A Week of Gratitude, Day Four - Continued Employment

I've had kind of a crappy month on a professional level. I've been traveling weekly, working nights and weekends, and I had to cancel my scheduled vacation. I don't care much for this turn of events - I've done my bit for god and country, and people usually have to work pretty hard to convince me that giving up my weekends, evenings and holidays is actually the appropriate thing to do. When you add in the fact that I'm currently working with people who treat me like I'm their beck-and-call-girl and don't bother to actually read the deliverables I provide*, I find I've been more than a bit cranky lately. Okay, let's be honest. I've been bitchy.

And yet, my gig has a lot to recommend it, and it behooves me to remember that.

• I get to work from home on a full time basis. Temperament-wise, I'm well suited to work from home. I have the necessary discipline to ensure all my tasks are completed on time, and in fact the company ends up getting more than their pound of flesh out of me. I work when I'm sick, when I'm exhausted, when I would normally be commuting. In return, I have the flexibility to be available when service people need to come to the Big Yellow House, or I need to take Boogie the Giant Schnauzer to one of his many, many veterinary appointments. 

• By any reasonable measure, I'm very well-paid. This aspect of my employment allows me to save a significant portion of my salary for retirement, as well as pay for the activities and luxuries my family and I enjoy. I've been a member of the working poor, and let me tell you - money may not buy happiness, but it sure as hell gives you the freedom to pursue it.

• I have extremely generous benefits. I celebrated my 15 year anniversary with my company in October, which means I now get 27 days of paid vacation each year. I get unlimited sick time. My total monthly out of pocket expense for health insurance, vision insurance, dental insurance, life insurance, and long term disability insurance for me, the Smart Man and my Hot Daughter is $468.74. My company matches a small percentage of my 401K contribution.

• I have a decent boss. He lets me rant as I need to without holding it against me. He's honest with me in his assessment of my professional performance, identifying where I'm strong and where I need to work harder, without making it personal. He accepts feedback on his own performance gracefully and even attempts to change his behavior if a change is warranted. We don't agree on everything, of course, but he's fundamentally a decent man, and that matters. 

• When you strip away the politics and boot-licking and get down the actual ENGINEERING, I love my job. There is nothing more satisfying to me than putting together a technical solution that meets my customer's needs at a price they can afford. And the more complicated the engineering, the more interesting it becomes, and the prouder I am of the outcome. Awesome.

When I look at the negatives and compare them to the positives of my professional life, I have a great deal to be grateful for. Professionally, I have found that pearl of great price. 

______________
*I'm never going to be the kind of person who allows others to treat me with disrespect in the long term, so I suspect there's going to be a "come to Janiece" meeting in someone's future. Won't that be fun.