When Work becomes a Hindrance

For the past two weeks I have been absent from Steemit. This is nothing new for me as I might take a week off from posting in order to recharge and gather material for the next batch of posts. This time though, there was a different reason for my hiatus. That reason was my day job.

When the crisis in Greece began in 2010, the job market became wild. About a million people lost their jobs and unemployment skyrocketed to 25%. Putting aside the tragedy of the situation for a moment, these numbers are impressive. Also impressive is the speed in which it happened, which assisted in deepening the crisis. So many people being desperate for a job and the lax control of the work conditions by the state, created really ugly situations in many work places. To cut a long story short, it created conditions similar to those before the labour rights movement in the 19_th century. People working for less than minimum wage, overtime without extra pay, no social security, constant threats of getting laid off, actually getting laid off for no apparent reason etc.

I have been a victim of this situation as well. I got fired from a job out of the blue and was unemployed for three (3) years. To admit my contribution to the situation, I wasn't looking for a job for about a year because I decided to focus on my studies at the photography school. Being unemployed for so long can create a really unpleasant situation. As I wasn't able to do anything that required money, I was forced into a routine of minimum activity. Of course, lack of activity is not a good thing. Photography was my only escape but even that wasn't something I could do fully. To put plainly, I was desperate.

Then, at the beginning of 2016, I found a job as a technician in the technical department of a factory. After the horror of unemployment, I began experiencing the horror of job slavery. The job itself requires of me to be in the production area of a factory, a noisy and ultra hot space. My eyes and ears have to be focused on how the machines work and fix any problems that may arise. Compared to the rest of the story, this is the easy part. The difficult part is on the postscript at the end of the article.

Working long hours in a noisy and hot environment with all your senses at full, in a repeating pattern. When I get home I don't have the will power to do anything or have any interaction with anyone. I just want to empty my head and relax. Before that ends though, I have to get to sleep because I have to repeat everything the next day!

So, my job becomes a hindrance. I don't have the time or strength to do my photography. On the photos I already have, processing them and writing a semi-interesting accompanying text is a herculean task. The same for writing about other things. Learning new things requires too much attention and mental power, which I can't spare. OF course, I try to do things but everything seems a half-arsed attempt and not something I devoted myself into.

One might ask why don't I quit my job? It is the fear of being unemployed again. So, I am stuck between a rock and a hard place, with no way out in sight. This is the meaning of the Tarot card I included at the beginning of the article. The 8 of Swords meaning is a feeling of being trapped, although this trap may be just in the mind and it doesn't exist in reality.

Since I wrote about the Tarot, I will end this pretty depressive article with a Tarot reading! The question is simple; Work

I won't go into details about how to read the cards but in general it is a hopeful reading. Despite that the two Major Arcana cards signify that the situation is out of my control.

P.S. My salary is on the low end of the spectrum. I am a graduate of a technical school; people with university degrees get the same payment as me! 95% of the time I work extra time of at least one hour; and that is on the rare, good days! This extra time, when it is compensated, is paid with super market coupons. The reason for the overtime is because the technical department is understaffed. Therefore, if the morning swift leaves, there won't be enough people if a major problem arises. The second swift has to stay until the factory closes for the day, and that is not fixed.