Salon Money | Swamped

T A B L E__T A L K
Discuss how you can profit from stock market turmoil in the Business and Personal Finance area of Table Talk

R E C E N T L Y

Rich pickings, sour grapes
By Linda Tischler
A mother envies her daughter's lucrative entrance into the world of work
(06/19/98)
Get them while they're young
By Kevin Kelleher
Money managers are targeting children as the next growth market
(06/12/98)
Mad about Steve Madden
By Heather Chaplin
Wall Street loves this low-end shoemaker -- and so do fashion-conscious young women
(06/05/98)
Finding the g(ive) spot
By Kevin Kelleher
In the increasingly competitive quest for dollars, charity organizations are looking for ways to find that magic motivational appeal
(05/29/98)
The reluctant capitalist
By Heather Chaplin
Salon's Reluctant Capitalist looks at the knotty problem of what to do when you've won $195 million on the lottery
(05/22/98)
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___________________S W A M P E D
Money
If everyone is working so hard, why are they always at lunch?
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BY TODD PITOCK | Whenever I ask my friend how he is, he says he's "swamped." It isn't just him. A lot of people use the word "swamped." It is no longer sufficient to be fine. You must be swamped, and you must learn to say the word with weary and reluctant pride. In an era of conspicuous production and suffer-to-earn bravado, it's become the adjective of the decade.
People are proud to earn and spend money. You earn time off, too, but time spent not earning money is almost like an unconventional sexual desire. If it's not actually something to be ashamed of, it's nothing to be advertised, either. That's why you hear people boast about how many years it's been since they last had a holiday or how many extra weeks their companies owe them. By not collecting on the debt -- or pretending not to anyway -- they accumulate a kind of moral capital.
I assume people want to convey that they're working hard. I'm not convinced they really are, and suspect they say they're swamped because they're afraid people will think less of them if they aren't.
They describe 12- to 16-hour workdays in corporate sweatshops. Somehow, though, I can never reach anyone before 10, during lunch or after 4. According to their voice mail, they're "on the other line or stepped away from [their] desks." According to their assistants and colleagues, they're "in a meeting."
Every once in a while, I run into people in their meetings. One popular conference room is my gym at about 4:30 on weekday afternoons.
I went to another meeting last week. It took place on the tees and greens of a well-maintained public golf course. The place was packed with people with faces so tight with concentration that you'd have thought they were mowing the fairways instead of playing them.
Earlier that afternoon, my friend had called to see if I could meet him for coffee. I told him I couldn't. "Golf," he sighed. "Must be nice." Must be nice is another woe-is-me '90s lamentation. Of course, he can play hooky as easily as I can. It just so happens he doesn't play golf.
N E X T+P A G E | Books? If only!




T A B L E__T A L K Discuss how you can profit from stock market turmoil in the Business and Personal Finance area of Table Talk R E C E N T L Y Rich pickings, sour grapes By Linda Tischler A mother envies her daughter's lucrative entrance into the world of work (06/19/98) Get them while they're young By Kevin Kelleher Money managers are targeting children as the next growth market (06/12/98) Mad about Steve Madden By Heather Chaplin Wall Street loves this low-end shoemaker -- and so do fashion-conscious young women (06/05/98) Finding the g(ive) spot By Kevin Kelleher In the increasingly competitive quest for dollars, charity organizations are looking for ways to find that magic motivational appeal (05/29/98) The reluctant capitalist By Heather Chaplin Salon's Reluctant Capitalist looks at the knotty problem of what to do when you've won $195 million on the lottery (05/22/98) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Browse the Money archives		___________________S W A M P E D If everyone is working so hard, why are they always at lunch? - - - - - - - - - - - - - BY TODD PITOCK \| Whenever I ask my friend how he is, he says he's "swamped." It isn't just him. A lot of people use the word "swamped." It is no longer sufficient to be fine. You must be swamped, and you must learn to say the word with weary and reluctant pride. In an era of conspicuous production and suffer-to-earn bravado, it's become the adjective of the decade. People are proud to earn and spend money. You earn time off, too, but time spent not earning money is almost like an unconventional sexual desire. If it's not actually something to be ashamed of, it's nothing to be advertised, either. That's why you hear people boast about how many years it's been since they last had a holiday or how many extra weeks their companies owe them. By not collecting on the debt -- or pretending not to anyway -- they accumulate a kind of moral capital. I assume people want to convey that they're working hard. I'm not convinced they really are, and suspect they say they're swamped because they're afraid people will think less of them if they aren't. They describe 12- to 16-hour workdays in corporate sweatshops. Somehow, though, I can never reach anyone before 10, during lunch or after 4. According to their voice mail, they're "on the other line or stepped away from [their] desks." According to their assistants and colleagues, they're "in a meeting." Every once in a while, I run into people in their meetings. One popular conference room is my gym at about 4:30 on weekday afternoons. I went to another meeting last week. It took place on the tees and greens of a well-maintained public golf course. The place was packed with people with faces so tight with concentration that you'd have thought they were mowing the fairways instead of playing them. Earlier that afternoon, my friend had called to see if I could meet him for coffee. I told him I couldn't. "Golf," he sighed. "Must be nice." Must be nice is another woe-is-me '90s lamentation. Of course, he can play hooky as easily as I can. It just so happens he doesn't play golf. N E X T+P A G E \| Books? If only!