Adulthood and Working Life
- Jobs and career
- Junior clerk and later accounts assistant at Wessex Marine Supplies in Fareham, 1979–1986; part-time clerical assistant and later school secretary at Eastbrook Junior School in Havant, 1992–2004; senior administrator at Millbrook Community Primary School in Emsworth, 2004–2022; reduced-hours administrator from January 2022 until retirement on 31 July 2023. All employer and school names are fictional.
My First Pay Packet
Margaret receives her first weekly cash pay packet and discovers that earning money immediately gives it several destinations.
- Jobs and career
- Junior clerk and later accounts assistant at Wessex Marine Supplies in Fareham, 1979–1986; part-time clerical assistant and later school secretary at Eastbrook Junior School in Havant, 1992–2004; senior administrator at Millbrook Community Primary School in Emsworth, 2004–2022; reduced-hours administrator from January 2022 until retirement on 31 July 2023. All employer and school names are fictional.
Back to Work
Margaret returns to paid employment as a part-time clerical assistant at Eastbrook Junior School.
A School Secretary
Margaret becomes Eastbrook’s school secretary and takes responsibility for the records, money and correspondence that keep the office running.
A Different School Office
Margaret begins work as senior administrator at Millbrook and adjusts to networked computers, email and unfamiliar office systems.
Reduced Hours
Margaret agrees a reduced three-day working pattern at Millbrook following Alan’s death.
My Last School Term
Margaret completes her final day at Millbrook, hands over fourteen pages of notes and leaves the office without moving a changed tray.
Pauline Knows the Office
Margaret learns the difference between official school procedures and the working knowledge Pauline has built over seven years.
Pauline Retires
Pauline’s retirement prompts Margaret to consider her own working life while their friendship begins moving beyond school-office conversations.