Whistling While You Work
It happens to all of us. You need fast food. You place an order, pay, open the food bag, and it’s all wrong. Havoc in a Happy Meal. You mention it to the 20-year-old behind the counter, and there’s a big sigh. The unspoken exhale letting you know,
“This job sucks.”
And I want to say, “How hard is it to throw food in a bag?”
Avoiding a loogie burger, I stay silent, smile, and for some idiotic reason, I say “Sorrrrreeeeey.”
Recently, I found myself at Walmart. I needed something from gardening but couldn’t find it. So I went on a quest to find help from the rare blue-vested folk. After shedding some pounds and losing daylight, I tracked one in Housewares. She was, no kidding, just standing there staring at a shelf of pans. When I approached her for help, she said, “Oh, that’s not my department. I’m going on a break in 5 min. Uh, try automotive?” And with that, she turned back to study the pans.
And I thought, “Since when did shopping turn into a scavenger hunt?” Are all the workers are playing hide-and-seek?
To be fair, I, too, was once a crappy worker. That’s right, I would see customers and dart away. In one retail gig, my best hiding spot was pretending to stock the lingerie department. It was perfect, tall shelves full of frilly things with zero customer traffic. I was a terrible employee. I would punch in late, or go overtime on lunch breaks. I even quit my first job by merely not showing up.
At the time, I was just trying to scrape up enough cash to pay for some college expenses. But, now, looking back, I learned more life lessons from those blow-off jobs than the college they helped pay.
Meet Bri
It’s nice seeing a young adult who’s friendly and capable while working a crappy job. Call it a safe bet, but their future will be okay. Seriously, if you’re whistling while you work as you clean kennels or slap hot tar on roofs in July’s sweltering sun—the world’s your oyster.
These young adults are distinct. These are not the ones consuming Tide pods in hopes you’d like and subscribe. Not the ones posting personal tell-alls in hopes of finding them brave. Nor the ones endlessly editing selfies in hopes of stardom.
Nope, they’re pragmatic. Pragmatists keep their coffee orders simple and know how to make the best out of a bad situation. Excellent and hard-working, this is Bri. Currently, she’s a college freshman, that finished her high school years with high athletic, artistic, and academic achievements. Not one to coast, she works while attending medical classes. She plans on assisting surgeons, and yet, still makes room to volunteer.
There’s a snappiness when she speaks. While most young adults search for their voice, Bri speaks with confidence. She knows who she is for her work speaks for itself.
The Job Nobody Wants
But probably my all-time favorite quality about Bri involves her attitude while working for a lousy boss at Little Ceasars.
Bri shared how this 30-something manager enjoyed nip picking and ripping apart teenage co-workers. Managing with all sorts of personality excuses, he might say, “Sweetie, no offense, but you’re dumb…just package the pizzas.” It’s hard to imagine a grown man demeaning high schoolers, but when your ambition dies at the feet of a fast-food mascot wearing a toga and holding a pizza impaled on a spear, it’s just pathetic.
Bri: I had enough, I stood up and told him to stop and a bunch of other stuff, and he went nuts.
Julie: And how old were you?
Bri: I think 16.
Julie: So a sixteen-year-old showing a thirty-year-old how to act. I love it.
Bri: Yeah. And it’s funny, later on, the store wanted to promote me to management. I wasn’t being defiant. I was a hard worker that wouldn’t put up with poor treatment.
Julie: Gotcha. But you weren't interested in a promotion, so why care?
Bri: Even so, you don’t blow off work. It doesn’t matter how much I’m paid, or the type of work. You show up and do your best. That’s how you move forward.
A Practical Approach
As Bri speaks, it’s refreshing to hear pragmatism over idealism. Culturally most put a high value on creativity and individuality, so much so, many see work as bad. And when they have to take one, it’s beneath them, so they say, “I’ll work to the capacity of what you’ll pay me,” “That’s not my job,” “I’m still waiting on my promotion.”
Bri: Work is a blessing. As a kid, money was tight. My parents were 16 and 18 when they had my older sister, so life for them had its challenges. Instead of getting bitter, they got married and worked hard. They made sure we had new stuff for school and Christmas was always extra special. All of our needs were met.
Julie: Many feel trapped by circumstance, so how did your parents motivate you?
Bri: They weren’t able to go to college, but that never stopped them. They saw work as a means to leave instability. Over time they’ve been promoted, because they chose to do their best. I’m proud of my family.
Julie: But what about the lazy coworkers? How do you not allow a poor working environment to affect your attitude?
Bri: It’s hard, but the Bible verse that guides me is, “Whatever you do, do with all your heart” Col. 3:23. So no matter how others work, I choose to give my all. I’m in control of my future, so I’m going to do my best. There’s nothing worse than complacency. You can always get better. Work helps us grow, that’s why I’m grateful for it.
And there it is, Bri’s secret to excellence- an attitude of gratefulness. She’s not a workaholic. She has a vibrant social life. When work isn’t seen as soul-sucking, life is balanced. Bri’s in control of her attitude, and so, she has a good grip on her future.
A Sloppy Lesson
When I was seventeen, I worked at T.J. Maxx., or better known as the bargain store with an obsolete classification policy. A place where you’d swear LSD was used to stock shelves. Like it was totally normal to have men’s briefs thrown across home decor. I used to think people didn’t go there to shop, but for therapy. They’d blow off steam by chucking shoes down the aisle. At closing, you’d thought we’d survived cataclysmic activity. Only this was Detroit.
Adding to the insanity, the city bus station was at the entrance. So come morning, a new cast of fun characters would put on a show. Ever seen a man in a snake-skin suit break open an entire display case of perfume boxes, for, as he politely explained, his seven funny cats? I have. There was no employee-of-the-month because most didn’t last a month. To me, it was a blow-off job. A place to get paid. A place where “I don’t know” was the acceptable hello.
I worked there long enough to watch new hires start off punctual and pleasant. But it’d only take a week, for them to be one of us—cynical, checked-out creatures in maroon smocks. Funny thing, this retail jamboree had management. We just never saw her, only knew her name began with a C. Cathy? Carol? Her office was a mysterious and windowless room that reeked of Virginia Slims and sadness. Since she preferred the management style of Willy Wonka, we’d figured “If the boss won’t care, why should we?”
And then the police came. Turns out, my lunch break buddy, Tiffany, had a big grand theft operation involving C.K. and Tommy Hilfiger jeans. She, too, was seventeen but was now handcuffed, head down, and escorted away in shame.
As the cop cars left, I thought, how’d she get away with it? Noticing frying pans on children’s toys was the dead giveaway: we’re all to blame. Bad attitude begets disaster. Criticism is contagious, for no one works alone.
It’s All About Attitude
A company like Chick-Fil-A is booming—as in 6 billion dollars booming. A place where you hear “my pleasure” instead of a “un huh, pull up please.” With a 96% staff retention rate, you know they’re doing something right. Chicken aside, it’s the work culture that compels customers and staff to stay. Dana Turner, former vice president of talent, explains their success by choosing to “commit to success and do whatever is necessary to leverage the investment you have made.” In other words, go the extra mile. She also adds, “companies must put people first because collectively they are a culture, and the culture is the soul of an organization.”
Your attitude to work exposes your choice to live an inward or outward life. When you choose complacency, it’s all about you. Selfishness has a ripple effect—poor workmanship lowers office or home culture. If children see parents rant about their bosses at home, how will they perceive work? If you’re bashing the new policy at the water cooler, why would you be seen as loyal?
As Christians, we’re called to live outwardly. We’re called to be light in the darkness. We’re called to be a “city on the hill.” How then, is it possible to share the good news with a bad attitude? Our testimony is greater than office politics. It’s useless praying for a promotion if you’re part of the problem.
Colossians, 3:17 Paul states, “In whatever you do, word or deed, do unto the name of Jesus, giving thanks to the Father through him.” I love this scripture. It’s not flashy or loud, there’s no confusingly hidden theological meaning. Paul says that when we do the things we do, we should attach Jesus’ name to it.
Bri found that doing things with the pride of ownership and in the name of Jesus means that we can’t perform any work with a lazy, or with that infuriating “this-job-sucks” attitude. The terrifyingly simple reverse idea is also accurate. If you blow off your job and call yourself a follower of Jesus, you’re sinning.
There’s nothing wrong with a crappy job. Have lots of them, but do them all with a glad heart and in the name of Jesus. There’s also nothing wrong with quitting a crappy job when it becomes too hard and hurts your witness. Quit, then go apply at T.J. Maxx. Then let’s meet up for coffee, I’d LOVE to hear how the old place is doing. Let’s live to work well.