When and if an older person cares to criticise me on my loyalty to employers, they would get an earful. Like you, I have had no reason to be loyal, and lots to not be.
Interesting point about quitting so someone more needy can have your job. I’m not sure I’m buying it, though - using a slippery slope argument, you could argue that only one member of a couple should work if they can survive on one person’s salary, or that young adults still living at home shouldn’t work at all. I’m no fan of capitalism, but since it’s the only game in town, I’ll just keep my job if I like it when I hit the lottery. (But I would probably start my own business.)
My dad has said that if he won the lottery, he’d still work, at least for a couple years, just to piss off his coworkers. He’s a silly man.
If I won the lottery, first I’d tell my current employers precisely what I think of them. Then I’d take a couple years to travel and be unbelievably lazy. Then I’d work, but I’d start my own business. Either a candle shop or a bakery. Actually, I plan to do all that, it’s just going to take longer than if I won the lottery.
Actually, I thought it was, too… but it was none of my business, and I never pursued it.
He played the lottery… won… and continued working to be an example to his kids. That’s only one of the reasons, but it’s a little weird, yeah. Some of the facts are likely messed up, which I should have said from the get-go - most of my information is second hand and easily could have been mucked up through that twisted grapevine. I’ve heard him say to another co-worker “It’s good for the kids to see me working” so I know it’s factored in there somewhere.
As long as he doesn’t cause trouble for his fellow workers (even if they deserve it, sometimes, grumble) then I figure good for him. HE is very good at his job, and he’s one of the few people around trained to do it. His reasons, whatever they are, are his own. He never bothered a soul before or after he won his money.
If posted it here before, but my uncle won the lottery for a sum of 3.5 million back in the early 80’s. It ended up a train wreck and he is now living on welfare and going through a divorce which will cost him his house (his only asset). He is over 100 lbs. overweight, has no health insurance and is in misery. The same reason he won the lottery (spending virtually all his meager money on tickets) is the same reason he blew it despite the family’s best efforts to talk some sense into him.
I would just be thrilled that someone would be handle the situation responsibly. Seeing people manage money badly drives me crazy. Other than that, I would be thrilled that they won (unless it is one of the many people I want dead).
If we won, Mr Ujest has always said he would not quit his job ( he loves what he does and his coworkers are his great friends.) he wouldn’t take pay but have insurance done through the company (as paperwork for that is no fun.) and pay for the upgrade for everyone for the top of the line insurance.
A small reality check: if I were to win £2M on tonight’s Lotto (this is tax paid and cash, not an annuity, so that’s equivalent to what, $10M, on a US lottery?), I’ve still got to think about the future. I can expect to live to nearly 90. That’s another 50 years. So that gives me £40K per year. That’s nowhere near enough to live a life of luxury, but on top of what I earn from my job, would be more than enough for a creature comfort or two.
I’ve heard this before, and it’s never made any sense. If I won a $50 million lottery (which is what I think a typical Powerball win would equal out to after taxes), and I live another fifty years, that’s a million dollars a year. I think that I could live the rest of my life on a million dollars and have a better standard of living than I do now. (Actually, yeah I would, that comes out to $20,000 a year which is twice what I’m making now.) What are these people BUYING that they lose so much money so fast? I know–cars, houses, travel. But it’s really hard for a spendthrift like me to understand how someone can blow through so much money. To me, living in simplicity is easy; spending money is hard. It just blows my mind, that’s all.
But I guess financially responsible people like me don’t play the lottery. I know I don’t.
It depends on how many children you have but for a family of 4 the poverty level in the US in 2004 was $19,157. If you are all by your lonsome it is $9,827.
This thread baffles me. Why on Earth would you care whether your co-worker had a bunch of money? I’ve worked with a lot of people over the years–some barely scraping by and some with millions in net worth. What business is it of mine how much money they have or how they got it?
Part of the allure of winning a big lottery is having enough money so you wouldn’t have to work. It supposed to give you the freedom to do whatever you want without having to worry about a 9-5 headache. You wanna fish all day everyday? Win the lottery and you can. Always wanted to make crappy souveniers and sell them by the roadside even though you aren’t likely to make a profit? Win the lottery and knock yourself out.
If your co-worker decided to stay at his job after a big win (and I am talking big, recall the amount in the OP - $10 million+), it would look like he didn’t appreciate the gravity of the situation (from their POV).
I, personally, wouldn’t care if a co-worker did this. I might rib him about it, but I would just get on with my work.
If I won the lottery, I feel that I would be doing my company a disservice by staying when I know my mind would not be 100% on my job. I might do volunteer work or get a part-time job in a field I enjoy as a hobby or some such.
I’ve read plenty of stories of lottery winners who end up in serious bankruptcy-level debt because they weren’t prepared (no lawyers or accountants) and let everybody milk them for cash.
Good point, I didn’t think about children. I don’t have any, or a spouse.
Honestly? I don’t like rich people. They make me self-conscious, they make me feel stupid, and I always have to watch what I say around them. They don’t think twice about going out for a gourmet dinner even if you can’t afford it, and when you say you can’t afford it they offer to pay, thereby robbing you of your dignity. I’m prejudiced against rich people, and I’d rather not work with one, I’d prefer to work with people in my general socioeconomic bracket.
But if you win the lottery and have a plan, even a small-ish win can be lifelong financial support. If you start with a financial planner with the original total instead of blowing large chunks of it frivolously, you can live off the interest without even touching the principle. Or you can pay off any debts, buy a house outright, and set yourself up so your day-to-day needs are very inexpensive* and then live off the principle of what’s left.
*Once you have no rent or mortgage or car payment or debts, you can live comfortably on a whole lot less money.
And if anyone else quit in the middle of the shift, the reaction would be , "So what? " But if the lotto winner did this, the company legal department would drag him and his deep pockets into court. He’d end up like Jesus Christ-- dying between two thieves ( the company’s lawyers and his in this case).
Only a real moron would do the fantasy "defecate on the boss’ desk and sabotage equipment on the way out of the plant"bit or something like it.
