Here is the first post in this series
I know there are a lot of people out there who like their job and some actually love their job. That's great. Good for them. However, I'm not one of those people. I haven't been one of those people in a very long time. There was a time when I enjoyed my work, something I'll touch on in a minute. Unfortunately, I no longer find satisfaction in what I do, which is my main reason for pursuing financial independence. I dream of the day I'm able to walk away from full-time work where someone else dictates what I do in order to earn money.
In this post, I'm going to talk about my current circumstances, which, not long ago, was much better than it is now. Thanks to a new boss, my work environment has become nearly unbearable.
Some Backstory
If you don't already know, I'm a computer programmer. I've been in this line of work for 20 years. Before that, I worked a string of manual labor jobs because I was teaching myself how to program computers. Prior to this transition, I worked as a firefighter and an EMT for a few years. And my first real, grown-up job was in the Army, where I turned wrenches repairing helicopter engines.
I really enjoyed working on helicopter engines in the Army. I got to fly in attack helicopters at the age of 18. How cool is that? Also, where else can a person that age be entrusted with such responsibility? I also enjoyed working as a firefighter/EMT. I always looked up to these people when I was younger and was proud to serve in that line of work; to actually have a job with real meaning, saving lives. Unfortunately, the non-glamorous side of that work far outweighs the glamorous. The high degree of stress, dealing with actual life-and-death situations, ridiculously low pay, and, yes, even the disrespect you encounter from those you try to help made it impossible for me to continue doing it. So, I spent a year teaching myself how to program so I could get into a line of work that would provide a better future for me and my family.
I absolutely loved programming in those early years. When I got my first and second jobs with companies where I learned Windows development (using C) and web development (classic ASP using VBScript), I was in heaven. Of course, I was still very young; about 25 or 26 years old, and naive when it came to office politics and the ways of the business world. All I cared about at the time was learning new technologies while earning a fat income. I hopped from company to company seeking new opportunities to learn and grow and get those nice pay increases.
During my tenure as a software developer, I've worked at small companies, consisting of about 5 employees (the smallest I've worked for), all the way up to mega-corporations with thousands of global employees (MCI). So, I've experienced many diverse work environments. I survived career burn out 3 times so far and have learned to suck it up and drive on. Sure, when things go sour at one company, switching to a different one can alleviate most of that...for a little while, at least.
One thing I've learned is that nearly all companies, no matter the size, are subject to the office politics and rigmarole of the dog-and-pony shows supervisors, managers, and C-level employers like to indulge in. This extraneous bullshit has made me hate business and working for others. But, also, it's a fact of life. This isn't something unique to me. Everyone experiences the same routine of getting up everyday to spend at least 8 hours doing what someone else dictates in order to earn a paycheck so they can live.
So, the mega-corp that I currently work for was a satisfying place to work up until a few months ago. My former boss, his boss, and our senior developer all left the team for various reasons. I was in a happy place at this stage: drawing a nice salary while working from home 3 days a week. I'd been steadily saving and investing too, since I learned about this thing called FIRE that would allow me to eventually buy my freedom from work in a decade. Life was good. All I had to do was sit steady in the boat and continue doing what I was doing.
Enter the New Boss
A new boss was assigned to our team and he seemed okay at first. In addition, we got a new senior developer from a different team to fill in for the one we'd lost. They listened as we discussed the program, filling them on how it works and the processes we go through in order to develop and maintain it. It was clear that this new boss was appointed by the Powers-That-Be to whip our team into shape and bring our old jalopy-of-a-program up to date. Like I said, both of these new team members seemed okay...at first.
Then things changed.
Once our boss was more familiar with how we did things and why, he began to grow very condescending toward us. First, he singled out one or two members of the team whom he questioned during team meetings, putting them on the spot by asking pointed questions and acting impatient or annoyed at their responses. Me and my team members cringed during these altercations, not wanting to be the one in the spotlight, offered up as the sacrificial lamb to appease the angry boss.
I Become the Sacrificial Lamb
I went on a much anticipated (and much needed) vacation for 2 weeks. When I returned and went into work on my appointed day, I was summoned to my boss's office. I closed the door as instructed and sat down. I was nervous by this impromptu meeting. He stared across his desk at me and asked how my vacation was. I told him it was nice to recharge my batteries. (Obviously, this isn't what he wanted to see me about and I was waiting for the other shoe to drop.)
He proceeded to tell me that he wanted me to come into the office everyday from now on. No more working from home for me. His reasoning (if you can call it that) was due to me having a "cap on my effort" and he thought I needed a "reset". When I asked if this was just temporary, he said he didn't think so because he felt that I would benefit from being in the presence of other developers while I worked. All of the things he said seemed to come from out of nowhere.
Clearly, it was all bullshit. He simply didn't like me for whatever reason (and the feeling is mutual). The icing on the cake was when he brought up me wanting to "retire early". This raised a huge red flag since I don't normally talk to anyone (other than my wife and really close friend) about my aspirations about retiring early. Then I remembered a passing comment I made in front of the new senior developer about pulling the plug on work in the near future. I had no idea that that comment would register so profoundly with that asshat. Nor did I realize at the time that this new senior developer was one of our new boss's little minions.
As time has gone by, I've witnessed on numerous occasions that the senior developer runs to our boss's office at least once a day, presumably to give him updates on the team and our morale.
I decided to keep my head down, bite the bullet and make the commute to work every day. After all, I was still employed when many others don't even have that luxury. Then, as a major release date approached, the boss began dropping hints that we would need to work the weekend to complete our tasks. Luckily, this didn't happen because it was just enough motivation to make us pour on the gas and get things done (even if it meant just working longer hours during the week). I imagine this is a technique he employs to see how much we are capable of doing in a pinch. Something that will gradually become the norm.
A Second Altercation
I adapted to my new routine after some time, while keeping my head down. Then a family crisis loomed. It looked like I might need to miss a couple days of work in order to take care of it. Luckily, I had some forewarning, so I decided to notify my boss just to keep him in the loop. When I spoke to him, I said I would need to travel in order to retrieve my son from out of state, I expected some empathy or concern. After all, it was a critical situation. That's not what I got. Instead, my boss asked if I had any PTO left. I told him I didn't and proceeded to get a 20 minute lecture on why that was a bad situation to be in. He said he needed to have this talk with the whole team so this situation wasn't repeated. I sat through his diatribe in stunned silence as I turned his reaction over in my mind looking for some sense in it. I bit tongue, not wanting to tell him to go fuck himself right then and there.
I ended up traveling out of state the next week to get my son. As a show of good faith, I worked the previous weekend to cover the time I would miss. I made a point to keep him updated and he accepted it. Prior to telling him, however, I ran scenarios through my mind of how he might react and I kept telling myself that, no matter what, the worst-case scenario would be me telling him to shove his shitty little job up his fat ass, that my son meant more than the job, Fortunately, it didn't come to that. I brought my son home and still have my job.
What Lies Ahead?
Things have settled back down after the crisis. I'm back into my routine even though it still sucks. My boss still makes work life barely tolerable. I've seen my boss's true nature. I know my team members all secretly despise him, and for good reason. We each face our workdays with nervous trepidation, not knowing if it will be our last day at the company. That's a shitty way to earn a living.
So, I'm biting the bullet and doing what needs to be done so I can keep padding my investments. I tell myself that every paycheck puts me that much closer to giving the middle finger to all the jobs and shitty bosses out there. One day, I won't need to work for money, doing what someone else tells me to do. I can use my hours and days doing what I want to do.
So, if you're one of those people who enjoys your job, or, even better, loves your job. Again, I say, "Good for you!" Hold onto it because you never know when things will turn shitty.
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