I’m a big fan of Dirty Jobs on the Discovery Channel and have the Tivo set to record it every week. If you haven’t seen it, essentially the host goes around each week and works with people who have a dirty job. Well, not just dirty, usually disgusting to the nth degree.
So I’m intrigued when I see this CareerJournal.com article – Putting the Spotlight
On the Grimiest Gigs. It’s a fun read and the host, Mike Rowe, is an interesting guy.
Read the article and you will find this great point (my emphasis):
Wall Street Journal: Why do the workers highlighted on your show often appear happy in their jobs, despite the dirty and smelly environments.
Mr. Rowe: Essentially it’s because their lives have balance. They have visual cues to tell them when they’re done and they get constant feedback throughout the day. If you have a dirty job, you always know how you’re doing from minute to minute, hour to hour, day to day, and that’s missing in a lot of big corporate jobs. That’s important to have in your life.
Over the last few decades, the whole notion of the old Puritan work ethic has really changed. In fact, it’s come under attack. The notion of working smart instead of working hard is a platitude that a lot of college graduates have embraced without really thinking about it. It’s dangerous, because hard work and smart work aren’t opposites. They’re two sides of the same coin, and people with dirty jobs know that. A lot of people in corporate America don’t.
Great point and I must confess I have used that platitude on many occasions.