Occupational Hazards

Many of us spend much of our time at the office, living, breathing and thinking about the job. This dedication to work sometimes comes at the expense of our private life, but we only realize it when it’s too late; there is the oft-mentioned warning that nobody on their deathbed wishes they had spent more time slaving away in their cubicle.

The modern office is the focus of this issue, including dealing with the “jungle” of competition in today’s workplace, as well as a selection of books to help frazzled employees make it through the day. Perhaps the best way to look at things is that a job is a means to an end, as Kate Lamb writes in this month’s Said & Done, and to plan carefully for that day when we will finally be able to pursue our passions.

That is unless, of course, we are in the envious position of having a job that is actually something we love, such as the Indonesian expatriates who have gone abroad to pursue their dreams. Their stories make for interesting reading and, perhaps, may inspire some of us to step out of comfort zones (even if they’re really our discomfort zones) to find true satisfaction in our lives.

Read on, enjoy and let work take a backseat for a while. For it will still be waiting when you are done!

- Bruce Emond

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