The Good Ole' Days

As I'm sitting at my desk, I'm remembering when the economy was booming and good jobs were plenty. Barely clinging to life my coworkers and I are drowning ourselves in caffeine just to keep awake.

I remember having jobs back when employees were really appreciated and rewarded for their efforts with more than just a paycheck. I recall yearly company trips to Atlantic City, day trips to the spa and catered lunches. The bosses knew we worked hard, were stressed and wanted to keep the stress levels as low as possible, and wanted to keep their best employees.

There was a day years ago where a temp showed up to answer our phones at noon. None of us knew what was going on. The president of the Company had called a catering company in to BBQ for us. After a few long weeks of work we all stepped outside into the warm summer air, breathed a sigh a relief and sat down to our BBQ feast and a few cold beers. We laughed, told stories and relaxed, knowing this was the company we wanted to come back to the next day.

I had several jobs years back that I thought I would stay at forever, but due to bosses retiring and companies moving out of state, each one got away.

Every once in a while I read about companies that still operate that way and wonder how I got stuck here, where I'm considered late if I sit down at my desk at 9:01; where supervisors peek around corners and loom over our shoulders to make sure we are working.

While I work on my own ventures to hopefully be out of this rat race one day, I still keep my eye out for the diamond in the rough. I scan the classified and keep my ears open. I research employee oriented companies and check to see if they have any openings. The market is tough right now and I feel like I'm stuck in a rut I might never recover from. But the search goes on.....