#suicide #SuicidePrevention #SuicideAmongMen #AspenColorado
He was a reliable family guy with a big laugh.
He was white, hard-working and middle-aged.
It may have been the American Dream that caused him to commit suicide.
So writes Randy Essex, senior news director at the Detroit Free Press. His column on the matter also appeared April 16, 2019, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“I’ve known a handful of men over the years who took their own lives. I’m in the prime demographic myself,” Essex writes. “And, I spent three years as an editor near Aspen, Colo., — as strange as it may seem, an area plagued by suicide,” he continues.
“The (ski) season goes by and people think, ‘I didn’t meet the girl of my dreams. I got laid off. I don’t have any more money,” writes Essex, talking about the glamour of living in a vacation paradise.
Not everyone gets the opportunity to be whatever he or she wants, Essex says. White men already born with advantages, feel the unspoken words: “If you can’t make it, it’s your fault and you are a failure,” he writes.
Suicide rates have been rising not only in the general population, but also among troops after deployment.
Some of the men Essex talks about did have it good at one time. The Great Recession changed that for good.
Now, all men and women are faced with going to a job and not knowing what surprise announcement might await them.
After all, no one tells you it’s coming until the day it arrives.
In today’s world, companies have to be nimble. They have to adjust to change quickly. What was a hot seller for years is no longer. What used to be done by five people is now done by one, thanks to technological advances.
In previous generations, such progress was much slower. In some cases, unions had the power to slow progress and prevent efficiencies.
Those days are gone forever. What faces many people, particularly middle-aged people or older, is the horror of losing a job that had been good to them for a long time, and getting a job that probably pays a good deal less.
There’s talk of getting retrained, but those in the middle-to-end of their careers have a decision: do I spend the time getting retrained, only to buy a couple more years of work? Or, do I spend the time getting retrained to do job X, only to find that by the time I get started with it, a different skill from the one I learned is needed.
There is good news here. Yes, one does not have to kill himself. Instead, he or she can spend a few part-time, off-work hours a week doing something completely different — something that can not only augment income, but perhaps surpass any income a job could provide.
The key is being open to looking at one of the many vehicles that would allow a person to do that. If you have thoughts about doing something different, and want to check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
If you find yourself wanting to commit suicide, stop. Call the Suicide Lifeline included in Essex column. The number is 800-273-TALK (8255).
Your family and friends still love you, no matter how desperate you feel your circumstances make you. Instead, look ahead to a bright future by looking at something different.
Peter
Category Archives: Uncategorized
EMPLOYMENT MILIEU CHANGES AS JOB-INFLATION CURVE SHIFTS
#UnicornEconomy #EconomicTrends #TemporaryJobs #unemployment #inflation
It’s been dubbed “The Unicorn Economy.”
That is an economy so unusual, that both unemployment and inflation are low.
Neil Irwin discussed this in an article for The New York Times, also published May 4, 2019, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
That same day, the Atlanta newspaper published an article that says temporary jobs are playing a bigger role in Atlanta’s economy.
“The last few years have made it clear the Phillips curve – the relationship between unemployment and inflation – has either changed shape or become irrelevant,” Irwin’s article says.
Generally, when the employment picture is good, wages go up and, by correlation, so do prices for goods and services. That defines inflation.
But that does not appear to be happening, making it tough to set economic policy, the Irwin article says.
Meanwhile, technology has spawned the increase in temporary workers, the other article says.
“In an increasingly uncertain economy, a company that has demand for its services right now can get the people it needs – without committing to keep paying them if demand drops,” the article says.
“If business suddenly slows, workers go away. If business is strong, a company can take temps who have proven themselves and hire them – no muss, no fuss, no ads or interviews,” the article continues.
Low unemployment coupled with low inflation may look good on paper, but several things could be at play.
First, wages are not increasing as much as they should in a good economy. Some are seeing raises for the first time in years, but many wages are not good enough for some people to make a decent living.
As the article on the temporary workers implies, fewer workers are getting benefits from their employers, like health insurance, vacations etc. That helps companies keep labor costs down, so they won’t have to raise prices.
In short, what looks good on paper may not translate into the best of lives for average workers. The job security and benefits of the past are gone, in many cases.
On-demand or volume-variable staffing is not good for the workers who have to navigate it. Some full-time workers may be asked to go home, either without pay or by using vacation time. What a job-security nightmare for those folks.
The good news is that there are ways for workers to deal with, or even eliminate the problem. There are a number of vehicles out there in which a worker can invest a few, part-time, off-the-job hours a week and earn a potentially lucrative income. It doesn’t matter the worker’s background, education or job skills. He just has to be willing to take a look, and see whether any of these vehicles is to his liking. To check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
Today’s job market is unrecognizable to your parents, grandparents or other older relatives. In the old days, “steady” work was the ultimate goal. As the two articles indicate, the economy has changed and so have work rules.
Workers may now have to look for income alternatives that may lie outside one’s comfort zone.
Peter
IS YOUR JOB KILLING YOU?
#JobsThatKill #overwork #WorkKills #jobs
For 2.8 million people annually worldwide, work kills.
Today’s society, with its technological advances, has you on an electronic leash with your employer.
So says a United Nations report, discussed in an article by Karen D’sousa of Tribune News Service. The article was published May 2, 2019, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“The world of work has changed, we’re working differently, we’re working longer hours, we’re using more technology,” the article quotes Manai Azzi of the U.N.’s labor agency, the International Labor Organization.
About two-thirds of the work-related mortality is estimated to occur in Asia, the article quotes the report. The greatest cause of death are circulatory diseases (31 percent of such deaths), work-related cancers (26 percent) and respiratory diseases (17 percent, the article quotes the report.
If you are fortunate enough to have a good job, you can relate to this.
The jobs that pay well keep us from being broke, but also tie us into a 24/7 work life, or close to. Therefore, we may not be financially broke, but we are time-broke.
We miss out on family activities and events. We miss out on some of the recreational opportunities we enjoy. We miss out on just plain relaxation.
It’s been said that most people today are either unemployed, underemployed or overworked.
Perhaps you can recall generations ago, when Mom generally stayed home, and Dad worked. Dad would be home every weeknight at around the same time for dinner. Perhaps he would spend time with the kids after dinner.
Then, there were the weekends, when everyone was home.
Today, there are more crazy work schedules than ever. The 9-toi-5 job is indeed rare. Chances are, if you have such a job, it’s probably not making you rich.
Not only are many folks’ schedules all over the map, they work more than eight hours a day, generally. And, when they come home, there may be work-related e-mails to check, phone calls to return, paperwork to complete etc.
People are more likely than not to get a work-related phone call at home while they are off.
There is good news in all this. It doesn’t have to be this way.
There are many vehicles out there that will allow a person to take a few, part-time off-work hours a week to build an income that could potentially make them not only financially secure, but no longer time-broke.
To check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
Meanwhile, try to take as much advantage as possible to the things in your life that you enjoy, or mean something to you.
Look for ways to relieve stress, be it physical exercise, pleasure reading or spending time with family and friends.
Your job may try to kill you, but you don’t have to let it. You can still do all you need to do at work, and relieve stress when you are not at work.
Don’t let work stress mess with you. Don’t let it kill you.
Peter
INCOME INEQUALITY VS. PRODUCTIVITY
IncomeInequality #MinimumWage #productivity #WageGrowth
It isn’t a low minimum wage that has enlarged the income inequality gap.
Nor is it the greed of the top 1 percent, or the recently approved tax cuts that has caused a lack of bounce for the middle and lower classes during the economic boom.
So says Edward P. Lazear, a former chairman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers and currently a professor at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. He discussed the matter in a May 7, 2019, column in The Wall Street Journal.
Lazear, who is also a Hoover Institution fellow, believes the higher earners are simply more productive, with the help of technology.
“Wage growth for the median worker has stalled at about 0.5 percent in the U.S. , Canada and France,” Lazear writes. In Japan, he continues, there is no growth at all.
His conclusion: future technological advances will widen the gap. The demand for lower-skilled labor will fall. We can’t really stop technological advances, and guaranteeing a wage would merely patch the problem, he says. The solution is to narrow the productivity gap by raising the skills of the lower and middle class workers.
Lazear is correct in his thinking, so how do we, as a country, raise the skills of lesser skilled workers?
There are many programs, and many employers who have initiated programs to do that, but it has yet to make a dent in the productivity gap.
Schools have tried to focus on improving skills for lesser skilled workers. But not all of those workers qualify to get into certain schools.
Plus, these lower skilled workers may be at a stage in their lives in which going back to school for several years to earn a new skill is practically difficult, or will not give them enough good years on the other side to get a sufficient payback from all that education.
Also, you have the problem of fast changes. So, the new skills a worker may have spent years learning may be usurped by even newer skills. So, all that time spent going to school to learn new skills that have been usurped may be wasted.
So what’s a working-class person have to do to get ahead?
Fortunately, there are many vehicles out there that allow a person who spends a few part-time hours a week (maybe even a smaller time commitment than going back to school) to earn a potentially good income. That person just needs to be open to looking for them, and, congruently, at them.
To check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
In the past, labor unions could retard technological growth and efficiencies with rules that companies had to follow. Unions don’t have the clout they once had, and that may be a good thing in the modern age because change happens much more quickly than in decades past.
The lesser skilled workers first have to realize that government is an unlikely solution to the problem. It will be up to workers themselves to decide what to do. You can’t stop an ocean wave, and you can’t stop changes in the workplace.
But you can decide that you’re going to make changes in your own life to not only ease your financial burden, but also create a life for you and your family that could be better than you’d ever envisioned.
So, instead of expending valuable energy worrying and complaining about your situation, income inequality or the good fortune of others, create your own good fortune, however it works for you.
We are all capable of changing our lives. But not everyone is willing to step outside his or her comfort zone to do it.
Peter
EDUCATIONAL SUCCESS: INDIVIDUAL OR SYSTEMIC?
#EducationalSuccess #SchoolModels #EducationalAchievementGap #HeadStart
Economist Eric Hanushek has seen successful school models, and sometimes believes overall educational improvements are possible.
At other times, he worries that educational success simply depends on the individual student.
Maureen Downey, education columnist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, discusses how the education gap persists in an April 16, 2019, column.
Hanushek co-authored a recent study that concludes “a stark opportunity gap between America’s haves and have-nots despite nearly a half-century of state and federal attempts to provide poor children with the extra resources to catch up,” Downey quotes the study.
“We have been trying a lot of things to close that achievement gap over time, but these gaps have not changed one whit over the almost half-century in which we are able to track performance,” Downey quotes Hanushek.
Head Start, desegration of schools, mandating services for students with disabilities and more equal funding between rich and poor districts have all been tried, yet there is no real movement, Downey writes.
The study, which analyzed various standardized test scores over the decades, determined that nothing that is really relevant has changed, Downey quotes Paul Peterson, director of Harvard’s Program on Education Policy and Governance and a co-author of the study.
However, rising educational attainment by parents over those decades – a good thing – may be offset by the decline in the quality of teachers, Downey quotes the two experts. More higher-income opportunities for women have much to do with the decline in teacher quality, Downey writes.
This all breaks down to students who grow up in homes in which education is a priority — usually those in which the parents have a lot of education– have a better shot at educational success than those who don’t. That hasn’t changed in 50 years.
However, that doesn’t mean that students who grow up in poorer, less educated families CAN’T succeed. It may mean that those students need adults who can motivate them and help them make good life choices. These adults need to step up and help these kids.
The schools, after all, can’t do everything.
Also, kids need to be taught that college, and all its expenses, is not for everyone. They have to be taught that being a successful adult may not require a college education.
Certainly, if a motivated student really wants to go to college, he or she will also be motivated to find a way to get there if there are no obvious resources in their backgrounds.
Also, there are ways to earn money – potentially a lot of it – that don’t necessarily require a college education. They simply require a student to think outside the box, and perhaps look at something he or she never thought existed,or even thought they would be suited for.
Many such vehicles and programs exist. To check out one of the best, message me.
To sum it up, students need adults to motivate them. Every teacher may not connect with every student, but for every student, there is undoubtedly an adult who can find what makes that student want to succeed, and provide the time and resources to help that student experience what could be his or her passion.
Relying on schools to do everything for every student is like relying on a government to do everything for every citizen. The students have to look for what will motivate them. They have to learn not to let circumstances define or derail them.
They have to be taught that school may not have everything they need. If the school doesn’t, the students have to look for what they need and adults – parents, mentors, others – have to be willing to work with them.
Peter
ANDREW LUCK RETIRES, AND GETS BOOED
#AndrewLuck #IndianapolisColts #FootballSeason #FootballFans
Andrew Luck, quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts, retired just before the start of this football season. He is 29.
He got tired of dealing with a four-year cycle of injuries, including a lacerated kidney.
He left millions of dollars on the table.
And the fans booed, as he walked off the field for the last time during a preseason game after his announcement.
Why?
Gracie Bonds Staples, who writes the “This Life” column for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, asked that very question in her Sept. 8, 2019, column.
Staples asked one expert, Erin C. Tarver, an associate professor of philosophy at Oxford College of Emory University, who wrote the book “The I in Team,” what she thought of Luck’s decision.
She called it terrible, but not surprising, Staples writes.
“Many fans come to identify so strongly with their teams that they cease to think of players as individual people at all,” Staples quotes Tarver. “If they do, it’s as people who owe them something: wins, more years of their lives, a willingness to subject themselves to serious long-term damage for the sake of the fans’ hometown,” the quote continues.
The long-term physical punishment to football players — punishment for the sheer pleasure of the fans and the income to teams, leagues and players – has come under the microscope in the past several years.
Football organizations at all levels are now addressing it, from children’s leagues to the pros. The particular focus is on repeated concussions, and long-term brain damage that may result.
Though football is a business for players, coaches, professional team owners etc., it is basically a game. Luck obviously wanted to be as whole a person as possible for as long as possible for his family, friends etc.
As a fan, one should understand this. It’s likely that Colts fans saw their team’s chances to thrive this season as diminished by Luck’s departure. But they should understand that he has taken a lot of punishment for their pleasure, and enough is enough. It was no longer worth the risk, or the money, to him. The decision undoubtedly was hard for him.
Though most of us are not professional athletes, we, too, can face issues of having a job that is slowly killing, or, perhaps, permanently injuring us.
This can happen in many ways, not just physical punishment. Stress, overwork, lack of time with family and friends can have long-term effects on us as people.
Feeling underappreciated by those who don’t know, or don’t care, what you are going through can hurt, too.
If you have a job that you feel is killing you, and you are motivated to change your situation, there are many programs out there that, by investing a few part-time hours a week, can put you on the way to potential financial freedom – enough to perhaps eventually kiss that killer job goodbye. To find out about one of the best such programs, message me.
Staples writes that Luck was not offended by the boos. He took out a full-page ad in the Indianapolis Star, thanking the fans for their support over the last eight years.
That’s a class act. Here’s hoping Luck can live a full life, free of pain and full of appreciation from grateful Colts fans.
Peter
IT’S LABOR DAY, AND THE JOB MARKET IS GREAT, BUT …
#LaborDay #jobs #employment #QuittingYourJob #economy
Young professionals are quitting their jobs before they find new ones.
And they are finding new ones quickly.
So reports Michael E. Kanell, business and economics reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. His article appeared on Labor Day, Sept. 2, 2019.
Kanell uses the example of Lindsey Roushdi, who had a job as an accountant for a solar company. The industry was seeing a bit of upheaval, so Lindsey decided to move on, Kanell writes.
After talking to a recruiter, within a few hours, she secured a list of 45 job openings that suited her qualifications, according to the article. She got a job almost immediately at a studio.
Kanell quotes a number of young folks who seem to have their pick of jobs. They probably would have never thought about quitting a job without having another one to go to a decade ago.
That’s a good thing.
However, there are many stories out there of those who aren’t thriving. Since the job market is better than 10 years ago, they may have found work. But the new work doesn’t pay close to what they received from the job they lost.
Some of them are even cobbling together multiple jobs to survive.
So, if the economy is so good, why isn’t everyone thriving? Automation, technology and efficiencies have robbed the economy of many good-paying jobs, particularly for those who don’t have college degrees.
A second reason: Many with college degrees are graduating with so much debt, In fact, according to a recent “60 Minutes” piece, New York University Medical School has gone tuition-free, thanks to the generosity of many benefactors.
Many doctors come out of school with six-figure debt. And, if they go into a practice like internal medicine, family medicine or pediatrics – the so-called primary care group – they may not make enough money to live a good life AND pay off their debt. Though you may find it difficult to have sympathy for doctors’ finances, the primary care folks aren’t living the lucrative life you may think.
Yes, economic numbers are good. Unemployment is low. But the quality of life for many has still deteriorated. Those lives will deteriorate further if the economy tanks, which experts say it will eventually.
What to do? First, if you have a job you like, don’t presume it will be there forever. Reorganizations, bad managers, efficiencies etc. can kill perfectly good careers.
If you don’t have a job you like, or that pays you enough to live a decent life, there is hope. The only requirement is for you to be ambitious, coachable and have a need or desire to change your situation.
There are many programs out there that can allow you to make a good income by investing a few, part-time, non-work hours a week to make it happen, without it seeming like a “second job.”
To learn about one of the best such programs, message me.
Meanwhile, don’t get too cocky at work. If you don’t like your job, find a different one. According to Kanell and other experts, there are more available jobs than officially unemployed people. Hopefully, you can find one to your liking.
Meanwhile, do so BEFORE you quit your current job. You may not be as lucky as the young folks in Kanell’s article.
It’s certainly great to dream, and most dreams are achievable with the right attitude, effort and willingness to look at things that may be outside your comfort zone.
So look and listen. You never know when that great life-changing thing comes your way.
Peter
THE RICH ARE GETTING YOUNGER
#rich #YoungAndRich #entrepreneurs #investors #RichAtAnyAge
A survey of U.S. investors with $25 million or more says the average age has dropped by 11 years, to 47 years old.
The ranks of these Americans has doubled since the depths of the Great Recession.
The average age of those with a mere $1 million is 62, a number that hasn’t budged in years.
These figures come from an article by Ben Steverman for Bloomberg. I was also published Jan. 24, 2019, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
About 172,000 U.S. households have a net worth of at least $25 million, the article says. That’s up from 84,000 in 2008. The study was created by the Spectrum Group, according to the article.
The “vast generational transfer of wealth” is “just beginning,” the article quotes George Walper Jr., president of the Spectrum Group.
The article doesn’t spell out how these folks are getting rich, but here are a few theories.
First, they could have invested well in the stock market, which crashed big time during the Great Recession. A big, universal downturn in the markets creates numerous buying opportunities for those willing to take a chance on them.
Even the casual observer has seen the market go up like crazy over the last decade, so those buying opportunities – at least many of them – have paid off handsomely.
Another theory, as Walper suggests, is that older rich folks are dying, and giving their wealth to their children.
A third theory is a rise in entrepreneurship. Young folks have seen a need, or created a product, that has become very popular. Think Uber, Lyft, scooter rentals in cities etc.
Here’s an area that can make ANYONE rich, who is willing to explore it. You certainly don’t have to create a new product, or meet a need. You just have to be willing to look at ideas that are not necessarily new, but could be new to you.
There are many vehicles out there that can produce wealth for anyone, with any background, education etc. You don’t even need to be a genius. You just need to learn a system and be coachable. To check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
Amid the doom and gloom you may have witnessed in the last decade, these stats should give you a glimmer of hope. Prosperity is there for those willing to look for it. It is there for those who, rather than wallow in their circumstances, are willing to embrace something new.
And, it doesn’t matter whether you are young or older. You just need to be willing to see something that looks very promising, and go with it, no matter what you might be told is best for you.
Our parents, at least those of us who grew up in more modest households, have told us to look for security, a good job, good benefits and stay there until we retire. That was SAFE.
Yet, such situations today are rare. Few jobs are safe. Few lifestyles are secure. Few futures are certain.
Increasingly, it is up to you to determine your prosperity. Certainly, if you choose certain paths, there are many out there willing to help you. But, you have to DO it.
If you don’t see yourself as young and rich, that’s OK. But think about the life YOU want, and know there are ways out there to get it. You just have to be willing to look for them.
Peter
RETIREMENT CRISIS IN AMERICA
#retirement #RetirementCrisis #RetirementAccounts #pensions
The three legs of the retirement stool are rickety, at best.
As Bob Pisani put it in his article for CNBC, all three legs – retirement savings, pension and Social Security – “are all in dire shape.” His article was published April 1, 2019.
The article was published to plug CNBC’s new financial wellness initiative it calls, “Invest In You: Ready, Set, Grow, “ published in partnership with Acorn.
At Vanguard, the financial services group, the median 401(k) account value for an investor age 65 and older is a mere $58,035,” the article says.
That’s about a year’s salary for the average person, and a pittance, considering all the time these folks had to save.
The St. Louis Fed concluded, “It could be worrisome that, for many American households, the total balances of their retirement accounts may not be sufficient to ensure a solid life in retirement,” the article says.
There could be many reasons for this crisis. The average person can do little about the condition of Social Security, or if their employers have cut back, eliminated or never offered pensions.
The savings part is the only thing within a person’s control.
If you are already in the 65-and-older cohort used in the Vanguard numbers, starting to save more may be advised, but it may be an exercise in futility. Working until you die may not be an option, either, because employers may not want you around anymore, or because your job is so demanding you’ll kill yourself before you get to retire.
If you are young, start socking away money now, however you can. As it grows, move it carefully from a bank to a more lucrative investment. Get good trustworthy advice as you do this.
If you are not sure how to begin saving, find a good financial coach. Bear in mind your income may not be the issue. Your spending may be the key to saving. Keep track of where every penny goes. Those pennies saved can be dollars earned in the future, to borrow from Ben Franklin.
If you are middle aged, and still have a decent job, but have very little, if anything, saved for retirement, start socking money away in bigger chunks. Again, that could involve analyzing spending habits to find savings.
Finally, no matter your age, job situation, education or background, there are many ways out there to earn extra money by devoting a few, part-time hours a week away from your job, or you can devote more time if you don’t have a job. The money you could earn could dwarf what you are otherwise earning, or did earn, at a regular W-2 job.
To check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
The responsibility for retirement security has gradually, over the decades, be foisted upon individuals. Some 50 years ago, one knew he had a secure job, with a pension coming, as long as he or she behaved himself or herself, did satisfactory work etc. Social Security, plus that pension, and maybe a stress-free, part-time job in retirement could make one comfortable.
Pension plans and Social Security have become less stable, though Social Security should be around in some form for years to come. Pension plans? Not so much.
So the burden largely falls on the individual to secure his own retirement. If savings alone isn’t going to give you what you want in your later years, perhaps it’s time to think about doing something different – perhaps something you thought you would never do
Peter
FEELING ILL AT WORK? YOU MAY BE IN A SICK BUILDING
#SickBuildings #SickWorkplaces #SickAtWork #germs
Your work area can be making you sick.
It’s not just the germs from other people.
It’s the building. You may be working in a sick building.
Maurie Backman discussed this syndrome in an article for The Motley Fool. It was also published April 9, 2019, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“Many office buildings – especially high-rise ones – have pretty poor air quality, (because) windows are perpetually closed and nothing but recycled air circulates,” the article reads.
Also, dust can accumulate in untreated vents, allowing you, and everyone around you, to breathe it in, the article says.
That’s not to mention mold and other allergens festering around your workplace, the article says.
The article recommends that if you believe your office environment is making you sick, speak up. That’s assuming you have a reasonable employer or boss.
If you don’t get satisfaction, look for a new job, the article recommends.
Of course, if you succeed in finding a new job, don’t bet on the air being any better, unless you go from indoor to outdoor work.
Then, there’s the idea of working from home, with windows you can open and, perhaps, an outdoor space from which you can work.
Naturally, not every employer will let you work from home – or from wherever you are.
If the idea of working from wherever you want to be is appealing, there are many ways you can accomplish that without having to look for a W-2 job that will allow you to do it. There are many vehicles out there that allow you to earn money – potentially much more than a regular job will pay you — by working a few part-time hours a week. As a bonus, you can work from wherever you want. No sick building.
To check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
Working in sick buildings is no good for anyone, particularly, as the article points out, if you have respiratory health issues.
If you can document your health problems, and you tell your employer that the building may be exacerbating those problems, the article says you might consider legal action against your employer.
That would certainly be a lot of hassle for you, even if you are successful.
In summary, sick buildings are a fact of life. If you work in a place that isn’t “sick,” consider yourself lucky.
If you like your job, in spite of your workplace being “sick,” you have to decide whether the long-term effects of working in that environment is worth the enjoyment you get from the job itself.
Working from home would certainly by ideal for some. For others, having the interactions at work may be what they crave. If you’re among the latter group, and your building is sick, you have to decide whether those interactions you crave are worth the price over time.
There are some situations that allow you to have a base at home, but have enough interactions and engagement with others to satisfy you.
Perhaps that situation would be ideal for more people than one might think.
Peter