 I've heard statistics that say up to 40% of people love their jobs. If I picked 100 people I know, I seriously doubt that 40 of them would say they love their jobs. Then again, it could be that I just happen to know a bunch of disgruntled and frustrated people. You know what they say about birds of a feather.
Another statistic says that the most common time for a heart attack is Monday morning as people prepare for work. I don't know but that sounds a lot more realistic than 40 out of 100 people getting up on that same Monday morning and skipping to work brimming with happiness.
There have been jobs that I have enjoyed; either for the work, the people or in a couple of occasions both. But I've never worked somewhere where I'd 'work for free' if I didn't need the money. I've never worked someplace that I would happily agree to come in on weekends or where I'd willingly put in 12-hour days with a smile on my face. The only job I love that much is my writing, and ain't nobody paying me for that.
I've held a wide variety of jobs from radio to communications to software trainer to temporary worker. Maybe it's some of the experiences I've had on these jobs that make me so keen to workfor myself. I'll share just a few...
1. Worked with a woman who could not stay at work after sundown because her pet bird was afraid of the dark.
2. Worked on a project where daily we were greeted with notes and signs that usually stated the obvious. My favorite was posted in every stall in the women's bathroom. It read, "Please Do Not Urinate On The Seats"and was placed right next to the sign that reviewed the sexual harassment policy.
3. Actually taught a computer class where one of the machines 'blew up' during class! It gave new meaning to the term: computer crash.
4. Worked with a man who refused to wear shoes while training.
5. I worked for a woman who was so non-confrontational that instead of talking to the one person who dressed too casually on training days, she went to the store and bought a bunch of cheap suits and ugly bland separates for the five women on the staff!
6. I had a boss who did not trust technology, so in the late 90's, he still had accountants who kept records by hand and wrote out paychecks. This is the same man who never came into the office but would routinely call in and reduce staff members, including his daughter, to tears.
7. Speaking of technology, I did some freelance web design work for a guy who was truly clueless about computers. He'd heard from someone that deleting unnecessary files was an important part of being organized.Since he kept all of his work in the My Documents folder, he figured everything else was unnecessary. So he deleted everything else. All of it. When he was done, he couldn't even get his computer to boot up!
8. As a college intern at a local news radio station, one of the reporters would always find a reason for me to get a reference guide that was stored up high. I'd have to get the stepladder to get it. After several weeks of this, I realized he was doing this so he could check out my butt!
9. I spent one school year as a substitute teacher. Everyday was a challenge. One day, after making an entire first grade class take a group 'time-out,' I rhetorically asked, "What is wrong with you guys?" One bright little boy raised his hand, "I know. I know!" "What do you know?" I asked, forgetting that I had made that statement in the form of a question. "I know what's wrong with us. We don't have no home training." From the mouths of babes...
10. I had a co-worker who would sit on the other side of my cube and listen to my phone conversations. He would make comments about my side of the conversation as I was talking. "Why do you need a doctor's appointment, are you sick?" "Oh, I saw that movie last weekend, you're gonna love it."
11. I once worked with a fashion-challenged young lady with questionable hygiene. One day after lunch, I mentioned that she had a rather large item stuck in her hair. She picked it out, glanced at it and nonchalantly replied, "Oh, that's just a chicken bone from lunch."
12. Right after college, while looking for a real job, I took a seasonal position as one of Santa's helpers. In addition to working with one occasionally drunk Santa and a super-perky fellow elf who called herself Sparkle, I also had to spend my days listening to homeless men tell Mr. Claus, "I'll sit on your lap, if she can sit on mine!"
So, yeah, I'm definitely in the 60% that don't love their jobs. I could also be part of that Monday morning heart attack club (when I find another job). Okay, maybe not a heart attack, maybe just a Monday morning anxiety attack. Labels: Work |
