Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010
Who has a typical day anymore?
John Beaudoin, Journal Publisher
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I was talking with a close friend the other day about our jobs, careers and future ambitions when he hit me with this nugget: “I am doing so many things now I wasn’t hired to do…”
After promptly swatting him in the head, I reminded him that we all live in a world where the jobs we are hired to do and the duties we carry out on a daily basis are ever-changing and evolving.
Sometimes we take on extra duties because we feel pride in our jobs or our occupation. Other times we are aiming for a promotion, a raise or other accolades from our superiors.
And sometimes, especially in today’s work environment, we just have to all take on a little more than what we were used to.
I grew up in a family where mom and dad often worked late. We all had our own house key because the four of us kids were all getting home at a different time and there was no guarantee that mom and dad would be there any time soon.
Homework, chores, sometimes even dinner, was on us. I never really gave it another thought because to me, working equated to taking care of the family.
For whatever reason, I got my first job at a local greasy spoon restaurant in Independence working the fryers and cooking over a 500 degree grill – all at age 13.
I’m not sure I was supposed to be working that young in that job, but I didn’t care. Working equaled a paycheck for me and a paycheck got me some baseball cards and video games. Going in on Sundays to unload the beer truck was worth it when I could afford to rip into a pack of Topps baseball cards and find a George Brett or Frank White card.
I wasn’t always happy to do all the side jobs that came with this job, though.
At my first grocery store job, I was hired to work in the bakery, which I took a lot of pride in. I made homemade pizzas each Saturday, baked and bagged bread and made deli sandwiches at a little place in Independence.
As much as I enjoyed that part of my job, if they were short somewhere else in the store, guess who they called on? I had to occasionally run the register and then got moved to produce one day a week.
As we transition from our youthful jobs into adulthood, the scope of our work does seem to narrow. No longer are we cleaning the bathrooms, taking out the trash, mopping the floors and being asked to reach too far out of our areas. But, on occasion, we all have to go outside of our comfort and expertise levels and do things that, for sure, we were not hired to do.
I suppose the key is this: if your organization leads by example and people take pride in their jobs, doing those extra, unplanned things don’t become such a headache.
Just as important though, and something I remind myself often of, is to acknowledge and recognize the employees that do work beyond their job descriptions.
John Beaudoin is publisher of the Blue Springs Journal. To respond to today’s commentary, call 816-282-7001 or e-mail jbeaudoin@bluespringsjournal.com.
