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Might not be the right forum but please indulge me, I had a phone call today from an Engineer I use on a self employed employed sub contract basis, I’ve known him for over 25 years and he just couldn’t finish the job he was on, I’ve been worried about him for weeks but could not get any sense out of him about what was wrong.
He has only been been self employed for just over 2 years and it was slightly forced on him because of redundancy, I have tried to help him as much as I can over the last 2 years but as he has only ever worked for a national company the move to multi branded work and also doing all the paperwork, phone calls etc I knew would be difficult for him.
To cut a long story short I had to drive 50 miles to meet him at the customers house, to say I was shocked was an understatement, he was a jibbering wreck shaking like a leaf and had lost it completely, the customer was as concerned as me and I finished off the job for him took him home and called all his next appointments to explain.
The pressures of working for himself has been too much for him, money, amount of work, stuff he has never had to do before, lots of different makes, people slow in paying etc.. my point is at any time anyone of us could reach breaking point, it’s a lonely business sometimes.
I hope my friend recovers but we have lost a good Engineer to this trade as I doubt he can face coming back 🙁
Re: A sad tale…
Hi Dave sorry to hear about your friend mate, hope he recovers. You are right though, when self employed it can be a cold / lonely place.
Andy
Re: A sad tale…
It certainly is a lonely job at times.
Tough enough when you chose to be self employed,more difficult when you are made redundant.
Hope he pulls through,who knows what turmoil in his life could have led to this,it’s usually a build of things,maybe not even work induced.Re: A sad tale…
Good job he’s got a friend like you!
Sounds like he needs some support.And some people think being self employed is easy… they don’t know the half of it.
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Yes its not for everyone this self-employed lark…..
You need thick skin 😯
A very good sense of humour 😆
Ability to get on with the people that you meet….inc the pri..ks 👿
Not to take things to heart….! 😉
Be a magician…..mind reader…..juggler….clairvoyant … :rolls:
The list goes on….and on….!
So when people say to me I think I am going to go self employed
I say think long and hard …….its a new world….a new game altogether ?Hope he gets his head back together again…..there is more to life than work…?
Be a human being……NOT A HUMAN DOING….!
Sounds like he has a good mate ….to help him
canufixitRe: A sad tale…
It does sound as though there is more to this than meets they eye but it is a reminder of the pressures of being out there on your own.
Many years ago whilst at Hotpoint a new engineer started and came out with me for a couple of weeks. He had been an sergeant in the army, REME I think.
He should have been ideal for the job but he was hopeless, his administration skills alone were non existent. He admitted that in the forces he did not have to think about logistics, every thing was done for him, he only lasted six months. 😥
I do hope your friend pulls through, he sounds as though he needs professional help TBH.
Jim.Re: A sad tale…
My thoughts are with him too…went i went self-employed for the first time it was quite an eye opener i have to say. Like many i started by moonlighting while working for a national, it actually was quite good fun to start with and the extra money earned was gratefully received but as the number of my own jobs began to increase so did the stress. In the end i had to make a decision, employed or self-employed…..
I chose the latter and i have to say with hindsight it was the better decision, yes it has it’s ups and downs but you have to get your head around that, and that itself is quite a learning curve.
I suppose you don’t know how it’ll work out for you until you try?
Re: A sad tale…
i think one of the things we do forget – is that we are constantly using our physical and mental strength all day long –
meeting customer time slots –
running late –
20minute job turning into a 2 hour nightmare
office on the phone as you are late for next cust ..we are under so much pressure trying to solve other peoples problems – this cant be good for us ..
i know its what you make it and some people are not cut out for it – and there is other jobs that are more stressfull – but all being said we do have a high pressure and sometimes stressfull job ..
personally i have a laid back approach and recognise its all just abig game that you need to learn fast – sometimes the hard way ..
well thats me of to my floatation tank now …
ps really hope your engineer-mate getts better sounds like he may need some profesional help
ally
Re: A sad tale…
It is a very sad tale indeed i wish him well. But he is lucky to have people like you around to pick him up a good many people have not so well done you.
It is pressurized at times but the ones i feel sorry for are the people who employ people the pressure increases ten fold. All of a sudden there are a lot of mouths to feed and people really depending on you totally different ball game again.phil
Re: A sad tale…
Not everyone has the aptitude to run a business, no matter how good they are at the technical stuff. For one thing you have to be more disciplined in your control of money. One of the most common failings is that people look at the weeks takings and think of it as their money. Some of it is theirs but a lot of it is needed for paying the spares suppliers and other bills.
There are plenty of worries with the job but I’ve always found it satisfying to know that I’m genuinely earning my living and not being “carried” as can happen in a big company. Years ago I knew a bloke who worked on permanent nights at Massey Ferguson and boasted that he slept through most of his shifts. I would have been wracked with guilt if I had treated my employer with such contempt.Re: A sad tale…
I know an electrician who got sacked for being asleep (several times) and it took them hell and all to prove it! madness!! Strangely enough he runs his own electrical company now and is quite successful so go figure on that one.
Perhaps he was just not suited to employment?Phil
Re: A sad tale…
Lost it myself on Friday due to one of our loverly parts distributors letting me down a second time on the same parts for the same call. Old dear with a mint 8 year old Bosch with a failed motor bearing. Persuaded her to go for the motor rather than new machine as the it had hardly any use.
She ended up cancelling the call as it was upsetting her, I ended up losing it (not with the old dear, I could understand her point), my phone (nearest thing to hand), and everything in its memory etc.
This post puts it all into context. This job is hardest when it isn’t your fault but everything in the customers eyes points to you.
Have now set up another account elsewhere as Masterpart are getting too unreliable.TC
Re: A sad tale…
Hope your friend is doing ok, got a friend myself who got over something similair, its really not that unusual when you look into it, just doesnt get talked about as much as it should.
Reading your post and the replies prompted me to go ahead and start a topic on a related area
http://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=62161
Hope your mate feels back in control soon
Neil
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