Early-retirement wannabe

Goldiegirl

Marine_life wrote: »

Wow.

I think the attitudes may have changed on the surface.....but a lot of it is talk and media rather than reality.

Let me give you two examples.

1. We have a modern workplace where people do not have permanent desks and you are encouraged to work from home. But a colleague was criticized for not being a team player because he was perceived to be spending too much time working from home.

2. Our recruitment shows we are missing every target on diversity and inclusiveness such that we are actively being told to recruit more women. Not "recruit the people who are the best for the job" but "recruit more women".

My point being the corporate attitudes may have superficially changed in corporate PR speak but the reality is somewhat different.

I find it ironic that in times gone by that sometimes the only reason a person was considered for a top job was because they were a white middle aged male with the right connections. Now, the circle has turned so far the criteria has to be that they are anything but a white middle aged male!

I suppose you can only speak for your own corporate culture, but my own experiences are very different. In my last work place the management were 50/50 male and female. In the workplace before that, in an office of 250 staff, the management, including the most senior managers were almost exclusively women.

Marine_life wrote: »

Oh lets be clear she is absolutely NOT onside.

She worries we don't have enough money - I've nearly brought her around on that one.

She's worried I will be bored.......who can say

Regarding your wife and the money. Has she gone through the paperwork and the spreadsheets and crunched the numbers herself? Or is it you just telling her you'll have enough money. There's no way I'd rely on what somebody else was telling me in this sort of situation - I'd have to work it out for myself by analysing the figures and examining expenditure etc. Which is exactly what I did before we stopped work.

However, i suspect the real reason for your wife's reluctance may be something else. She may well be concerned that having your around all the time will stop her doing whatever it is she does all day at the moment. Maybe that's something to raise with her?

coyrls wrote: »

You really are a long way off retirement aren't you? When I made the decision to retire, one immediate effect was that all this corporate nonsense ceased to bother me; I was still working but because I knew I was going to go, it didn't matter any more. It seems to me that you haven't made that mental change yet because you don't really think you are going to go.

I never had much time for corporate nonsense, and my tolerance got less and less the older I got. For the last couple of years I literally didn't give a monkeys, and it is very liberating.

If a person still worries that dropping a days work is considered weak by his workmates, then he's a long way from being able to retire.

When you are ready, you don't care what people think.

BucksLady

Mr_Costcutter wrote: »

Yes, perhaps she would then realise how fortunate she is.

There's none so blind as those who will not see

edinburgher

For the last couple of years I literally didn't give a monkeys, and it is very liberating.

Excellent - I am at least 20 years ahead of my time

gadgetmind

coyrls wrote: »

all this corporate nonsense ceased to bother me;

This corporate nonsense has *never* bothered me. I'm a fairly senior manager (one person between me and CEO) in a FTSE listed technology company probably *because* I don't do the corporate fandango and just get on with the sodding job. Those who do the whole power play, blame game, ego trip, buzzword bingo, power grab thing tend to stand out a mile and tend to get nowhere.

Except in marketing.

Ah well.

mgdavid

Goldiegirl wrote: »

................
I never had much time for corporate nonsense, and my tolerance got less and less the older I got. For the last couple of years I literally didn't give a monkeys, and it is very liberating.

If a person still worries that dropping a days work is considered weak by his workmates, then he's a long way from being able to retire.

When you are ready, you don't care what people think.

^^
me too, except that I lasted until 65, it helps that part of me is still 20-something :-)

edinburgher

Gadgetmind's comment surprises me. I work in a fairly middling role in a small IT company (500 or so folk), I see nothing but chancers, blowhards and bullies getting ahead

gfplux

Marine, I definitely know where you and your wife are. Before my forced retirement 19 years ago I held a senior position in a Private Multi-National company, spending much of my time on planes and only at home at the weekend.
During discussions with my wife that knives were being sharpened she was very uncomfortable about me taking the opportunity to retire. The Elephant in the room was...... Could we actually live together full time.
Fortunately that has worked out perfectly (she also nodding in agreement)
HOWEVER there were two things that I did not see. These two things were perhaps in my wife's mind but unsaid.
Firstly was the "so called" loss of status. I have referred to this a number of times in this thread. I was taken by surprise about this and this also effected my wife and perhaps she had foreseen this
Secondly, in my management position we, as a couple were often at large corporate events, Sporting events, Opera, Concerts, theatre, dinners etc, etc. At these events I was working but although we as a married team "worked the room" What I NEVER, NEVER thought about was how much my wife enjoyed these events. More importantly how much she missed them after my retirement.
Sorry to go on at length.
However it is not ALWAYS about the money.

Linton

edinburgher wrote: »

Gadgetmind's comment surprises me. I work in a fairly middling role in a small IT company (500 or so folk), I see nothing but chancers, blowhards and bullies getting ahead

Perhaps your CEO would say much the same as Gadget

gadgetmind

Linton wrote: »

Perhaps your CEO would say much the same as Gadget

If you don't have good people in the key roles, then you won't deliver projects and products on time and to quality, and you won't be able to retain key people given the *very* competitive environment for good engineers, and particularly good engineering managers. I have got no idea how a company that promotes the wrong people can stay in business.

Our big problem is actually finding people who want to start the transition to management and who also have the people skills for it (or give the impression of being able to acquire them.)

gadgetmind

gfplux wrote: »

Secondly, in my management position we, as a couple were often at large corporate events, Sporting events, Opera, Concerts, theatre, dinners etc, etc. At these events I was working but although we as a married team "worked the room"

I go to the Christmas party, drink too much, and talk a load of cobblers until 3am. Does this count?