My new perspective on the meaning of work

Good Evening All,

I happenend to catch a clip on Inside Edition while I was turning the news on this afternoon. A disgruntled employee hires a marching band to "play him off" after he quits his job. As it relates to work and career, I thought I'd share it with you all.

http://www.insideedition.com/news/7042/hotel-employee-uses-marching...

My reaction to this story was not quite as I expected. Before my involvement with the 48 Days community and lifestyle, I would have championed this fellow. Who hasn't wanted to do something this outrageous to an employer? He stood up for the little man, the hard-working American. So, why do I feel that he was in the wrong?

In the excitement of his liberation, I can help but ponder how it got this far. "It was absolutely sort of terrifying standing there, because you're so used to just being subservient to these people," DeFrancesco says. I feel that this person lost sight of who he was (or should have been) serving. With an attitude that toxic, I can't imagine that he was a valuable asset to the business.

If his employer "hated" him and he "hated" his employer, why did he stay so long? Why wasn't he fired? I think we do ourselves and our customers/clients/etc. a disservice by remaining in a position that we "hate". As an employer, we do our customers and the unhappy employee a disservice by keeping him or her around. We can put on a smile, but our true feelings will always show through. Why does our society recognize self-induced pain and suffering as valuable character trait?

Ok. Enough over-analyzing from me. Does anyone else have a different perspective?

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Permalink Reply by Elmer Querubin on December 9, 2011 at 2:00pm

I like the quote on Dan's Blog from Honest Abe. Some people break another person's house down so that hey can build their own.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Bertoldo on December 9, 2011 at 2:27pm

Interesting discussion!

I agree with you, Terry! I look back at my work history and recall that I have always said that if I am that unhappy, it is time to move on because it is not fair to myself, but also not fair to my employer. Although I might feel I keep my negative attitude in check, I doubt I am that good of an actress that I can give the appearance that I love my job (when in fact I do not). Am I really going above and beyond rather than just going through the motions? Thanks for posting this. I could always use a reminder on this subject :)

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Permalink Reply by Jason Huffey on May 31, 2012 at 6:14pm

Terry,

Very interesting indeed. I feel that people completely settle and live without passion in their hearts. They take what is given and never speak up. I work with people like this nearly everyday, I will challenge them and even encourage them, they just sit in sulking day in day out. It truly baffles me what a person that "has a good job" will put up with. I personally find this very hard to understand.

In regards to DeFrancesco, I can say that it doesn't happen over night, hating people that is. Bottom line, he probably just settled day after day until it blew up, and it became a spectacle, cause people want to feel liberated.

That is my $0.02

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Permalink Reply by Jon Huffey on May 31, 2012 at 9:22pm

I think that in general many people are unwilling to take ownership of their situation. In a scenario where someone is unhappy with their employer or the employer is unhappy with the employee most people fail to take action to communicate it and potentially see change for the better.

It is funny how in a world where we have more ways to communicate than any other time in the history of the world, so many areas of our lives are suffering or subpar because of a lack there of. Including jobs where we spend most of our adult life.

Congrats on not being normal and allowing your perspective to change. You took ownership!

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Permalink Reply by Peder Aadahl on May 31, 2012 at 11:24pm

I understand your not really wanting to celebrate with this man. The end question is did he really learn a lesson in where he should be working or is he just going to do the same thing after his finding a different employer.

Even worse, if this is his retirement ugh I know the band may be fun, but it sounds like he would have traded his life for something he despised.

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Permalink Reply by Leslie Chukwuma on June 1, 2012 at 5:44am

This is an amazing story, Terry. I also wonder why he stayed so long. I hope the experience was a turning point for him. I am thankful for forums like 48Days.net that allow individuals to have hope again. Otherwise, I may have been in a similar condition.

Thanks for a great post.