I have to caveat this post with an objective, realistic statement: I have the most loving, caring, wonderful parent-in-laws. And I can thankfully say that about my parents as well. I know that I am utterly blessed, not only in the positive sense, but also in not having any real negative experiences, after so many horror stories I have read about in-laws in other cultures.
But. Just a little anecdote. Or two.
Last night, I was sitting with my in-laws (my husband wonderfully times his travels for these days) and chatting about my "work situation". I was telling them about my decision to leave the full-time office job I had, but that I'm happy that I have found a small, albeit temporary project. In reaction, my mother-in-law starts a story with "Do you know who else is unemployed?". Ouch. So I tried to explain that I have a project. I actually get paid for it. It is actually work, even if I don't sit at an office or work full-time. And in response, I get another story. "Do you know who else is working on the German minimum subsistence income?" (EUR 450 that unemployed people are allowed to earn without losing benefits). I again tried to explain that I don't consider myself unemployed, nor would the state as I've actually quadrupled my monthly earning just by switching from an office to a project for now. Did it go through? No. For every relative and friend on this planet, the phone line buzz over the next week will be "and do you know who else is now unemployed?".
Our parents generation grew up with life-time jobs. But even now, we still live in a society that somehow values only full-time, mainly institution-based employment. One day, I hope that we can value also productive work that comes in chunks, not surrounded by irrelevant, useless sitting around at the office or in meetings, just to kill time. And work that is not just valued by the amount and regularity of a paycheck.
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