The Working Dead

Written on November 9, 2007 by Tezza

Friday’s weekly guide to Life Balance from 4EvaYoung.com

Shaun at Life Reboot wrote a fascinating article about “The Working Dead.” In it he describes the working dead as a “class of people who waste their lives away one day at a time at jobs where they accomplish nothing.” He goes on to describe his first job at 14 working for the government. Instead of putting in a full days work, he was instead introduced to the life of government workers slacking off for most of the day.

“I sat in the truck while Webby slept against his window for an hour. When he woke up, he smiled at me and said “Break time.” We met the other men from the garage at 7-eleven — the designated meeting place for the 9:30 break. Most of them had a smoke and drank coffee. Webby devoured an 89-cent hot dog smothered in free chili and cheese. Once finished, he drove us back to the same dead end street for another nap. ”

This reminded me of my first part time job while at Uni. It was a call center job which entailed me sitting in front of a computer with a headset on answering calls. Not only was this job boring and repetitive, you also had to deal with often times irate and angry customers. In the back of my mind I knew I was hardly going to make a career out of it, I was only working there to make some pocket money to frivolously spend away. I didn’t have huge living expenses, a mortgage or other major financial commitments at the time so I never took the job seriously. I worked as little as I could to not get fired. I didn’t realize it at the time but Shaun’s description of “the working dead” summarizes my first introductions to the working world perfectly.

While I’m not proud of those days, it seems that I still meet people who aren’t happy with where they work. The working dead is a plague on all people who could be doing so much more with their lives but instead settle for a job that gives them no real satisfaction or meaning. It’s fine to make comments when your 18 or 19 like “I get paid to watch television all day.” — “I get paid to stay in an air conditioned office all day.” — “I get paid to play solitaire all day.” — “I get paid to browse the Internet all day.” — “I get paid to babysit a phone all day.” — “I get paid to attend meetings all day.” — “I get paid to watch the clock all day.” But when your in your 30’s and 40’s with a mortgage, a family and other commitments, these kind of comments start to wear thin.

I think Jim Rohn said it best, “You don’t get paid for the hour. You get paid for the value you bring to the hour.” Consider that we spend upwards of a third of our time at work for close to 40 years or more depending on when you retire, then wouldn’t you want to be a person that provided value to everything you did. It’s the person who provides value that is going to get the breaks in life while the person that boasts “I get paid to stay in an air conditioned office all day” is going to wonder why he or she is still stuck in the same dead end job 20 or 30 years from now.

If the description of the working dead is startling close to your current situation and you want to change it here are some suggestions:

1. Don’t Die With Your Music Still In You

It’s not to late to make a change today. You don’t have to go and quit your job right this moment but you can make a decision that you no longer want to be part of the working dead anymore. Steve Pavlina wrote in his post Don’t Die With Your Music Still In You, “I want my life to have had more value than just acquiring stuff and living comfortably. I may die rich, or I may die broke. But I won’t die with my music still in me.”

Don’t you think your life is worth more than slowly dieing one day at a time by wasting it away on a job that gives you no meaning and self worth. Steve goes on to say “If you’re sitting behind a desk working at a job you hate in order to protect your current lifestyle, you are protecting nothing. Isn’t there a part of you, deep inside, that wants to just walk away from all of that junk and start really living? Can you feel how empty and hollow your days are, how devoid of meaning? Have you forgotten what it’s like to really live a day that fulfills you deeply as a human being? Look around your home at all your stuff. Recognize that in the long run, it will all eventually end up as dust. None of it will endure. It’s all temporary. Your house will eventually crumble. Your car will wind up in a junkyard. You cannot permanently keep any of this stuff. Eventually you’re going to lose it all. Or it will lose you.

So what kind of life is that — one that’s dedicated to the guarding of dust? Is that what you want your life to be about? If you feel there’s any purpose to your existence as a human being, then is this it?

Life is just too precious to waste. If you are spending your days working at a job that isn’t deeply fulfilling to you, then you’re spending your days guarding dust. There’s no real value there. Stuff cannot fulfill you. Ultimately it will only distract you from living on purpose.”

2. It’s Not About Working Harder, It’s About Adding More Value

At Trizle a great post How To Spend Your Days challenges conventional wisdom that thinks:

* The more X hours you work, the more $X you’ll make.
* The more stress you have, the more $X you’ll make.
* The more hectic your schedule is, the more $X you’ll make.
* The busier your schedule, the more $X you’ll make.”

Isn’t it ironic how we value the very things that really aren’t worth validating or benchmarking. I mean how often have you asked someone how they are doing and they reply with “Busy, or it’s been hectic at work or stressed.” It’s as though we have gotten into a society that values busyness instead of life. Trizle brings us back to reality:

1. No one cares how hard you work.
2. No one cares how tired you are.
3. No one cares how many stars you have.
4. The world doesn’t care.
5. Your mom doesn’t care.

So:

* Don’t spend chump hours.
* Don’t do chump work.
* Don’t make chump-change.

Instead, do something extraordinary.
Give value.”

3. Require More From Yourself

At the end of the day it all boils down to you. Only you can expect more from yourself. Sure your boss can demand it from you, your family and friends might want more for you but only you can expect it from yourself and be in a position to go out there and get it. If you aren’t happy with your current level of responsibility at work then become the employee who should be trusted with more. If you think your job is no longer giving you the opportunities to grow and progress then take it in your own hands and enroll yourself into classes or courses that could further your career. Look into new job opportunities within your company or elsewhere that could better utilize your experience and skills.

Whatever you do or don’t do is up to you. But if you require more form yourself then demand it from yourself to take action. It isn’t going to fall into your lap one day.

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