I have been thinking a lot lately about the nature of work and the roles within our family.
My husband works a lot. His job is stressful, time consuming and emotionally unrewarding. He rarely takes time off and has few workplace benefits, other than making a decent wage (commisioned based).
My job is full-time, extremely low stress and has a very liberal amount of leave. I consciously chose such a career. I wanted a job that would work well with being a mother. The downside of this is that my job doesn’t pay very well and my skills and education aren’t being fully utilized.
Is it right to underutilize one’s abilities? Is it fair to one’s family, to society? Is it vital to “be all that you can be?”
March 15th, 2007 at 6:50 pm
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March 15th, 2007 at 11:43 pm
Oh, my. Such a question!
\” Is it right to underutilize one’s abilities? Is it fair to one’s family, to society? Is it vital to â€?be all that you can be?â€?\”
I think it\’s entirely up to the particular individual…what works for them and their life and family.
I was in a position similar to your husband\’s…extremely stressful, demanding job, but was paid extremely well. And I hated nearly every minute of it. I chucked it all for a job like yours. Waaaay less demanding with lots of autonomy and a great bunch of people to work with…but pays less than half of what I could make.
Am I underutilized? You betcha. Am I wasting some of my hard-earned education? Yup. Am I being all I can be? Not even close.
But what I AM being is happy. At this point in my life, that happens to be more important to me that being all I can be. It might not be fair to society, but it is to me. And that\’s the most important thing.
March 16th, 2007 at 3:29 pm
I agree with Pam. I use some of what I went to school for on a daily basis, but I do not use NEAR my abilities or knowledge that I have at the job. My “expertise” is cooking, the restaurant biz, wines, etc. But I grew weary of that biz after 2 1/2 decades. So, no I do not, but I am much happier and less stressed…and I can always cook for friends or family or teach a cooking class.