I Used to do That for a Living; Landing and Leaving 108 Jobs Introduction, Chapter 1, Chapter 2 | Page 18

I Used to do that for a Living

Likewise unreliability. You could argue that by
adversely affecting the company’s productivity,
and thus profitability, the harms wrought by a
lazy or unreliable worker work their way down
to his coworkers, but that’s a bit stretchy for me.
What constitutes a good job? Good pay is essential but not sufficient. That you enjoy the work
is not necessary—it is a job, after all, not a hobby—but it is necessary that you do not hate the
work. And even if you’re well-paid, and derive
pleasure from your tasks, if you can’t get along
with your co-workers, or if you dislike your boss,
it is not a good job. No job you dread is a good
job. No job that makes you feel bad about yourself is a good job. No job that harms the environment or the community is a good job. A good job
values your time and compensates you fairly for
your labor. It honors your dignity. It does not ask
you to compromise your principles. It does not
expose you to undue risk. It does not require you
to screw or be screwed by anybody. It does not
take from you so much of yourself that you’ve
not enough left to share with the people you care
about. Most jobs are neither all good nor all bad.
I sure as hell never had one that was all good. All
that good. But I have had jobs that were all bad.

10