A previous tenant says the job is ”magical’ and one of the perks of the place is counting penguins.
The Great Resignation is no joke.
Sparked by the pandemic and forced work-at-home policies for many employees, the wave has since grown to encompass virtually anyone unhappy with their job.
That includes people who had to go to work during the worst of this century’s first major plague.
It also encompasses people who now have a chance to go back to work but are finding they’d rather try something else, instead of being exploited for long hours and low pay with no health insurance.
But it also includes white-collar workers who are simply over how corporations have traditionally been run.
Loath to return to long commutes and truncated parenting just to show their faces in the office, this group is forcing everyone from Wall Street to local small businesses to rethink what pay, remote work and benefits look like.
But how remote are some of these workers hoping to get? If the answer is “extremely,” then we have got you covered.
Antarctica Is Calling
Enter the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust, a British charity that is responsible for manning the post office at Britain’s Port Lockroy base.
Located smack dab in the middle of the Antarctic, the charity is now looking for new volunteers to live and work at its site until March 2023 — and no, you don’t have to be experienced in the art of postal services.
If you’re accepted, you will oversee the outpost on Goudier Island in the Antarctic Peninsula, the trust says.
You’ll train for a week in Cambridge in October 2022, before heading virtually as far south as possible.
The trust’s Antarctic operations manager, Lauren Luscombe, told the BBC that a variety of skills are needed, and some might bump applicants ahead of others.
“Given the nature of the day-to-day tasks involved to keep Port Lockroy running smoothly, we look for applicants that can bring a range of skills to the team such as retail experience, heritage, conservation and building maintenance, and leadership or management.”
It’s a Lonely Job, but Somebody’s Gotta Do It
So what exactly will you do up on Goudier Island? Well, a previous tenant says the job is “magical,” and one of the perks of the places is counting penguins.
Successful applicants will also be in charge of running the museum inside Bransfield House, which is what Port Lockroy is now primarily visited for, as well as overseeing the guest shop and post office.
Travel to the area was apparently slowed to a stop by the pandemic, but could be picking up soon — and the BBC reports it typically welcomes around 18,000 people during the Antarctic summer months between November and March.
The job, which usually attracts thousands of applicants, pays $1,700 a month, or $20,400 a year.
Interested? You can apply here the UKAHT website before 11:59 pm BST on April 25.
“It is important for applicants to show us who they are, we need to get to know them, through their application and throughout the selection process,” Luscombe said.
“The successful candidates will be living in close quarters for five months so it is also essential that we curate the right balance of skill sets and personalities.”
