Obama's inauguration

This picture of the world as Americans see it was sent to me by email. Click on it to see it bigger:




Will this change now?

Job Security

The current economic crisis is especially worrying for those whose employers are themselves experiencing financial difficulties. I keep hearing on the radio reports about factories that are about to close in areas where the prospects of finding another job are very low, perhaps because the factory is the only major employer.

I try to imagine how I would feel in that situation, because I just realised that since I've lived in France, I've never known what it is like to have job security. Every week, every month, I am obliged to secure enough work to provide for myself and my family. One of my current employers was generous enough to offer me a permanent contract - but it's an 'intermittant' contract, meaning that they have no obligation to pay me when there is no work to give me.

I'm thoroughly used to this situation now - it's kind of normal for me after seven years - and in one way I kind of like the challenge of finding better opportunities. But how would it feel if I had been working for the same company for 25 years and suddenly my job didn't exist anymore? That would be really hard. I've learned to be adaptable, flexible; but if I'd done one job since school, what would chance would I have of finding another job at my age? My heart goes out to those people, and I wish them lots of luck - they're going to need it.

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