Are you Proud of The Company You Work For?
Do you love your job? Proud of the company you work for? I hope so. Because it would be sad, but not uncommon, if you don’t.
An off schedule post
This is an off-schedule post. That means something different or interesting is going on that warrants paying attention to. So, my friends, read on to find out more!
Introduction
According to easily researched data, somewhere between 50 and 85% of employed people don’t like their jobs for various reasons (Notes 1, 2, 3, 4). This is a bit of a tricky statistic, because “dislike” could range from “meh” to “hate” and everything in between. This means, by extension, these people don’t like the company they work for. Is this really true? If you were to ask people you know who work for various companies, “Do you like your job and are you proud of the company you work for?” what do you think you would find out?
Given that the average person spends 8.4 hours on a weekday working (Note 5) and about 27 minutes commuting (Note 6), it would not be good to be unhappy for that long every day. Let’s talk about that.
It’s hard for me to believe, but I think it’s true
It’s hard to believe that there are that many people who don’t like their jobs. Why would someone stay in a job they are not thrilled about?
I’ll tell you what I think, kind of a man-on-the-street straw poll survey of people I know…The statistics are true.
If I count my first job mowing lawns and delivering newspapers when I was 14, then my first “real job” starting at 16 up until I left work full time (I never say retired. I highly dislike that word), then that is about 48 years working for pay. I can honestly tell you that, except for one job that lasted about a year, I not only enjoyed all my jobs but was excited to go to work every day. The two jobs that make up the bulk of my career, the US Air Force and American Airlines, were the best. If you have been around me or read my writing, you know it is true. Now, that’s not to say these two jobs were easy. Not no how, not no way. Both were very difficult jobs.
I worked long hours, at all hours of the day and night, and on weekends. In the Air Force, I worked on the ramp in Phoenix when the temperature regularly exceeded 100 degrees. At American, for a period of time, it was the same, except that it was not hot; it was cold. One time, on the midnight shift, I worked on a 727 parked on the ramp that was what we call a No Fix No Fly (NFNF), which meant it had to be repaired or it could not fly. Yeah, that night it was 6 degrees with winds howling from the north. Sometimes the jobs and the people were so difficult that I really did feel like quitting. But then it passed, and I had the privilege to go back to work the next day. When I think of my time in the Air Force, I might state it a bit differently: I had the honor of serving my country for another day.
You can tell how important my work was to me by the logo I use for Afterburner Success Partners. Yes, an F-15 fighter with the afterburners lit. For me, there has never been anything more difficult, yet more professionally and personally satisfying, than getting my airplane, indeed the one with my name painted on the side of it, ready to fly, watching it take off, my insides rumbling from the power of the afterburners, and saying I worked for the US Air Force. When my eight years were up, I was excited about the future, but sad to leave that chapter behind.
Similarly, my 27 years at American Airlines gave me comparable satisfaction and pride. The excitement of being around airplanes and airplane people, of airports and travel, the joy of knowing you are providing a service that helps people, is second only to watching a fighter with the afterburners lit pull straight up at the end of the runway. Oh, it was hard too. I won’t kid you for one minute. The airline business is very difficult, but also very gratifying.
The other day, I was in Charlotte, returning from visiting my son and his family, when I witnessed an amazing, fleeting moment that I just had to preserve. I snapped the picture you see attached to this post, the sight of the American Airlines tails, the 777-200 on the right (N752AN, delivered in May 2001), and the A321NEO on the left (N463AA, delivered in May 2022). The shine on the A321 and the stunning paint job on the tails in the setting sun are just beautiful things to behold, and they filled me with tremendous pride, even though I retired, er, left, the airline business 11 years ago. I still love aviation and airplanes, and being able to substitute teach future aircraft maintenance technicians at Tulsa Technology Center allows me to remain part of it, albeit in a small way.
Here’s what it’s all about. Click on the link for the television commercial in Note 7. If that does not bring a tear to your eye, you’re not alive. Then click on the link in Note 8. These scenes, far removed from the chaos and hassle we often think of when we think of air travel, are what it’s all about to me.
As I’ve written before, it’s the hard that makes it great, and nothing good or satisfying comes without the hard. And my career provided me with tremendous satisfaction. It also left me tired. Like winning a championship game, as if I left it all on the field, savoring the glory of the win.
Summary
I really do hope that, as you’ve read about how satisfying my jobs and career were, how proud I was of the organizations I worked at, you feel the same. Exhausted because you’ve given it your all, but proud of your company and your contribution to making it better.
I might suggest that if you don’t feel this way, perhaps it’s time to consider finding a place to go to every day that does make you feel that way.
That’s all for today!
Let’s help our friends and loved ones, shall we?
If you find the information in this post useful or enjoyable, please forward it to those you care about.
Then, simply say, “Search the internet for Afterburner Success Partners
to learn how to achieve your dreams and live your best life!”
Are You Proud of The Company You Work For?
Afterburner Success Partners
What’s in it for Me
Be happy in your job and career. If you’re not, find one that will make you happy.
Call to Action
Purchase the book by clicking on the link in Note 9. Take the Afterburner Success Partners course.
Recommended Resources
Buy and read Achieve Your Dreams: A Complete Guide to Live Your Best Life by David Giustozzi (Note 9).
Up Next
Back to regular posting schedule.
Notes
Please note that as an Amazon Affiliate, I may earn a small commission on the sale of any of these recommended resources.
60% of workers are unhappy with key aspects of their job, survey finds, CBS News: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-workers-lack-quality-jobs-study/
How Americans View Their Jobs, Pew Research: https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2023/03/30/how-americans-view-their-jobs/
Why 85% of People Hate Their Jobs, Staff Squared:https://staffsquared.com/blog/why-85-of-people-hate-their-jobs/
American workers hate their jobs so much nearly half of them wouldn’t wish it on their worst enemy, Fortune:https://finance.yahoo.com/news/american-workers-hate-jobs-much-130000899.html
American Time Use Study, Bureau of Labor Statistics: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/atus.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com
United States Commuting at a Glance, United States Census: https://www.census.gov/topics/employment/commuting/guidance/acs-1yr.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com
American Airlines Military pre-boarding commercial: putting them first: https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=62b03b7345eac9c6&udm=7&fbs=ADc_l-aN0CWEZBOHjofHoaMMDiKpmAsnXCN5UBx17opt8eaTX5ijYCyJdSZFM4mewRGuivYYa3mYl0ctDuDplBAp7RpJKLuGI9TCQijdSoJVylJCiH8uPU2p9PAv60ec4kZsAv21NTLqQXw0Ps9uu9tSiwHp5O1LaRugTsyWFA_cot7H6Kxs6vUGnr53rl7_YnN17a3vOD0rYH0dCVrg_DpfTy7c3UhNyA&q=airline+commercial+coming+home+to+you&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwij2cOGhvOSAxV4lCYFHYkvAGIQtKgLegQIFxAB&biw=2497&bih=1190&dpr=2#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:54790a7c,vid:BnbiryZCTCI,st:0
American Airlines Going home commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XVnfu7Drfc
Achieve Your Dreams: A Complete Guide to Live Your Best Life by David Giustozzi: https://amzn.to/3IxEFgy
Everyday Cooking for Everyday People Like Us, by David Giustozzi: https://amzn.to/437OhVQ