Work Ethic?
When I am not spending time goofing around on the web site, or endlessly
tinkering with my beat-up '84 Eagle and '87 GMC 1/2 ton 4x4's, I masquerade as a
Video Store owner. Don't get me wrong - I love my job (or I wouldn't be there)
and the only reason I use that phrase is because, to me, it seems more like play
than work. On the whole, we have wonderful customers and provide a respectable
service and products that sell themselves. Nothing to it, really.
In fact, it is such an easy, enjoyable job that I can't understand why we have
so hard a time finding reliable help. Sure, the pay is fairly low, but all you
need to do is show up with a good attitude and take people's money for the till.
Aside from that, there are very few "chores," such as stocking shelves, helping
customers find what they are looking for, and cleaning up the store at closing
time. This is an "entry level" position for customer service and retail
cashiering requiring very little training, effort, or deep thought. Seems to me
that anyone could do it.
Well, that ain't necessarily so, as the saying goes. Our turn-over for employees
is pretty high. Part of the problem is the trend toward hiring part-time workers
who are also students or who hold second, full-time, jobs. Burn-out is a common
problem with them and school or the primary job is more important. While this is
understandable, it is not an excuse for surly attitudes, lackadaisical
performance, shirking duties or tardiness, etc.
Some of our former employees, upon leaving service, cite the low pay as a reason
for their attitudes. "You get what you pay for," they say. Well, personally, I
just don't buy it! When you take a person's (or a corporation's) money to do a
job, you've agreed to do the job to the best of your abilities. You knew what
you were going to be paid when you signed up. There was no negotiation over the
"degree of effort" you would put into the job for a particular rate of pay. The
duties and responsibilities were explained during the hiring process and you
agreed to do it. Is it unnatural to assume that this means you have agreed to do
it to the best of your ability?
Throughout my 45 years I have held more jobs, in more various fields, than most
people would be proud to admit. I did it on purpose. Perhaps it was foolish of
me since, at the moment, I have absolutely no hope of a retirement income
without working. I realized that when I started down this path as a teenager,
but I was more interested in learning how to do as many things as possible than
sticking with a job that had lost interest for me or one that had grown mundane.
The result of my actions will one day be my personal cross to bear. But through
it all - in each and every job, no matter how ridiculous, or low-level, or low
paying it seemed - I strived to excel, and eventually succeeded. I have never
been fired or "dismissed" from a job, nor left a job without adequate notice. In
each endeavor I learned enormous amounts of practical information and technical
skills. In each job, I earned the respect of my peers and my employers, and rose
through the ranks until my curiosity beckoned me elsewhere.
Now, while I may not own my own home and most banks would think I was crazy if I
ever asked them for a loan (I haven't), looking solely at my work history, I
have something that seems peculiarly lacking in the majority of today's work
force. I am satisfied with my past, I like to work, and no matter who is signing
my check, I am always working for myself!
I don't mean that sometimes the work doesn't seem hard(er) or monotonous. Of
course it does! Anything we do can eventually become a drudge. But when it does,
I don't resent the work, the pay, or the boss. Instead, I invent a reason to
work through the momentary drudgery and continue to do the absolute best that I
can. The simple fact is, everything that I do is a direct reflection of myself
as a human being. This includes dress, manner and comportment, speech, and my
actions and the result of my actions. These things are all that I will ever be
and all that I will ever be remembered for!
Most of us, myself included, will never be President of a country or a
corporation, a figurehead in the arts or entertainment business, a heroic leader
or discoverer of new lands or ideas. Most of us are, and will always remain,
simply "that guy down the block," if we ever reach even that magnitude of fame.
Except to our near and dear friends and family, of course. As such, it would
seem most important that our self-image - our self-respect -be the greatest
concern in our relatively mundane lives.
Since a full 30% of our lives are spent toiling away at the labor that pays the
bills, and since this 30% is the world's greatest insight into our lives, it
would seem the majority of our self-respect and whatever respect is to be
garnered from the rest of the world would emanate from our work-a-day lives.
Certainly, no one cares about the excellence of our sleep or the effort we put
into maintaining a perfect r.e.m. state. Therefore, our "work ethic" would seem
to provide a minimum of 50% of that sum which the universe adds up to estimate
our worth as a whole. Probably more, but a least 50%.
So why is it, I wonder, that so few people ever realize this or, having come to
a similar conclusion, ever act in what would seem to be the rational manner -
i.e., doing the best they can at whatever it is they are doing, regardless of
the material rewards expected? In fact, the trend appears to be to put forth the
least amount of care and effort needed to get by and retain employment. It
irritates the dickens out of me! Has this become the new standard of civilized
self-respect? Getting by with as little effort as possible? Doesn't anyone see
where this attitude will eventually lead us?
For myself, I take great pride in independence and self-reliance. Because of
this, when I fail to put forth the best possible effort in whatever I am doing,
I feel as though I have cheated myself.Nine times out of ten, I feel so rotten
about it that I eventually have to go back and correct the situation - and that
tenth time always seems to come back to haunt me at the worst possible moment.
Now, some of you might say that this is an unhealthy mental attitude. That I am
some sort of perfectionist or something. This is not the case. I know that I
can't do everything and I certainly know that everything I do does not come out
right. But this is not as important to me as the effort expended. If I fail or
screw up, yet have honestly put forth the best of my effort and ability, I can
face the failure squarely and see it as a learning experience and try to figure
out how to avoid the same result the next time. But if I have failed because I
didn't try hard enough, or didn't put forth the effort that I know, deep down, I
am capable of - then the failure is a shameful thing and a black mark on my own
self-respect. Likewise, if I perform a task half-heartedly, yet receive praise
for the result - how much is that praise worth when I know that the task could
have been performed even better? Which is worse: failure for an honest attempt,
or praise for a half-hearted one?
A popular term, these days: "Dis-ed." I'm assuming it means "disrespected." It's
become a fairly popular battle-cry in the streets and many young folks have been
killed over it. When are these people going to understand that you can't force
respect, you can't buy respect, and you can't gain the respect of others until
you respect yourself? You are your own worst enemy and best friend and harshest
judge. Like the man said, "To your own self, be true." The fact is, you can't
lie to yourself and get away with it.
Aside from, perhaps, the clinically insane, we all have an innate knowledge of
what's right and what's wrong. It's the "Golden Rule" principle. If you treat
everyone and every action as if it has a direct impact upon you - at least,
initially - then chances are you are doing "the right thing." If you are doing
something in a way that you would not want done to you, then chances are you are
doing "the wrong thing." Not too complicated, is it? Unless, of course, you
really do like pain, frustration, and failure. In that case, see a shrink
because you need some help with those unresolved.... blah, blah, blah.
Well. I see that I have wandered off the point. Or maybe I haven't. In any case,
I've vented, and now I've had enough.
Meg Raven
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