I Have A Job

As I mentioned recently over at Pooch's Place, my parents were products of the Depression and WWII. Their experiences as children and young adults colored the way they managed their home.

It also affected their attitude about work. My mother was a homemaker. My dad worked in a factory.  They both believed that if a company was willing to pay you a salary and provide you any benefits whatsoever, you should respond with gratitude, and  a whole lot of hard work.  My dad's mantra was that if the Company paid you for 40 hours a week, you should work at least 45 hours, because you probably screwed around at least a few hours during the week.  

In today's world, that may not be an option for most hourly workers whose employers won't allow them work overtime due to budgetary constraints. When I was an hourly worker, I routinely worked ten hours of overtime a week, and I often worked twice that.  I'm salaried now, and I don't have to worry about requesting authorization for overtime.  I still work a minimum of ten hours a day; most weeks I work considerably more than fifty hours.

That may make me something of a nut, but I have a job.  In the worst economy I ever remember, I've got steady, well-paying job.  I can assure you, I will be working a lot of extra hours and going to even more extraordinary lengths than usual in the coming months because my father impressed upon me the fact that nobody owes me a living.  I'm lucky enough to have an employer who is willing to pay me for my services.  They don't owe it to me. I have to earn it -- every day.

One of my biggest problems with Gens X, Y, and Z (or whatever the Generation after Y is) is that they approach getting paid as an entitlement, not a gift.

I view everything about my life as a Gift.  For me, getting paid for my services (both salary and benefits) falls into the category of Privilege/Gift as opposed to an entitlement.

In the worst economic times since the Great Depression that so permanently scarred my parents' psyches, I have a job that pays a living wage, and then some. 

Am I grateful?  You bet your ass I am! And I will do whatever it takes to maintain the status quo.  I have a family to support, including a kid in college.

I have a job.  Thank you, God. Please, help me to keep it.