The Boss’s Wife

Do you enjoy your job?

I think being pleased with your job has a lot to do with how much privilege you had when you entered the work force. Being able to choose a career based off of your passions is reserved for people who are not just trying to make ends meet.

I have been working in the insurance industry for 20 years. Prior to that I was a hospital MedTech with the intention of becoming a nurse. 

I loved the work, but I was a young single mother. Healthcare was not very conducive to that.  Twelve hour shifts, working every other weekend and every other holiday, mandatory overtime, being constantly on my feet. It just wasn’t working for us.  But I had to pay my bills, and when that is the priority, enjoyment isn’t something you have the privilege to consider in a job opportunity.

The man that would become my father in law, offered me a 9-5 at his insurance agency. He said I had the face for sales, and my personality helped too.

A bit more of an hourly wage. No weekends. No holidays. No brainer. 

It has paid my bills, it has fed my family, it has provided financial stability beyond what I ever imagined I would have. But I would not say that I enjoy it. 

My husband started working at the agency a couple years after me and took over officially, twelve years ago. So I have been working in the industry, at this exact location, the whole of my adult life. 

I recently had a customer scream at me, practically foaming at the mouth, that I wouldn’t have an fuckin job if I wasn’t the boss’s wife. I’m usually pretty good at letting customer interactions roll off my shoulders, but this one was quite the slap in the face. I have put in the hours. I am good at my job. Technically I have more years of experience than my husband. But I definitely don’t get the same respect, his name is on the sign, you see. 

There are burdens that come with being a business owner. It has not always been good for my marriage. We are constantly together, which we handle well, but it can be tricky to navigate at times. I don’t have the sense of pride that comes with making my “own” money. I have no work friends. The work day often continues long after we get home. Taxes are a GD nightmare.

But all that being said, if I want to leave early, I leave early. If I need a day off, I take a day off. For better or for worse, there is little chance that I will ever be fired. 

There is some freedom in not having to work for someone else.  This Little Victory may come at a cost, but it’s a victory, nonetheless.