work for considerably less than the going rate for a full-timer.

Most job listings for interesting work demand a full 40 hour week. Most of us who have escaped from hellholes have no desire to return to the work-obsessed existence that characterizes full-time employment these days. I don’t want/need to carry a mobile phone (except to order take-out on my way home). Today’s career-minded workers must be blackberried or i-phoned up to be taken seriously. They must be willing to give-up luxuries like undisturbed dinners, time with family or even vacations.
During my Florida vacation in February, I was forced by proximity to overhear many phone conversations at the pool and on the beach. People who were supposed to be relaxing who were still tethered to the office. And then there were the fully dressed people who looked like they were attending a conference, but on duty 24X7. It was pathetic to see four people sitting at a table eating breakfast, not enjoying the view or even looking at the others, each one texting on their mobile phone or laptop.

The biggest difference is that part-time professional worker wants to leave the office behind when he goes home or on vacation. He can still work without a supervisor monitoring every action. He doesn’t expect to be paid for hours not worked. So I wonder why is this not a reasonable value proposition for an employer.

Some people think I sound irrational, talking about still searching for a minor league job when I should be spending my time fishing and golfing, looking at the wonders of nature and seeking the answer to life’s eternal questions.
Maybe they are right…