Long Service Rewards

I’ve been working as a massage therapist since April 2007; the perks of getting your qualification in stages meant that I could start working once I’d gained my certificate while I completed my Diploma and, subsequently, Advanced Diploma and Bachelor's Degree. I started working full-time in July 2008. Back then, no businesses employed massage therapists; they contracted them, so I have been self-employed for almost 16 years. I have been operating under Capital Sports Massage for almost half of that.

There are pros and cons of being self-employed; one of the biggest pros is flexibility and not having to request to take time off; you block the time out of your diary when you want/need to. The con is definitely not having any paid leave or the fact if I don’t work, there is absolutely no money coming in. This was one of the issues I saw with the ACT COVID business grant because businesses losing 100% of income were receiving the same amount of financial assistance as businesses losing 30%. Before having covid, I had never taken a sick day. It was a combination of luck and pushing through because if I wasn’t contagious, I was fit to work and sometimes, it was just too damn hard to reschedule patients.

---

My question today, though, is….

Do the rewards of long service stunt personal growth?

When I reached 10 years of being self-employed, I didn’t take leave or give myself a financial bonus, but these seem to be the incentives for people to continue working at the same company or in the same job for 10 or more years. (I admit I have never been employed, so I don’t 100% know how it all works.)

My observations stem from discussions with patients and friends/family. Comments like “I’m just hanging on because I only have a couple more years till my long service leave”. It gives me the impression that people are willing to stay in an unsatisfying job/organisation because the rewards of long service are too good to pass up. This might be true, but I wonder whether the impact of an unsatisfying job on psychological and physiological health is worth it, and I’m looking to you, my readers, for an insightful discussion on this. Have you stayed in a job that no longer challenges you, therefore lacking any opportunity for growth, but if “I just put up with the boredom, I will have a reward in another 1, 2, 3 or 5 years’ time”?

---

In the sporting world, you often hear comments about the lack of loyalty ("there just doesn't seem to be loyalty anymore") from the athlete's part because they are seen to be jumping from club to club, chasing the best contract (money) deal.

Struggling by Ben Alexander

; maybe you can provide insight on this as a one-club player of 10 years at the Brumbies.

From the outside, it looks like they are chasing the best deal, and maybe some of them are. Still, maybe they feel fulfilled at the club they are at and think they have something to contribute to another team and also want to give their family the opportunity for growth by moving states or countries.

It’s a risk either way; there is no guarantee that playing well at one club means you will continue performing well for another. There are a lot of contributing factors to athletic performance. The athlete’s skills and fitness are a small portion. The team culture will more often than not determine if the athlete will have on-field success. A recent example is Nick Cotric, who left the Raiders for the Bulldogs on a 3-year deal and returned to the Raiders after 1 year. But how are you to know if it will work unless you try?

---

I love my job, I’m comfortable, and the idea of a career change hasn’t crossed my mind until maybe a year ago when someone I know made me realise I was stuck and needed to make changes and push my growth.

I am at the point where to grow, I either need to grow my business and take the plunge and go out on my own, rent my own commercial space and employ staff BUT given I never wanted to have my own business, I know this is something I am definitely not going to do.

I am becoming increasingly aware that I won’t be able to maintain the massaging hours I do forever. I stumbled across a Master of Rehabilitation Counselling, and my first thought was, I do this while I massage my patients. Then I wondered if this was achievable for me. Now here I am, working through a Grad Cert to strengthen my application which I aim to apply for the July intake this year.

The idea of not working in massage full-time is scary but exciting at the same time, and I feel ready for this challenge. I remember being in tears with pain from occupational elbow tendonitis when my mum suggested I may need to think of a different career, and I said, “but mum, I can’t think of anything else I want to do”. 8 years later, I’ve got it, and I feel my almost 16 years of clinical experience has prepared me for the journey ahead.

---

I feel it’s become the norm in the world that what you choose to do when you finish school is what you should and will do for the rest of your life. When you join a company, you will be there for your whole working life.

I’ve been listening to Christian O'Connell narrate his book “No One Listen’s to Your Dad’s Show”, where he talks about the comfort of working at the same radio station, his battle with depression and realising that he was going through the motions of life and needed a change. He decided to move from the UK to Melbourne. A move that shocked people and made them question his sanity. But why? Is it because not enough of us plunge into change?

I love Canberra, and apart from the 5 and a half months I spent studying in Invercargill, New Zealand, I’ve lived in Canberra my whole life. I’ve been asked if I would ever leave, and my response has usually been if I had to. My excuse has been, well, I’ve established my business here, so I’m stuck here. But I’ve since realised that I’m not stuck here, and maybe it would be good for me to experience living in another state. Upon reflection, I know these beliefs have changed because I have changed. I’ve grown and learnt a lot and opened myself up to the idea of the scary, exciting unknown.

I love my patients, my apartment, my family and my friends here, but I can’t help but wonder what else is out there and who else is out there for me to meet.

---

For now, though, I’ve started my first intensive unit of uni. 13 weeks of content in 4 weeks. The study hours I need to commit to are more than I thought, but I’m still going with the short-term pain for long-term gain, and it’s still better than trying to do 3 units at once. So if I’m a bit quiet on the writing front or haven’t read your blog yet, don’t worry; I’m saving it all up for next month. (There will be no doubt times when I choose to read or write because I’m either procrastinating or I need a break from my uni stuff)

I look forward to a potential discussion on the pros and cons of long-service rewards.

---