Finding meaning in work
Regina Brett has worked in the US as a dog walker, a waitress, a cashier, kitchen help, a secretary, an alcoholism counselor, a court clerk and an emergency medical technician. She has also worked in a theater, a diner, a hospital, a funeral home, an addiction center, a pharmacy and the local court.
“I was a work in progress,” she says in her book “God Is Always Hiring”. “I just wasn’t making much progress.”
As a single mother who shifted majors six times, Brett often despaired over her succession of jobs. But when she decided to follow her calling as a journalist, the Pulitzer Prize finalist realized that “All those dead-end jobs? There’s no such thing.”
“Jobs that some people call menial gave my life meaning.”
As a waitress, she learned her compassion for the underprivileged, whom she now highlights in her writings. Her stint in the ER emphasized deadlines, which is essential for writers. When she picked up bodies for a funeral home, she learned how to comfort the grieving, which she now does in her books. As a legal secretary, she learned to navigate the courts, and now she has defended several innocents.
“When you don’t get what you want, you get something better—experience. Without my knowing it, each job I tolerated prepared me to do the work I now celebrate.”
Wise advice, particularly to millennials who often fear that their current work is a hindrance to their dream job.
No small parts
In family businesses and elsewhere, many people do not find their job fulfilling. They want to follow their heart’s desire, but they settle for the daily grind.
To people who expect the world to owe them a good living, Brett says, “Everything changes when you change.”
After a series of wrong choices in her 20s, Brett says, “The future was blank. It was up to me to write something on it. It was time to own my life… That’s when the world opened up. Everything in my life changed when I decided to change me.”
To people who put their self-worth in fancy job titles, Brett says, “What they call you is up to them. What you answer to is up to you.”
“Teacher lang.” “Secretary lang.” “Staff lang.” How many times have we heard this from people who do not take pride in what they do?
Brett turns the situation around, and describes the woman in the salon who calls herself Nail Technician, the piano tuner who calls himself Director of Piano Technology, the pool cleaner who calls herself Aquatics Manager, the hotel guard who calls himself Director of Loss Prevention.
Take pride in your work, whatever your position is.
“Every job is as magical as you make it.”
For the boss
Brett gives compassionate advice to maximize satisfaction and minimize conflict.
To the boss, be kind. “Give others a second chance to make a first impression.”
Brett herself was given several second, third, and fourth chances by great bosses, who make room for mistakes.
“I keep striving for perfection as if it’s attainable in all things when, in reality, most of the blessings that come to me, and most of the blessings that come through me, come through the imperfect. It is through our mistakes, our misses, our almosts, that we bless the lives of others.”
To multitaskers who want to be everything to everyone all the time, heed this: “There’s a time for everything but not always at the same time.”
Want to be a perfect mother and a perfect manager, or the perfect entrepreneur and the perfect tutor? Whatever the world says, it is not possible to be the perfect anyone always.
Be fully present in the moment. At work, focus on the tasks at hand, but when you are with the children, turn off the gadgets and enjoy their presence.
Have a blessed Yuletide.
Queena N. Lee-Chua is on the board of directors of Ateneo de Manila University’s Family Business Development Center. Get her book “Successful Family Businesses” at the University Press (e-mail: [email protected]). E-mail the author at [email protected].
