Or is that just me?We are fearful of standing up for ourselves en masse and not many of us have the nerve and self-belief to go it alone. So while I would love to believe we would all do our proper hours and no more for a day - with all the chaos that would ensue - it is no more likely than Tony and Gordon holding hands, weeping and sharing their pain on Trisha before the next election. And that ain't never going to happen.The lawyerI never take my full five weeks holiday - and I never switch offVictoria Green, 33, divorce and family lawyer in BirminghamI have never added up the hours I do but it's way beyond a 40-hour week. This extra effort was always in response to some senior person's plea: "Could you just stay to finish this?" or "You're OK to help finesse this, aren't you?" or worse, the faux-innocent comment designed to further their own ends via the well-known method of making you feel bad about yourself: "Oh, are you leaving without dealing with this?"Why is it that we don't just politely but firmly reply, "Well, yes I've been at it all day and I'm off now. It can wait." Why don't we have proper self-esteem and self-worth? Why? Because we've been brought up by undermining "count-your-blessings-don't-rock-the-boat" types who have made us feel that if we do not try our extra-special-best all the time then we will get a nasty surprise in the shape of someone else much more talented/willing/attractive/pleasant who just happens to be hovering around the corner eager to pounce on the job and, what's more, for half the wages. And for once, this unappealing trait doesn't just apply to women.
Somehow we all seem to have been conned into believing that we are lucky to have a job Now, for some of us this is true. It is genuinely wonderful to have a job you love - and I should know. In my leaner years (financially lean, not physically lean, I've never had any of those) I did temporary secretarial work and I loathed every minute of it.I hated it because it wasn't my chosen career and because I felt it wasn't worthy of my talents ("comedy typing" isn't much use at an architect's firm). And yet I worked not only as many hours as I could because I needed the money to live, but also more hours than strictly necessary, which often went unpaid. But we already know that we do much more than we need or ought to, and our slave-like devotion is rarely rewarded or even recognised. It doesn't take too many comparisons to get your blood boiling - teachers and nurses, toiling away at what are arguably two of the most valuable jobs in the country, work ridiculously long hours and are paid pitifully low wages while the bloke currently cocking up Marks & Spencer's hitherto unstoppable profits gets more moolah, and as a bonus if you please, than most of the country put together.It was ever thus The British are work horses.
We are an obsequious lot doffing our collective cap at the "guv" while internally seething with rage at the injustices meted out to us by him and his like. contributed to comments provided by his [US] superior on thedocument while it was in draft." Of the Abu Ghraib pictures, Mr Ingram said: "Nothing in that document authorised the kind of abuse that have subsequently come to light."Mr Price said: "Much of the Iraqi insurgency deepened after the Abu Ghraib photos emerged - a scandal foreseen by the Red Cross's findings.". So, the TUC has scheduled a Work Your Proper Hours Day for Friday. Hah! "Work your proper hours?" You might as well try to drum up support for a "Women Love Fellatio Day" or "Men Initiate Conversations with Other Men About Their Feelings Day" because it just won't work (no pun intended). The MoD has refused to disclose what action the British lawyer took, however.
