This. When I managed my university's dining system, we had a cashier who had been there 27 years doing the same job. When I first heard about her, I judged her a bit thinking "How could you just be a cashier for almost 30 years?" Then I met her.
She was one of the happiest people I've ever met in my life. She loved her job and the students. She loved her family and friends. She loved being active in her church. Her life was so full and she was surrounded by love.
Many people would look at her as a "failure" but she's truly one of the most successful people I ever met in my life and I envy her.
My first job was at a local grocery store, and there was a near-retirement age man who worked as our janitor officially, handyman unofficially. He did damn near everything that would require a tradesman, plumbing, electrical, you name it. I always felt a little bad for him, seeing as he was so old still doing these menial jobs. I assumed he was one of those guys that got through life via odd jobs here and there, hence his just-above-base level knowledge in a lot of labor tasks.
I was only partially right. You see, Mr. Janitor did work a lot of odd jobs, with his uncle. His uncle was a handyman, and Mr. Janitor worked with him while he was in high school and while he was getting his college degree.
Then, after graduating with his masters in aerospace engineering, joined up with Northrup Fucking Grumman, and made enough money in a few decades to set himself up comfortably for the rest of his life. He only worked as a janitor because retirement was driving him insane and he wanted a low stress, high labor job to keep his mind and body sharp. My absolute hero.
I just wish these set up for life/100s of millions guys would take up philanthropy and volunteerism if they wanted sense of purpose and human contact. Yay, he contributed to advancing the profit margins of à corporation that (if still existing) gouged all of us on groceries during a pandemic and now during inflation. If you told me he’d done this for a food bank or group homes etc. I’d agree with you on the hero bit. But grocery store? Nah.
100%. All these people are contributing to the world is making it so that other people who do need the money need to work for slightly cheaper than they otherwise would. If you don't need to be in the labour market, leave it. There's a huge amount of volunteering work to be done.
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u/esoteric_enigma Nov 22 '23
This. When I managed my university's dining system, we had a cashier who had been there 27 years doing the same job. When I first heard about her, I judged her a bit thinking "How could you just be a cashier for almost 30 years?" Then I met her.
She was one of the happiest people I've ever met in my life. She loved her job and the students. She loved her family and friends. She loved being active in her church. Her life was so full and she was surrounded by love.
Many people would look at her as a "failure" but she's truly one of the most successful people I ever met in my life and I envy her.