Be a Fan of Laborers - Today and Every Day

Many people think of a “good job” as a salaried, Monday through Friday, white collar professional position behind a desk. In today’s economic environment, those positions may be hard to find and not as secure as they once were. We forget that there are many, many important jobs in our country filled by people who work very hard and provide us with highly valuable services that we sometimes take for granted.

Labor Day is a good day to remember to be grateful to those people who do “real work”. I know that corporate jobs can be require long hours and be very stressful. But if you spend your day mostly sitting behind a desk or at a conference table, typing on your computer in a climate-controlled environment, thank your lucky stars for these types of professional, skilled, hard-working contributors to our society:

• The medical aide who takes care of your sick relatives and friends in hospitals and clinics.
• The guy at the automotive repair shop who gets his hands dirty to keep your car road-ready.
• The line cook who prepares your fancy expense account meal.
• The farmer who nurtures the crops that make their way to your kitchen.
• The construction worker that resurfaces the roads you drive on.
• The servers who are on their feet all evening, responding to your signals for a refill.
• The guy who comes out in the middle of the night when your sewer backs up.
• The electrician who finds the wiring problem that keeps your house from burning down.
• The landscaper that cuts your grass and rakes your leaves.
• The room attendant who cleans your hotel room and changes your bedding.

Treat your fellow laborers with the respect they have earned. Happy Labor Day!

This blog was inspired by a CBS Sunday Morning interview with Mike Rowe.  For more:
Sept 4 Interview - Mike Rowe