I am depressed. A new survey by consulting group Mercer has found that two out of every five people aged 40-65 have had to change their retirement plans due to the financial crisis, with many now expecting to work past the age of 70!
As someone at the beginning of her career, I find this to be of great concern. It’s bad enough that we are working longer hours, and our stress levels are reaching boiling point, but now we have to come to terms with the fact that it may all be for nothing in the end?
Call me melodramatic if you must, but I actually want to have a life and enjoy it, without having to spend every waking moment stressing about deadlines. While I enjoy work and look forward to a long and exciting career (emphasis on the word ‘long’), don’t we all deserve a bit of R&R at some point? I mean after all, we work in order to be able to enjoy a particular type of lifestyle. We top up our superannuation fund waiting for that day when we can actually use the money we worked so hard for; dreaming of holidays, boats, a new beach house, or whatever it is our heart desires. But it kind of defeats the purpose if we don’t even get to enjoy it because we are too busy working, doesn’t it? When people look back on their life are they going to say – I had fun. I lived a long life, I visited some great places, saw the most amazing things, met some great people, had a family and really experienced life; or are they going to say – I got that project done in time?
As they say, “we are here for a good time, not a long time” and who wants to spend all that time stuck in an office, sorting paperwork and stressing over the most mundane things? Not me.
