Okay, some background first: I work as a doctor (general practitioner) in a small rural village of about 3000 people. So you pretty much get to know most people rather quickly. Due to nature of my job, I see people when they are down and in need of help. It is not uncommon to hear all kinds of things about my patients life. Unsurprisingly work is one of the most common sources of stress for most people. The fear of losing a job or missing a pay check due to an illness is something I see almost daily.
But there is one interesting trend I have noticed. When a small business owner gets sick and comes to my office, they have this tendency to REALLY make a big deal how everything will now crumble without them. I have heard numerous times how “salaried people just cant understand how hard it is”. They will go on and on how much they work and how little they get. This is especially true to boomers.
I get it that it is a very stressful situation and the loss of income can be devastating for them and their families. But here's the deal: it is the exact same thing for all of us, no matter the occupation. I'm tired of business owners putting themselves on a pedestal like their work IS somehow way More demanding and important than anyone else's.
I understand that this is based on a very small sample size of purely anecdotal evidence, but it is a thing that has been annoying me greatly for some time. Has anyone else noticed something similar behaviour in their lives or am I just biased against business owners?