The American fear of losing your job

Faithful readers,

Today is Friday, July 5th. It is the day after family and friends, fireworks and barbecue, and of course, a big ol' parade in downtown. I have to work today because my place of employment is a radiation treatment center for people with cancer. Apparently, if we were closed today, (we were closed yesterday, of course) then our cancer patients would be forced to go 4 entire days without their treatment, which is almost more detrimental than not even getting treated in the first place. So long story short, I have to work today.

But I digress.

This day is unique in another way: I'm working side-by-side with my manager because a few far-sighted employees asked for July 5th off, like, 2 months in advance. And that's where the story begins:

My manager is a woman who tells LOTS of stories. Endless stories, tales and narratives. If you want to have a conversation with her, be prepared to speak for 6 seconds, endure a 15 minute story, and then you get 6 more seconds. If you TRY to tell her a story that is any longer than fifteen seconds, she gets this bored expression and eyeballs you like your job is on the line. And that got me thinking...Why am I scared of losing my job? I mean, if you asked everyone in America if they wanted a new job, how many people would jump all over the chance? The majority would, I'd bet my left nut on. But we're all scared. We stay stuck in jobs that we don't like, with people we don't like, because of the stigma of "losing your job." If you are unemployed,  you are a loser.  That is what we are told by our friends, wives (or husbands) and the media.

But dammit, I want a new job! I've been here 2 1/2 years and I have enough money to leave my job and not need to work for a short period of time. I could easily find another job; there are dozens of postings for my skills at dozens of places in my city. So why do I stay somewhere that I don't want to be? I don't know. All I know is that the next time my manager starts another one of her marathon stories (while the work builds up around us), I'm going to seriously consider my fear of unemployment, and today, I might just overcome my fear.

Best,

Mark