Meadowhall, Sheffield.
Brrrrrrr....last nights beautiful sunset came at a price. This morning we have a beautiful, clear, sun filled sky but a temperature of only 5 degrees C! I was tired last night and didn't check the weather forecast,consequently we didn't put the heating on and as a result its 'a bit chilly' in these parts right now. I have also woken with the beginnings of some noxious 'cold' bug.
Who cares......I have an unexpected Sunday off!
There will always be something special about a Sunday. This one is particularly special for me merely because today I'm not at work but all my life I have felt Sunday's are different to other days of the week.
In my childhood Sunday tended to be the day we got together with other family members or enjoyed days out. My father, by virtue of the fact he worked in television, always worked odd shifts and so I should be used to Sunday just being another day.... but somehow it isn't.
Despite the fact that we now all live in a 24/7 culture, motivated by economics, or in my opinion greed,I have had a long held belief that Sunday should remain the one day of the week where families and friends can relax together or individuals can do as they please. It is patently not the case in today's western society which I find sad.
I am of course biased, I have to work Sundays and it maybe unrealistic in today's world to expect not to, after all, the dedicated people who work in hospitals, for the emergency services or in a field such as that PG does, have no choice. The members of the public who require the services of these people do so on a 24/7 basis.
There is an significant difference here to me. The caring services are dealing with the lives of others, they make a real and important difference, the retail, entertainment and services industries are in it soley for the economic gain. That of course does not detract from the fact that those employed in the emergency services etc. still lose their Sunday but it at least is being lost for a very worthwhile reason.
I am of course no economist and I do understand that if one's competitor trades on a Sunday then so must the competition or risk losing the ever important 'market share'. When I chose to go into retail, Sunday trading was illegal. Sadly the majority of the large UK retail chains flouted the laws to such an extent that ultimately legislation was passed to enable Sunday trading to be legal. Theoretically that was to be an improvement because into the legislation was built specifics regarding the hours one could open. Sundays still seemed special at that point. A store the size of the one I am employed in can only open for 6 hours, which at least meant we got a lie in and to escape home early.
No......a way around that was soon found, the law only dictates how long the store may be open, not how many hours an individual can work, aside of course from the normal boundaries. Consequently most retailers now require Sunday staff to work a normal full day, the only difference being that 3 hours of that day is without the public present. There is a provision in the legislation for one to choose to 'opt out' of working Sunday, on religious or other grounds. One is legally not allowed to be penalised for taking that choice but having tried it believe me, if you take that option it is not well met and does damn all to enhance progression up the career ladder!
I am not a religious person, in fact I would describe myself as agnostic, I am just saddened that the all powerful 'God money' has eroded what was and in my humble opinion should still be, a special day.
Dream on eh?.
4 Comments:
I did realise that one's career path might not be helped by refusing Sunday work but, for some reason, it hadn't occurred to me that Sunday would actually be a full day, rather than the 6 hours shops are allowed to open for. It is a slippery slope - religious aspect apart, we already seem to work longer hours and have fewer holidays than most other countries and I'm sure the quality of people's performance must suffer accordingly. Hope your cold gets better soon.
At the start of the new law shops did tend to only have staff working the 6 hours, plus for the likes of me maybe half and hour to get things closed down etc. but gradually that disappeared until the full day became the norm. It is indeed a slippery slope.....don't start me on the Christmas issue! What really confounds me on that one is that so many people actually want to shop on Cristmas day and Boxing day.....arghhhhh!
Cold improving thank you :o)
Didn't get a chance to read the whole post, Scottie. But that was a nice pic. You and PG really have quite a nice little home, haven't you? I love what you've done with the foyer.
Rofl Dale......impressive eh? :o)
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