Working Lives

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Sally: I was made redundant from my last job, which was quite a shock to me. I worked as a receptionist in an estate agent for six years and really enjoyed it. It was usually busy and there were always interesting new people to meet, but the business was bought by another company and many of us lost our jobs. I’ve been unemployed for months now and I really hate it. I’ve been looking for another office job, preferably part-time as I have children to look after, but it’s not easy for a woman of my age. However, I must remain positive. I have applied for a few jobs already, with no luck so far, but I have got an interview next week, which I’m really pleased about, so fingers crossed that it goes well for me.

Victor: I worked in the mining industry for many more years than I care to remember. I started down the pits as a young lad of fourteen, straight out of school. In those days, working conditions were really hard. It was dirty, dangerous work, physically exhausting, and we worked long hours, sometimes twelve hours a day underground. That was really difficult at first, especially as we never saw daylight in the winter, but you sort of get used to it, I suppose. When I was older, I joined the miners’ trade union and we went on strike quite a few times for better pay or to improve the work and conditions, but things never really got much better. It was still a dark and dangerous job when I retired last year. Although the equipment and safety measures had improved, they expected more from you. I was glad to get out.

Emily: I work in an office for the local water company in the centre of town. I’ve been working there for seven years now. My main responsibility is to deal with complaints from customers, of which there can be many, especially when there’s a broken pipe somewhere. My job involves a lot of paperwork, which fortunately I don’t mind too much. I also have to attend meetings, sometimes in other parts of the country, which is quite good fun, but I sometimes have to work overtime. My job isn’t very well paid, but I enjoy it and I like the people I work with. Actually, I’ve just been promoted and given more responsibility, which I’m thrilled about, especially as I’m six months pregnant with my first baby, so they obviously want to keep me. I’m going to take maternity leave soon, and they’ll hold my job open for me for a year.

Marcus: I’m an apprentice electrician and it’s my first job. I left school last year without many qualifications, so I feel lucky to have this job. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, or actually what I could do, but my uncle was an electrician and he took me to work with him for a week so I could see what the job was like. After that, I knew I wanted to try it, so I looked for jobs with my uncle’s help. I joined this company a few months ago. It’s a small family company and the people are very nice. I go to college one day a week and work the other four. I work far harder than I ever worked at school. The work is very challenging. You have to be really accurate and take a great deal of care, because the consequences are awful if things go wrong.

Matilda: I worked for a publisher for twenty years, where I was in charge of the accounts department. It was a well-paid job and I had a good team of people working for me, but it was also very stressful and I worked long hours. I got tired of doing the same thing year in, year out and having no time to myself, and so I resigned two years ago. I retrained as a physiotherapist. Now I work freelance, which has many advantages for me. I work from home and I like being my own boss. My work – in fact, my whole life – is less pressured. I can choose when I work and I now have time for other things, which is great. I don’t earn as much, but the work is interesting. The main thing is that my work is no longer the focus of my life. I have time for other things.