How's everyone doing business/work wise?

[dobbslc]

Been very busy all the way through CXXXD , work went flat out as they furloughed most of the electricians and made 3 of us carry the can! I was planning what I wanted to do on the house when I was told I wasn't going on a free long holiday
Over work, no appreciation, very hot weather, fixing other people's **Language** up's took it's toll on me.
The final straw was the arrogant bullying contracts director decided it would be a great idea to set up a Zoom meeting to tell us we weren't working hard enough or booking enough hours and were going home to early! I've never worked so hard in the 19 years I'd been there!!!
To say I was fuming would be an understatement
I jacked a few weeks later.
So I'm now working with a new company with a bit more money and less responsibly, have been praised by the London director and just this morning given a £50 Amazon voucher for my efforts
Night and day difference.
Construction is pretty well flat out in London Tann!
I really want to give all this work malarkey up but have a good bit of mortgage to pay off yet

 

[slim_boy_fat]

I need an enthusiastic trustworthy type to develop my website/web presence. Not-A-Chance :-(

@malcolm

 

[James1979]

Been very busy all the way through CXXXD , work went flat out as they furloughed most of the electricians and made 3 of us carry the can! I was planning what I wanted to do on the house when I was told I wasn't going on a free long holiday
Over work, no appreciation, very hot weather, fixing other people's **Language** up's took it's toll on me.
The final straw was the arrogant bullying contracts director decided it would be a great idea to set up a Zoom meeting to tell us we weren't working hard enough or booking enough hours and were going home to early! I've never worked so hard in the 19 years I'd been there!!!
To say I was fuming would be an understatement
I jacked a few weeks later.
So I'm now working with a new company with a bit more money and less responsibly, have been praised by the London director and just this morning given a £50 Amazon voucher for my efforts
Night and day difference.
Construction is pretty well flat out in London Tann!
I really want to give all this work malarkey up but have a good bit of mortgage to pay off yet

Some people are just born a-holes I’m afraid. I’m glad you saw the light and moved on and you’re better looked after

 

[northwest]

@malcolm

I did think John but I need someone to be able to photograph and describe all of the stuff so not practical unfortunately

 

[Mr Roo]

I’ve done badly and brilliantly throughout this whole covid malarkey.

the beginning of it saw me lose out on a £1k/week contracting job (traffic engineering, desk based) that was about to be extended another few months, so that sucked. I’d also already been in talks to go back on site with my previous employer as I had an inkling covid was about to cause me employment woes.

got the phonecall on the way in “sites have just shut down... can’t take you back on” and arrived at work to be told “pack your stuff, we’ll pay your next 3 weeks, office is shutting!”

agency wouldn’t furlough; so I spoke to FiL who gave me keys to his workshop and I started knocking up gym equipment - the joys of being an engineer and fabricator who’s a gymgoer meant I understood the flaws in other designs and made some very robust kit - and given the price I was getting the steel for I was making ridiculous cash for not a massive amount of hours.

worked a couple weeks at a supermarket, left that because i forgot i can’t work in those kind of environments! went to work for a VERY BIG stainless firm, lasted two weeks because there was a personality clash between me and the manager... (detailed in my post history somewhere!) but I wasn’t complaining - think there was a 2month notice period on the contract so my pay was excellent for a 2 week stint hahaha!!

went back to work for the prior employer after lockdown, but also picked up a lot of side work (gates, railings, lapsteel guitars, motocross bikes...) and then ended up blagging a job at the local college where I teach welding...

started Dec 1st, Xmas started Dec 6th, furloughed until end of March... and greenlighted by manager to work elsewhere whilst furloughed so I picked up a contract 2mins from my door making a good bit of cash just welding excavator saddles - up until the f***er bumped my last two invoices (but we’ll see how that pans out for him in the long run...)

now back working, busier than ever with my own stuff, am closer to debt-free (and buying a house!) than I’ve ever been.

so aye... some hard times, some great times, and I’m eternally thankful for the chances I’ve had through lockdown which have ultimately served me better than I’ve ever had it before!!

 

[Cato]

It's a pretty mixed bag then, as to be expected I suppose.

The mention of sandwich shops struck a chord. Before the first lockdown I just used to call into a shop and buy lunch either on the way to site, or mid-morning. I haven't been in a shop of any kind since March 2020, a combination of covid rules playing into my natural antisocial and misanthropic tendencies. Shopping is delivered and if we run out or forget something we wait until the next delivery, fuel is pay at pump, materials delivered to site, and anything else is ordered online and delivered. The revelation being that I didn't actually need to go into shops, let alone want to. A habit that will probably continue to be honest.

So I make sandwiches and take a lunchbox now, something I haven't done for a few decades but now I'm not sure why I stopped. That made me notice that most of the lads I work with or near didn't.

I mentioned this to my wife and she pointed out that whilst I was just doing what I'd done previously and could drop back into the habit, they'd probably never done it. When you think about it, aside from the nearest roach coach and chippy there wasn't really anywhere to buy food from. I'm not sure if that applied to office based environments, but it didn't for people working in/on sites and workshops in the '80s. I can't really remember when that changed or how quickly, but it seems an industry basically appeared and almost created its own market.

So sandwich shops will lose business, and I'll probably end up spending the money I'm saving on other things. Money which really didn't need to be spent, it was just convenience/laziness which formed a habit.

 

[premmington]

I’ve done badly and brilliantly throughout this whole covid malarkey.

the beginning of it saw me lose out on a £1k/week contracting job (traffic engineering, desk based) that was about to be extended another few months, so that sucked. I’d also already been in talks to go back on site with my previous employer as I had an inkling covid was about to cause me employment woes.

got the phonecall on the way in “sites have just shut down... can’t take you back on” and arrived at work to be told “pack your stuff, we’ll pay your next 3 weeks, office is shutting!”

agency wouldn’t furlough; so I spoke to FiL who gave me keys to his workshop and I started knocking up gym equipment - the joys of being an engineer and fabricator who’s a gymgoer meant I understood the flaws in other designs and made some very robust kit - and given the price I was getting the steel for I was making ridiculous cash for not a massive amount of hours.

worked a couple weeks at a supermarket, left that because i forgot i can’t work in those kind of environments! went to work for a VERY BIG stainless firm, lasted two weeks because there was a personality clash between me and the manager... (detailed in my post history somewhere!) but I wasn’t complaining - think there was a 2month notice period on the contract so my pay was excellent for a 2 week stint hahaha!!

went back to work for the prior employer after lockdown, but also picked up a lot of side work (gates, railings, lapsteel guitars, motocross bikes...) and then ended up blagging a job at the local college where I teach welding...

started Dec 1st, Xmas started Dec 6th, furloughed until end of March... and greenlighted by manager to work elsewhere whilst furloughed so I picked up a contract 2mins from my door making a good bit of cash just welding excavator saddles - up until the f***er bumped my last two invoices (but we’ll see how that pans out for him in the long run...)

now back working, busier than ever with my own stuff, am closer to debt-free (and buying a house!) than I’ve ever been.

so aye... some hard times, some great times, and I’m eternally thankful for the chances I’ve had through lockdown which have ultimately served me better than I’ve ever had it before!!

The above account - pleases me!

Proves if you get up out of bed - do something - do anything - other opportunities come along.

(Yes I had to google how to spell it)


"One door shuts another opens"

 

[badabec]

However you are doing, keep an eye on any private pensions you may have. Check with an independent financial advisor that your money is in the best place and not stuck in the doldrums.
If you haven't got a private pension, start one now, don't put it off.