If My Job In The UK Goes Away, What Will I Do?
Diversify Your Income Stream NOW!

by Yank Elliott, MBA & IAHBE Staff Writer

 

Years as a Human Resources corporate officer taught me that no one should work for anyone else...period! Working for others in the world since the Industrial Revolution is nothing short of self-induced slavery.

Max Weber
In The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Max Weber argued that when the way people view their workplace emphasizes what they do as a means toward other ends, human beings unwittingly allow themselves to be imprisoned in an "iron cage." This dark image of work shows the maze of rules, regulations, and expectations that redefine human work and craftsmanship as labor and jobs. This view reduces human motives requiring satisfaction into functional roles in impersonal organizations and displaces human freedom with a calculated rational plan to achieve ends outside of work.

This belittlement of work and of human beings was motivated not so much by wily "capitalist robber barons," but by the worker’s unbridled desire to acquire wealth and accumulate a good pension while steering clear of any hazard threatening to impede the achievement of these strictly materialistic ends. Robert Jackall studied the corporate bureaucracy in America and said of middle managers caught in this moral maze that they justify what they cannot do and sheepishly say, "I don’t want to make waves."

Why do people work? When they first begin their working lives, the primary reason is survival. People must always secure their basic requirements for food, water, clothing, shelter, and safety, and security from enemies. They do whatever has to be done to achieve these basics. This is the first and most basic reason for working. But it doesn’t stop here.

As soon as survival is assured, people want to enjoy themselves, provide for their families, and perhaps even improve society in some way. All this requires a continuing and increasing source of income. At this point, everyone who works for another becomes a kind of slave to their job.

The current modern reasons people here in the U.K. work and subject themselves to modern slavery are vividly shown in government reports and other surveys. Recent surveys by Combined Insurance, the charity Citizens Advice, and the bank Alliance & Leicester showed these facts, should a worker become unemployed for some reason, including illness or injury:

Two-thirds of borrowers would default on personal loans and credit cards within three months.
More than 40% would default on home mortgages.
Citizens Advice says many problem borrowers they see each week are carrying in excess of £100,000 debt.
Around 40% of respondents said after three months without work, they could not pay utility bills or put food on the table.
One mortgage lender reports home repossessions have tripled in the past year.
An estimated 6,000,000 people have less than £500 for an emergency.
What about the cost of education? Some studies indicate many school leavers carry with them into their first job school debt between £10,000 and £20,000.

Average price of a new home throughout England and Wales is about £200,000 and first-time buyers require an average mortgage of £133,947.

Unemployment is a frightening prospect, but the possibility of becoming unable to work always exists. As young people we all feel immortal, and disabling illness never enters our minds. However, our very pursuit of the pleasures and enjoyable lifestyles constantly carries the threat of injury or illness that can take away our pleasures in the twinkling of an eye. It isn’t just disability to you personally; what about if your spouse, child, partner, or anyone dependent upon you becomes disabled?

Someone has to know how to give care and have the time and resources to do it. I’m personally in this situation, and I know how to do all the things needed for care of my sick person. But if I did not work from home with my computer, there would be a lot of cost involved paying others to do what I do. This is a serious consideration no matter your age.

These are current unemployment rates in a few Western countries:

Germany 12.6%

France 10%

Canada 6.4%

United States 4.8%

UK 5%

Most people, I hope, really do enjoy what they do to some extent. Western culture involves a desire for work and it is just what people do. Highly skilled workers, professionals like doctors and lawyers, and creative people such as musicians and artists get a lot of satisfaction from what they do. But they all have that underlying requirement to provide the basics.

Because most people have no control over whether to work (they must to survive) and they don’t have the power to determine when they work, or where, there are always some elements of slavery in every job working for others. What others think about this is discussed in a forum on BBC News. This topic is now closed but comments made by people around the world may still be read. One participant from the UK who states his name as Frank gives an accurate current statement about slavery:

We're all slaves, even in the western world. Why else would everyone spend their entire lives working away from their loved ones and family, only allowed to see them at evening time and the first thing in the morning if they are lucky. The only difference is that the chains in the western world are psychological ones.

Since most people must work, let’s look at some current happenings that may impact your employment opportunities:

Bank of England prepares to fire the bottom 5% of its 1,800 staff

To avoid expansion of maternity rights, companies are rejecting women applicants in prime child-bearing years

Abbey National plans to cut another 2,500 jobs on top of 4,000 terminated in 2005

9,473,000 working age people in Britain have no job

Indian IT workers with temporary permits have cause local IT wages in some instances to drop by as much as 25%

Boots plans to eliminate 2,250 jobs

Are you next?

All these things we have discussed point to the need for as many different income sources as one can find, even if they take away some time from “fun.” The fun days will go away as responsibilities increase. The worker will have ever greater needs for money to support their lifestyle and that of others in their life. That’s a fact!

What do all employees have in common that is the potential source of financial downfall? They all depend only on their personal time and efforts, i.e., the ability to perform some kind of work for others. Lose this ability and your financial security is gone. Government programmes may keep you from starving to death but probably won’t provide enough money for the things that make life worth living.

How can you avoid these problems? Start a home-based business that will use automatic Internet technology to continuously do much of the work for you, that will use one or more affiliate or network marketing programs to provide recurring income from work you do only one time, that has a reasonable cost, is not difficult to understand, and that can be built over a period of time into a business that may very well support you by itself. Such a business will always be a valued part of your investment schemes.

This is where negativity sets in. We are born with inner conflict resulting in unresolved issues which cause a tendency always toward the negative. This aura is projected into everything we do and into each relationship with others. We unconsciously resist accepting the good things that happen to us and continuously sabotage our personal success. Negativity began when Cain murdered Abel and all major religions have tried to eradicate negative ideas by considering them as sin. The result has been to torture and burn “heretics” and “witches” and the commission of countless horrendous acts of violence in the name of religion.

So it is no surprise that many people resist any different idea that can improve their life such as having one or more sideline business bringing in income streams to cushion hard times should they happen. In addition to gloom and doom from all around, we have to fight these ideas from within:

Starting a business would take time away from the enjoyable things I work to be able to do.

I will need to do a lot of research and then undergo hours and hours of boring training to find out what to do.

I must obtain licenses, comply with a maize of regulations, and on top of that I have to self-assess taxes on my business. I’ll never figure what to do and I don’t even want to do any of this.

Right now I’m paid well and my income taxes are automatically taken from my pay each period. I don’t have to worry about self-assessment, NICs, or any other Inland Revenue problems. I just get my check and enjoy doing things with family and friends.

I don’t need a job on the side with all the extra worries and time requirements. I want to enjoy my life and my time. That’s what I work to do. The future is great. The UK has one of the lowest unemployment rates anywhere and we have a State Pension plan in place when I retire plus disability if I get sick. I’m not worried, I just want to savor my life.

There is a lot more to life than money and work. A sideline business would just take away time to do more important things. I don’t need to worry about a home based business so I’m just not going to do anything like this.
Who can argue with this thinking?

Well, everybody should argue with it. It’s just not valid and is an irresponsible threat to your happiness and well-being as well as the happiness and well-being of those who may depend on you.

Of course, everyone should be making contributions to private pension plans like Sipps (Self-invested personal pensions) and other investments to prepare for the future. The problem is most people think that is too much trouble as well. Anyway, such investments will use a lot of money I work hard to get and I’d rather spend it on fun!

Perhaps the information about why you must work will convince you of the extreme consequences of being without work even for a short time. If you can see this, maybe you will be able to hold negatives at bay and go ahead with starting one or more sidelines. Personal share investments or estate investment could be your choices. Do keep in mind that part of your income should be in something not requiring your constant personal service; you have only so much time, so you are severely limited if you must constantly do something to keep your income.

One place you can find help with your small business plans, including start-up and financing, is Thisismoney.co.uk. They cover many other personal finance issues as well. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) can assist in getting your great idea to the marketplace. Should you need money for your business, bCentral may be able to help you. If you visit no other site, you should go here to the gateway to most of the government’s small business help.
Sin no more: STAMP OUT NEGATIVISM!

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Yank is a home-based entrepreneur and freelance business writer living in Hurricane Alley, North Carolina, USA. His Website is http://www.furriwhalesworld.com. Contact Yank at .globalbiz@furriwhalesworld.com.