I think I can empathize with Shimrod. I worked for years in Germany for a large multi-national and due to changes in markets, etc., saw many clever men who had worked their butts off to get their qualifications and move into management/supervisory positions being turned into robots and pen-pushers. At least in our company they were well paid, but boy, were they frustrated!

On client visits to engineering companies I often saw similar cases, men and women doing "busy-work" until they reached retirement age, but without having the advantage of the good pay that we had. The amount of secret drinking that went on on the job was unbelievable! My girl-friend's father drank himself to death just after retirement (having started drinking at work many years before).

I was made redundant two years ago and am happily working part-time and doing a lot of voluntary work, also playing a bit of music (something I rarely had time for before).

Don