Friday, January 27, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
2080 Hours
I remember when I first started working. My father, a financial manager, set out to help me, an artsy kid, understand time and money: "Brian, there are 40 hours in a work week," he would begin. "Now multiply that number by 52 weeks and you arrive at the number 2080, the number of hours you will work in a year..."
Now, unless you're an accountant bent on minimizing strokes on a calculator, chances are good that you've never thought to use 2080 as a standard of measurement. Yet, we have all, at one time, believed in this standard.
On career day at school, we were taught as children that 40 hour work weeks awaited us upon entering "the real world." Annual salaries would grow as we pursued our dreams and moved up the ladder; onward and upward. Americans have always intrinsically known what a work year should be: 2080 hours.
And yet, to this day, I have never experienced this standard. I have had jobs; I have had careers. I have made very little; I have made a whole lot. I have worked an hour shift; I have worked a 16 hour day. I have labored at sunrise, at sunset, domestically and abroad. I, like so many, have even climbed the ladder and fallen off.
Doubtless, many have experienced the standard or still do. But the number 2080 is from a different time, bordering on the legendary. So why talk about it at all?
We owe it to each other to do so.
It was a promise that was hard won before it was broken. And while a lot of attention continues to be placed on how it was broken, who broke it and why, these energies are misguided.
We all deserve at least the standard. We can provide it for others and they can provide it for us. Work doesn't need to all come from a particular place or from a particular few. It can come from you.
With your help, I will work 2080 hours this year. It is a tangible goal; an attainable goal. And it will be met through our dedication and hard work.
Each Friday this year, I will post my progress and our stories on the blog.
I'm waiting for your email. I'm looking forward to helping you out on our next gig.
Can't wait, in fact.
Let's make it happen.
Yours Truly,
Brian D. Moses
Contact: moses.brian@gmail.com
Previous Blog: http://brianbouken.blogspot.com/
Boston area or beyond: We can work it out!
Now, unless you're an accountant bent on minimizing strokes on a calculator, chances are good that you've never thought to use 2080 as a standard of measurement. Yet, we have all, at one time, believed in this standard.
On career day at school, we were taught as children that 40 hour work weeks awaited us upon entering "the real world." Annual salaries would grow as we pursued our dreams and moved up the ladder; onward and upward. Americans have always intrinsically known what a work year should be: 2080 hours.
And yet, to this day, I have never experienced this standard. I have had jobs; I have had careers. I have made very little; I have made a whole lot. I have worked an hour shift; I have worked a 16 hour day. I have labored at sunrise, at sunset, domestically and abroad. I, like so many, have even climbed the ladder and fallen off.
Doubtless, many have experienced the standard or still do. But the number 2080 is from a different time, bordering on the legendary. So why talk about it at all?
We owe it to each other to do so.
It was a promise that was hard won before it was broken. And while a lot of attention continues to be placed on how it was broken, who broke it and why, these energies are misguided.
We all deserve at least the standard. We can provide it for others and they can provide it for us. Work doesn't need to all come from a particular place or from a particular few. It can come from you.
With your help, I will work 2080 hours this year. It is a tangible goal; an attainable goal. And it will be met through our dedication and hard work.
Each Friday this year, I will post my progress and our stories on the blog.
I'm waiting for your email. I'm looking forward to helping you out on our next gig.
Can't wait, in fact.
Let's make it happen.
Yours Truly,
Brian D. Moses
Contact: moses.brian@gmail.com
Previous Blog: http://brianbouken.blogspot.com/
Boston area or beyond: We can work it out!
Friday, January 13, 2012
Friday the 13th? This is your lucky day!
Hello, my name is Brian. Nice to meet you!
My New Year's resolution for 2012 is to try many different types of work and to tell stories about the experiences here through words and pictures. Be it volunteer work, temporary jobs, employment, or apprenticing... you name it, I want to try it. Why? Because I am your everyday, average underemployed American, looking to gain some perspective while having fun in the process.
As the year gets underway, I face the same challenges many workers are facing in this economy, but I don't want to let these challenges get me down. Therefore, being that I am happiest when active, I am looking for your help to make this my liveliest job search ever!
So, if you are in a position to offer an assignment-- be it an incomplete task, a much needed service, or even an unusual job-- I will happily complete it for fair compensation. This could mean food, because I love to eat. It could mean money, because I love to earn a decent wage. Heck, if you have some awesome antique or handmade item to trade, I love things, too!
The big picture I am attempting to convey through my actions and writing is how people can repurpose themselves to be more capable and entrepreneurial in their own communities. We don't need to feel desperate or disenfranchised in these difficult times. It is much better to just make an impact every day.
Now get me out of bed. There's work to be done!
Yours Truly,
Brian D. Moses
Contact: moses.brian@gmail.com
Previous Blog: http://brianbouken.blogspot.com/
Boston area or beyond: We can work it out!
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