Turning 50: Part 3 – Underrated and Under-appreciated Corporate Life
40 to 50 (I’m not quite yet 50, though 😅) has gone really quick. It’s almost scary how fast it went. Looking back, these past 10 years were mostly spent on work. I did some travelling, photographing, coding, etc., but those were all secondary (or even tertiary, considering the parenting efforts), and I never felt free from work even on my rest days or during holidays.
I definitely don’t want my next 10 years to go like that. So, once again thinking about retiring before 60, ideally at 55 if at all possible. I might often sound like a guy who hates working, which I don’t deny 😂 but in fact, I’m a very hard-working person with a strong work ethic. This probably comes from my perfectionist nature.
That said, with my weak communication skills and non-existent leadership 😅, I had been too afraid to be promoted to a managerial position for years until I eventually moved up a few years ago out of fear of being retrenched.
Today, I’m somehow doing fine in the managerial role, but surprised to find out that the manager’s job is easier and paid significantly higher for seemingly less important work that I do.
What I mean by “less important” is no damage will be done to the company even if I (as a manager) am gone, but if I (as a non-managerial client-facing employee) were gone, a dip in quality of work would easily be noticed by clients as I was almost irreplaceable in that role. 😅
In a way, the corporate world isn’t kind to those hardworking non-managerial employees that lack leadership. These are the people that are always underrated and under-appreciated for the high quality work they do.
Anyway, never mind, as I’ll be out of it soon! At the end of the day, the corporate work isn’t “my stuff”. It’s someone else’s business. Once I’ve retired, I’m finally going to live for my own stuff. 😀
Read All Series
PART 1 Turning 50: Part 1 – Young at Heart or Immature?
PART 2 Turning 50: Part 2 – Aging Is Preparation
PART 3 Turning 50: Part 3 – Underrated and Under-appreciated Corporate Life
PART 4 Turning 50: Part 4 – Life Begins at Retirement
PART 5 Turning 50: Part 5 – In the End, It’s People That Matter
PART 6 Turning 50: Part 6 – 50 Is the Time to Rethink about Life Going Ahead
PART 7 To Be Released on 7 July
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About the Author: LASTLIGHTS.NET is a passion project of Joey J, a Singapore-based Japanese photographer primarily shooting cityscape photography with long exposure at blue hour. Visit his Home Gallery (30 most favourite photos taken) or download his free eBook, Getting Started with Long Exposure Photography.
22 Comments
As one who retired at 61 and has been retired for 8 years, retirement is the best promotion you have ever worked for. There were aspects of my job that I liked, but I took it 39 1/2 years prior knowing it was a means to an end. Corporate culture will wear you down, but the end result is worth it. Good luck.
Thank you for your comment! I’m looking forward to retiring. People say, “Life begins at retirement”, and I really want my life to finally get started. 😅 Pls take care and enjoy!
Great post Joey!
Also nothing wrong with no liking working, after all we work to live not live to work. I agree and I find the people in the lowest paying jobs work the hardest, like many hospitality jobs here pay quite low but they work very hard and often long hours too!
Thanks! I should’ve been paid a lot more for the high quality work I did for years as a non-managerial employee, but now I feel I’m overpaid. 😅
May you find joy in your journey to and through retirement. 💕✨
Thank you, I’m thinking about the retirement every day. 😅
I enjoyed reading this, and I feel the same – time is speeding by so quickly, and it is hard to bring together all that is important in life (family, work, freedom of free time). The one thing photography and travel have done is make it possible to bring all three of these essential aspects together in a creative process 🙂 Lovely photos and I look forward to reading/viewing more.
Thank you for your comment! Photography and travel are always a good combo. Once retired, I’d love to travel more and longer cos I can’t go away for too long (like a month or two) while working full-time.
Thanks for sharing this idea Joey. Lovely photos. Anita
No worries, thank you for reading!
My husband and I also just entered our 50’s … and it’s an exciting time of our lives! We quit our jobs about 4 years ago, got out of the rat race and did some local road trips – it was the best time of our lives! My husband now has another year of contract work … which means we are probably semi-retired … and that’s great! Can’t wait for the “real deal” of full retirement!
Sounds exciting! I’m also considering to switch to part-time at some point in future, working 3 days a week, but for now, still need full-time income. 😅 Enjoy your life ahead!
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Hi Joey, I was also wondering, why the hell do they pay so much, when I became manager. I always had problems to explain to my kids, what I did all day long 😇😅. But that’s part of the system. Gives you the chance to save some money and retire early. There is a fantastic website “Mr. Money Moustache” that deals with this topic.
Thank you for the resource. Never seen it before. 😅 I wasn’t expecting much pay rise when I finally moved up to a managerial position, then quite surprised to see the salary jumping up. 😂
👌👌
I retired in my 60’s and have never looked back, though I do miss some of the social aspects. Enjoy the life you’ve worked so hard to achieve!
Thank you! If we’re to work 40 years, we should be having another 40 years of free time after that! 😅
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