Your Inner Outcast
Posted by fxckfeelings on August 4, 2011
On the road of life (which we’re assuming exists outside of car commercials), sometimes other people, not just strange places, can make you feel like a stranger. In either case, the feeling is painful, not easy to change, and a great source of my revenue. If you know you’ve done your best along the way, however, whether you feel you belong or not, you can stay on course since you’re not a stranger to yourself.
–Dr. Lastname
I’m a quality inspector and recently had cause to turn in a worker after I caught him fudging his work in a way that made the workplace unsafe (I made a copy of his logbook before he could fake his report). Well, since then I’ve been getting the cold shoulder from his supervisor, who says I was mean to get him fired and trying to suck up to my boss, but the truth is, I think our quality has been slipping and this worker was cutting too many corners and needed to be fired (though it wasn’t my decision). It’s painful to be shunned by guys I’ve worked with for years, however, and I wonder, if they understood how upsetting and unfair it was, they might be persuaded to stop.
Despite the value put on employment by the current recession, a job is just a job. It might feel like a family, a career, a definition of your identity, a source for your self-esteem. In truth, it just keeps you in rent and car payments.
The real meaning of a job, then, is what you give to it. If you do what you think is a good day’s work, that’s where your pride and self-esteem should come from.
It shouldn’t come from what the boss or your co-workers say, or from any expectation that good work will be recognized or rewarded with approval, a raise, or security. You did the right thing, you’ve got reason to be proud, even if everyone else has a reason to give you shit. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
