4th July 2014, 01:41 PM
RedEarth Wrote:Thanks for clarifying, sorry if that felt like abuse, although you do kind of ask for it.
However, there is a difference between working in archaeology because you are interested in it (I too would find it hard to believe there can be anyone who works in archaeology who isn't at least fairly interested) and being obsessed to the point where you willingly forego any kind of life outside of it and consider that to be a normal and reasonable state of affairs for everyone. It is then a slippery slope - a small number put themselves in that position, so everyone is expected to follow suit, and pay and conditions suffer. I'm not saying it is the sole cause of the problems in commercial archaeology that we have today, but it certainly doesn't help, and I'm sure that attitude of 'we have to save as much archaeology as we can now because imagine the terrible consequences if we don't so everyone has to give 110% all the time' is exploited by those higher up the employment chain.
No worries, its good to vent. And yes I do ask for it!
Its good to have two or three sides to a discussion.
I agree an unhealthy obsession is...well...unhealthy. And yes those that expect a total 24 hour dedication to archaeology beyond anything set down in a contract (or in the variety of standards and guides that exist), those that expect more than a good work ethic are wrong.
But, on the flipside. Those that do work 110% do not in anyway drive pay and conditions down, they just show an added commitment that usually single's them out as being attractive to employers.
Pay and conditions are set by market forces. That is what the clients are willing to pay. This idea that the evil management squalor in opulence and laziness while the workers toil to line their sty's. The idea that managers are deliberately holding back profit from those doing the work as a form of wage-slavery is outdated. The managers I know/ have talked to would love to put in higher tenders, would love to increase everyone's wages and hence increase their companies profit margins.
But without some kind of earthquake in the world of heritage - (Ala ozone layer/ global warming), or some form of price-fixing, the 'value/cost tag' attached to archaeology will remain pitifully low.