The Dignity and Indignity of Work

My first foray into the workforce was as a paperboy.  With a large satchel slung over my shoulder, I made the rounds on foot and quickly learned the nuances of each customer.  Tips bolstered my meager wage but a few people weren't that generous.  Some of my earnings purchased a G.I. Joe aircraft carrier which my parents refused to buy since it was huge and expensive.  Making a little bit of money at that age gave me a sense of empowerment.  Sadly, this traditional first job for many kids has been phased out over the years as adults started delivering newspapers in cars.  (Those early morning drivers seem to have vehicles with broken mufflers!)

During the first year of high school, my parents got me a job as a bagger at a small neighborhood grocery store even though I didn't want to work there.  The establishment was famous for their butcher shop and bakery and they catered to an exclusive clientele.  It was quite a culture shock.  Many customers lived on estates and came from old money.  Some spoke with a Boston Brahmin accent while others shopped in the riding gear they had worn to polo matches at the nearby Myopia Hunt Club.

The store's high level of customer service was supposed to offset its high prices.  Baggers not only packed the groceries, they wheeled them out to customers' automobiles with a special cart.  After loading everything inside, a small tip was encouraged since we only made minimum wage.  50 cents was the average, a dollar was great and a quarter was on the stingy side.  The fancier the customer's car, the cheaper they seemed to be with many Volvo, Mercedes and BMW drivers opting not to tip at all.  These wealthy shoppers could be very arrogant at times.  Money in my bank account was nice but I really didn't like having my intelligence insulted.

The store also had its fair share of elderly customers and some of them were just plain grumpy.  One lady who walked with crutches complained repeatedly that the Japanese broke her legs when she was a nurse stationed in the Philippines.  Now perhaps this wasn't the best way to introduce herself to a young person whose history class had not covered all the ins and outs of WW II.  I witnessed one customer's inconsiderate behavior bring a cashier to tears.

Tips further dwindled when management regularly took baggers off the floor to do busy work.  Funny how sorting out bottle deposits in a dank and moldy section of the basement never made it into the job description.  Sometimes we found ourselves “helping out” in other departments but our paychecks were not increased accordingly.  Rules were selectively enforced and to top it all off, the same terrible muzak played in the background day in day out.  When you're a young and naive teen, this kind of environment can make you angry and judgmental.  Service with a smile?  Not so much.  If anything, working here taught me how not to treat others.

As Christians, do we see the people serving us as fellow human beings or are they just lowly servants that fade into the background?  The reality TV show Undercover Boss has highlighted some pretty menial jobs but the program also shows how most workers have hopes, dreams and skills that go far beyond their current employment status.  Over the years, my family has become friends with a few of the waitresses at our favorite restaurants.  When we talk, I see beyond their position in life and sometimes they even sit down with us when it's not too busy.  Not everyone has found their dream job yet.  We shouldn't hold that against them.

There are many facets to life: relationships, hobbies, self-improvement, a lifetime of learning.  If a job demands we give up all of those things, then earning a living comes at a very high cost.