What is or was your Occupation?

[wormy]

roger said:

Hi Yong-Le,

My first job was as a dealer on the London Stock Exchange but I am now a team leader in the claims department of an insurance company. You might say I started at the top and worked my way down!

Roger

Wow, that's pretty ironic. But as long as you're happy with your job, right?

Yong-Le

[wormy]

stevehome said:

Hi Everybody,

Like Joe, I am an identical twin. For my 'day' job I am the Commercial Director of a group of military electronics companies based in the UK, to save going into too much detail about what we build you can visit my website here www.rockford.co.uk I am married with 2 children Barrie aged 23 and Justine 21.

Its good to put occupations to posters, so far we have people from all walks of life, with one common denominator, HAYLEY.

Steve H

Steve,
It seems like you have a really nice job in a very cool company!
And I can't agree more that all our common denominator is Hayley i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

Cheers,
Yong-Le

[fusilier23]

Interesting, Roger. I did insurance defense work for almost five years myself, but left after a split in the firm led to the remaining partners deciding to make life a little less pleasant for all concerned. I have since joined the law department of one of the NJ cities, but for some reason I was placed in the labor unit, dealing with all the employment issues rather than the litigation unit. Prolly just as well, I am glad to take a break from the claim game.

Still, one thing about the whole claims business, you only dealt in compensation for this or that. Whatever damage was going to be done had already been done. These days I have the power to suspend folks without pay or terminate them and block them from further public employment. I feel like I'm playing with people's lives and it does lead to some sleepless nights when I know someone is going to take painful consequences. However, someone who lies to me garners no sympathy. You mess up, you admit it, I might go easy on you if it's an isolated incident, but try to hide it and what else can I do?

[roger]

Quite right, Steve. A little leniency for an isolated incident is one thing but without the necessary discipline we would have anarchy.

...It's just the same on these forums, really!

Only kidding, folks!

Roger [ducking and running]

[stevemacdonald]

fusilier23 said:

... However, someone who lies to me garners no sympathy. You mess up, you admit it, I might go easy on you if it's an isolated incident, but try to hide it and what else can I do?

I have never lied to a boss but I've not been believed all the time, and that's created a lot of painful consequences for me. Some people in authority are just plain cynical and don't trust a person to tell the whole truth. My own worst case was when a bank deposit I made for my employer to the after-hours box never got credited. The management assumed I was a thief and made me take a polygraph which I promptly flunked. About two minutes before the ax was to fall they got word from the bank that a defective chute was to blame and that several other businesses had the same problem. I kept my job but lost all respect for the bosses.

[roger]

I trust you received an apology from them, Steve?

Roger

[wormy]

Wow, that must have sucked so bad. So are you still with them and do they trust you from then?

[stevemacdonald]

No, I haven't worked for them for years. It did instill in me a basic lack of trust for employers in general since everyone's expendable to them. But there is something to be said for working thankless jobs. It does promote independence.

I've been self-employed since 1994 and haven't looked back.

[fusilier23]

That's not right, at least based on what I'm hearing here. But one case I had recently the guy took someone's personal vehicle, which he wasn't supposed to be driving anyway b/c he wasn't licensed, borrowed someone else's gas card, dispensed publicly-owned gas into this unauthorized vehicle, then told the police he was someone else. Come on here.

He had been around for over 20 years with a clean record, which is why he got a 6-month suspension rather than a termination.

[postscript]

stevemacdonald said:

fusilier23 said:

... However, someone who lies to me garners no sympathy. You mess up, you admit it, I might go easy on you if it's an isolated incident, but try to hide it and what else can I do?

I have never lied to a boss but I've not been believed all the time, and that's created a lot of painful consequences for me. Some people in authority are just plain cynical and don't trust a person to tell the whole truth.

I suspect this is one of the many reasons we love and support Hayley. In that interview currently on the main page, as one comes in, linking a caite connection with a 2004 Pure launch interview, a lovely term was used describing Hayley as 'clean cut'. That also evokes a certain American attitude, but again perhaps too much 50s(?) of the American dream: straight up, straight forward, clean cut kids.

This is Hayley and those around her. Your particular expereince indicates a lowering of standards and general competence as we experience in the UK. One used to trust until one had cause not to and general competence would have demanded of the bank, 'are you sure your systems are water-tight? Any similar complaints from other customers? All these procedures should be covered as an automatic default function from both bank and your company. Regrettably, sometimes this even happens in the judicial system and we seem to have miscarraige of justice after miscarriage of justice and when we do obtain proper convictions we let them out too soon to re-offend, or demand they aren't properly sentenced becauase we won't build the necessary prisons. That then leads to why we have such a recalcitrant society and the last organisation the government looks at is the ineptitude of its own politicians and their determination to look good, rather than take responsibility for leading from the front.

I am sorry to think standartds are falling in the States as well as here.

Peter

[fusilier23]

And this is in the UK, which is the toughest sentencer of the EU countries. Personally, I think Europe would be better off if they started "permanently getting rid of" murderers, et al, and also took a look at "three strikes and you're out" laws. The fact is that fully funded retirement in a crime-loaded system has very little value.

[Dave]

Back on topic.

I've been retired on a pension for the last 8 years... and I'm stll in my 50s. Love it!

Dave

[Steve H]

Hi Dave,

Can I ask what you did before you retired?

Hi Roger,

I was surprised to see that you you still find time to work, you must be able to get away without much sleep, and do you have email and web access at work?

Steve H

[postscript]

fusilier23 said:

And this is in the UK, which is the toughest sentencer of the EU countries. Personally, I think Europe would be better off if they started "permanently getting rid of" murderers, et al, and also took a look at "three strikes and you're out" laws. The fact is that fully funded retirement in a crime-loaded system has very little value.

As someone suggested to me about creating a special thread (and I will) on my inviting debate on the harmonies and disharmonies of the English language in the middle of the Worcester thread, may I suggest this debate my also have its own thread headed, say, 'moral values', since that makes it more Hayley related than 'Crime and punishment'?

In specific answer to this post, I have always been a 'flog 'em and hang 'em' man but continually argue the validity against myself!

Peter


Remainder of post deleted following discussions with HWI Forum Admin.

[postscript]

dave said:

Back on topic.

I've been retired on a pension for the last 8 years... and I'm stll in my 50s. Love it!

Dave

I'll bet you do! Good luck and well done.

Peter