Sometimes a job that you hate is worse than no job at all
Experience this... Photo by Warrenski
When I moved to the city, I got a summer job at Lindt Chocolate on the 7th floor of Watertower Mall.
At the door, we would stand and hand out truffles to happy tourists. I asked people if they wanted to sample our chocolate.
But that wasn't allowed. "Sample" is a cheap word. It cheapens our chocolate, said my boss.
Instead, I had to say,"Have you experienced the Lindor truffle?"
And if that sentence, along with the robot-look on my face, didn't scare a person away, I then had to unwrap the chocolate for them and squeeze it into their hand. It felt like I was pooping a little brown truffle turd in their palm.
I hated this job. Hated it. I eventually quit, as I realized the $8.25 an hour they paid was not actually better than being broke.
Eugene Harris and his career counselor, Mialisa Chew.
I met a guy in public housing
awhile back who reminded me of this experience. Eugene, who grew up in
Henry Horner and now lives at Westhaven, used to work at Staples. It was a paying job, he said, but the job just sucked. Stupid red polo shirt, corporate rules. He told me "I knew I was smarter than that job." He was frustrated, and one day, his frustration led him to a job fair where he met the staff of
Central State SER.
Now Eugene works at a personal care technician at Sinai hospital and is working toward his degree in radiography. He's passionate about his job. And this SER's health care careers program helped him get there, improving his literacy and math skills while learning about health care and getting job experience.
The program is free for Chicago's public housing residents, part of
Opportunity Chicago, a city-wide employment initiative.
Over
70 public housing residents were recognized this week for their part in
the program. For many of them, it's been the fulfillment of a life-long
dream and the chance to move forward with their lives.
Janice Robinson talks to her classmates about her dream of becoming an RN.
Janice Robinson was among those who received a certificate. She's lived in
ABLA,
a public housing development on the near West Side, for 16 years.
Janice is a certified nursing assistant with the dream of becoming a
registered nurse.
I was struck by her words. "My calling is to
be a nurse." She talked to me about how much she loves caring for
people, letting them know that someone loves them and will help them.
She's passionate about her patients.
"I've wanted to be a nurse since I was a little girl. Now my dream is coming true," she said.
But
to dream that dream, people sometimes need help seeing what's possible
for them. Janice says that's what the program at Central State SER has
given her.
.
To me, having passion for your job is one of our
inalienable rights. It's the core of the pursuit of happiness. I find
great fulfillment in my work, so much so that it's sort of painful to
sell chocolate or slice pizza instead.
Eugene's comments about how much he hated working at Staples really opened my eyes to something.
Too
often, I think, we expect low-income people to work any job they can,
and look down on them if they're not willing to work a minimum wage job
doing something they hate. I know I do. It seems like, if you're poor,
you should just take whatever you can get. Loving your job is a luxury
reserved for those of us who go to college and have parents that can
float us through job transitions.
We talk about how people "just
don't want to work," but really, how many of us would be willing to
work a dead-end job for $7.75 an hour and no benefits, with no hope for
something changing? I know I couldn't. People should be able to love
and take pride in their work and have the hope that things can change.
Students gather together for a picture. Many couldn't come to the ceremony because they had to work.
I
talked with their executive director, Rachel McDonald Romo, about how
they screen their candidates. They want people who are passionate about
caring for others, who really want to be in health care. Central State
SER's motto is "Jobs for Progress." That makes a lot of sense to me. If
we want progress, we have to help people change their lives themselves,
and job, especially one that you love, is a great motivator and a great
reward.
"Without a vision, people perish," Rachel says.
If
we're going to help people succeed, we need to help create with them a
vision of their own success and then be unfailingly practical in
helping them get there.
To all of SER's new graduates: Congratulations. I believe in your vision for your future.
Share this entry
Recommended for you
9 Comments
Joe the Cop said:
Excellent post. One of the saddest things about our economy has been the race to the bottom in terms of pay and benefits for "low skill" jobs. 30 or 40 years ago there were actually people who made a living working full time in retail, in gas stations, etc. Now the hours are cut, the pay is less (minimum wage is less now in real dollars than it was then I think) and no one pays benefits any more. Good thing programs like this exist, and I wish there were more of them.
feliciacago said:
Hmm. The thing is, a job you hate still pays the bills. Loving your job is indeed a luxury but I don't think it has to be all or nothing, does it? Most people don't love their jobs but go to work every day to feed mouths. Many work several unpleasant jobs and go to school too like my friend who moved to Michigan from the Congo with his wife and 8 children. I don't think I would ever say, "How dare you not love cleaning those toilets!" but I might have an issue with someone who chose no job over that job.
Megan Cottrell said:
I agree that most people don't live their jobs, but have to work to pay the bills anyway. And I think it's unreasonable to love every part of your job. I also think many people do jobs they hate and find joy in doing it well, no matter what it is. But I think for a lot of poorer people, the chance to love their job and actually use their intellect or personal strengths is overlooked. A lot of talented, smart people never take the opportunity to find a job they could love and be good at because they don't know it's out there. I think in public housing, there's less of an awareness of what's possible, which is something that policy makers and residents are trying to change.
SarahJi said:
Megan, I am learning so much from your blog. You provide a compassionate, thoughtful perspective to issues of urban poverty. These are things that those of us who live in relative plenty don't ever have to really think about on a day-to-day basis if we don't want to. Then there are those of us who DO want to think about them but have lived so far removed from poverty that we don't know where to start or how to look at the issues involved. Thank you for writing about them and prodding your readers to think more deeply or differently and hopefully more compassionately about these topics.
surpriseimnate said:
I'm not a public housing resident, but I'm currently unemployed and looking for a job. I constantly feel the pull to lower my standards and settle for something I'll hate. I'm not sure how best to balance out the desire for satisfying work and the desire for food and a roof over my head... especially in this economy. And for people in public housing it seems like this balance would be much more difficult to achieve. Interesting story.
kj said:
Megan, I just started reading your blog. I'm glad I read your profile page. Your blog is true to your mission. Each of the entries does tell a story in a way that challenges me to think differently and more compassionately. As a teacher, poverty has always had a name and a face and it isn't always about choice, like those of us who have not grown up in a culture of poverty tend to believe. Thank you for sharing what you are learning and thinking.
L Morken said:
Megan, thanks for this post. Programs like those at Central States SER are helping low-income people with little job experience change their lives - in ways that even they themselves may not have thought possible. And not because they don't have the intellect, the ability, the potential or the desire. Appreciate your perspective on this issue and others you cover through One Story Up! -L. Morken
Chicagogirl said:
I guess I am the dissenting voice here. I have a college degree (which I paid for myself). Yet when I found myself in dire financial straits, not receiving any child support from a deadbeat dad, I took on a second job at Target getting $7.00 an hour to pay my bills. It was basically mindless, certainly not worthy of my intelligence, had nothing to do with my degree, but the additional cash kept me out of bankruptcy and kept my son fed, housed and clothed. I also take exception to the gentleman's problem with working with the "corporate rules" at Staples. It's that kind of attitude that keeps people from moving up...there are always rules and until you learn to follow them, you will not advance.
Megan Cottrell said:
Hi Chicago Girl - thanks for your comments.
I wonder if we've had a miscommunication. Eugene worked at Staples despite being unhappy there and didn't quit although he found it about as mindless as you say you found your Target job. But he was very happy to find another option, as you did with your degree. He followed the rules, but also was able to move up. I think its important that there are opportunities for everyone to do so, and that we recognize there's a lot of talent that may go untapped because people don't always recognize their potential. Thanks again for reading!
Leave a Comment?
What your comment will look like:
said: