Goodbye, work friends: Lessons learnt by a workplace mentor

NEW YORK - We spend a lot of our lives working, especially in the United States – 40, 50, 60 or more hours a week. We hold multiple jobs to make ends meet. The candle is perpetually burning at both ends. Hard work, we’re told, is a virtue. It allows us to contribute to society, support our families and serve our employers well. It makes sense, then, that for Work Friend – the column I have written for the past four years – the questions you asked reflected both practical and existential concerns.

For those four years, across 95 instalments, writing the Work Friend column for The New York Times has afforded me a unique opportunity to reflect on the professional life. It has been a journey, indeed. At almost 50 years old, I have been working for a very long time. I’ve been paid hourly, on commission, as an independent contractor and on a salary. I’ve had good jobs, great jobs and terrible jobs. I’ve had good benefits and mediocre benefits, and there were many lean years when I had no health insurance and prayed I wouldn’t need medical care.