Almost nothing that I was taught when I was a child has survived.
For example, I was taught: If you work hard, you will be rewarded.
As I approach the end, I have come to the realize that hard work is just hard work.
Hard work does not make me feel better. It never has.
There was no sense of accomplishment at the end of tasks like mowing lawns, which is what my parents made me do to learn that lesson. And, no one I knew was willing to pay enough to make mowing lawns a business. My family never lived in a place where people could afford to pay other people to do things.
When I worked hard for someone else, they just handed me more hard work; but, the significant raises and promotions went to other people. Who never got my type of assignments. If I had realized what that meant, I would have job hopped like everyone else.
Rewards never happened because of hard work.
Looking closer at things.
As I mentioned earlier, my parents did the usual technique of making me mow the lawn to teach me the value of hard work.
Lawns are that green, and useless, patch of ground in front of a house. I got nothing out of maintaining it for my parents, just a part of my household chores. It freed time up for my parents, but I suspect that the real reason was that they didn't want the neighbors talking about them. Lawns take money and time that could go toward acquiring actual food and shelter. I could understand a garden with tomatoes and okra and well, food. Even a flower garden would make more sense to me.
So, what did give me a sense of accomplishment?
Finding my first job; and, getting a 25 cent raise for doing a good job - that meant something in the 1970's. It wasn't the amount of money, but acquiring the money, that was important. I didn't know any better then.
Graduation days, I received a piece of paper that said I knew enough to deserve it. That felt good then.
I worked hard during the mid 1980s trying to find a job in Architecture, that was during the real estate collapse, when no one was building anything. I decided to go back to school for a master's which I was going to need anyway to get licensed. That was the last time I felt good about my decisions.
I did get the masters; but, finding a job was difficult.
Then I found a job in a large firm, which collapsed after about a year. I learned to never, ever depend on a single client for income. Which is more difficult than it sounds. There are a lot of companies out there that want you dependent on them only. I am guessing they liked the control that relationship gave them.
Next job was in a similar company; but, with many clients that had similar requirements. I got laid off in a downsizing, after five years. These were architectural jobs in engineering companies. In hind sight, they considered architects disposable.
My next job was in an architectural firm that did some local government work. Five years, another layoff. In retrospect, I was miserable by the time the layoff happened. The emotion then was relief rather than depression.
In spite of that reaction, I looked for work in my field and couldn't even get interviews. Then, the technology requirements changed and I would have to spend more money to keep up. A dream that I had worked hard for died that day; but, I now know that a dream dying is not the end of the world.
And idiot that I am, I thought I could make a living in the food service industry. That was a creative field, I thought. What a lie that is. It is all standard recipes, broken down to very simple, repeatable tasks designed for untrained people to perform. It's both stressful and mind numbing at the same time. The only real surprise is that kitchens are not completely automated. Commercial kitchens are ready for Robots.
(That was pre- covid. Right now the wages are higher, but I don't think that will last.) That industry really demands a lot of hard work, most of it cleaning - which makes sense. It was low paying, but I understood that going in. I didn't expect the companies I applied to, to acknowledge an unlivable wage on the application form, by stating they understood that their employees would need to have a second job. Or that they would be proud of giving 25 cent raises. It was not the 1970's.
This job, I worked hard; and, I mean harder than I ever had. Why? I wanted to know if I could handle the insane conditions in a kitchen.
I can.
The point is I didn't work hard for that restaurant. I worked hard for me. The mangers loved it. (It helped that I had good managers.)
These days when a manager is demanding my hard work, I don't really listen after I find out what they really need. It's never what they say it is.
How hard you work is irrelevant.
If you get the job done people don't ask many questions. Then, you are out of mind until they need you again.
If something goes wrong, you get the a lot of questions and the blame.
What I found useful was to figure out why my manager was telling this, use that as a goal, break it into tasks, and find the most efficient order of finishing each task. When I just jumped in and started working hard, I would fail.
In my kitchen, the goal was almost always involving time, by that I mean there is never enough time. I would ask a few questions, and find out if they were expecting an inspection or why the manager was so nervous. That did one of two things for me. If the manager was smart, I received some useful feedback. If the manager was an idiot, it looks like I am pay attention.
Below I have listed three things I always did for lunch rush. My prep list was much more complicated but this just an example.
I know three things:
- Anything involving a knife needs my full attention. I don't care what any fool says about multitasking, I will keep all my fingers.
- Sauces can be made relatively quickly in most cases; and, need to simmer so you can do other tasks while that is happening.
- Cooking chicken properly takes a lot of time, but not as much attention as sauces.
I would cut prep for the chicken first, and get the chicken cooking on stove. Then CLEAN up. I don't take a shortcuts on cleaning.
While the chicken is cooking. I finish cutting for the sauces and get them started.
Then I set up my station, constantly checking the sauces and occasionally checking the chicken.
Once my line is set up except for the sauces and chicken, there are miscellaneous items to be prepped. Blanching corn tortillas, etc. things that don't take a lot of time, or cannot be done too far in advance. By then the chicken and sauces are ready.
I know someone is saying this is multitasking. Actually, I am just doing one task at a time, and trying to not stress myself too much. I don't want to be dealing with a sharp knife and open flame at the same time. I do not want to deal with steam while worried about prep. I don't want to burn food. I don't want a filthy work surface while prepping and cooking.
It's a cycle
1. Prep
2. Cook
3. Clean
Yes, this is hard work. The only reward I get out of it is the knowledge that I still got it.
The employer pays me, that is true, but that is what the employer agreed to. It's not a reward for hard work, it is a reward for results. Think of it this way. If you work hard and don't achieve the expected results, you will be fired. If you don't work hard and still achieve the results, you will keep your job. And you be will given more work to do. Most employer applications allow the employer to do that without added rewards.
So, hard work is not really all that important. It can't be avoided all of the time; but, it has nothing to do with pay, or job satisfaction, or whatever people claim. Even if you own your own business, the income is from results not the work itself. I am not saying to avoid hard work, but that the results are what matters. Make sure your hard work means something.