The worst day…
… or alternatively titled, “Working for the weekend”.
On my drive in to work this morning I saw this bumper sticker on the back of a car:
The first thought that crossed my mind was, “Huh, that guy is clearly disengaged”. And really, isn’t that the truth? Here is a guy who is so disengaged at work that he is choosing to advertise the fact that he has checked out. On his car. The car that he is driving to work. The car that his boss likely sees in the parking lot. All he needs to do is slap one up in his cubicle and he can be sure his boss gets the message. Now, as I sped past him (I have a lead foot) I noticed he was an older gentleman so it could very well be that he is about to, or already has, retired. But still, the thought stuck with me.
I know not everyone loves what they do. I get it. Not everyone gets personal fulfillment out of their job/career. And that’s fine. You don’t have to. If you do what you do to pay the bills and find joy in things outside of work then more power to you. I’m just happy you are finding fulfillment in some aspect of your life. People who don’t have that, and don’t enjoy their work too, are often boring and bitter. You don’t want to be that person.
However, I am concerned about advertising the fact that you are disengaged. Because if I was that guys boss or HR Rep, what that bumper sticker is saying to me is that I don’t have to care about you either. And you don’t want that. I see that bumper sticker and I come to the conclusion that you are so disengaged that there is no way to bring you back. Nothing I do will be able to motivate you cause you are just going through the motions. You may execute your job well and I may appreciate that, but will I exert any effort on your behalf? No. Why should I? That bumper sticker is clearly telling me that nothing I do for you (ie. bonuses, promotions, other incentives) will improve your engagement. So if you actually are interested in earning more money or bonuses like extra days off (to go fishing obviously) you have effectively shot yourself in the foot.
Even if you can’t find joy in your job/career, you can at least appreciate it. If nothing else you need it to make a living and fund the activities that you do enjoy. Why make it harder for yourself?
October 7th, 2010 saat: 3:55 pm
Shauna,
Big alarms going off with this guy. Not only is he likely disengaged at work, but he’d prefer a bad day of fishing! Fishing?!
October 7th, 2010 saat: 6:36 pm
Im surprised that’s the first time you’ve seen that bumpersticker given you now live in Alabama. #JustSayin
October 8th, 2010 saat: 7:35 am
For someone from Minnesota, I am surprised that you don’t understand the allure of fishing. All kidding aside, I can understand your point. But I also understand the general point of the bumper sticker, just not the extreme. Don’t you have something you would rather be doing than working? I would be willing to bet that a vast majority of people, even if they love their jobs, have something they would rather be doing. Spending time with family, passionate hobbies, travel, Hawkeye football, etc. If work takes precedent over outside activities in all cases, you need to get a life. My bumper sticker would read “An Average Day of Fishing Beats an Average Day at Work”. That being said, companies still need to work on making sure that average days are pretty damn good.
Reminds me of an old Eddie Bauer t-shirt I have, “Never Confuse Having a Career with Having a Life”.
October 8th, 2010 saat: 4:25 pm
Shaun – Yeah, I don’t see the appeal either.
April – I guess I’m normally just so distracted by all the mustangs that I fail to notice the bumper stickers.
John – Good points, but still, I wouldn’t be so obvious about it. 🙂
October 12th, 2010 saat: 4:05 pm
Think of it this way- if more people had bumper stickers like that(telling how they really feel)- it would make the recruiting process easier. Separating the A-Players from everyone else would be simple. 🙂 Sadly most people don’t enjoy what they do- Fortunately I’m not one of them. I feel blessed every day that I can actually earn a living doing what I do.
October 13th, 2010 saat: 9:15 am
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