Preface

He works sixteen hours a day, seven days a week.

 

Where did the time go?

 

A woman’s work is never done.

 

I’ve got to keep busy.

 

I’m swamped with work.

 

There aren’t enough hours in the day.

 

A man works from sun to sun.

 

I don’t have the time.

 

I have got to run.

 

She is a slave to her work.

 

Time waits for no man.

 

She’s just so busy.

The above phrases should sound familiar. Taken in combination, some may even seem contradictory but they all apply to our non-stop pulsating world. When I began this book, I had a different title in mind, but I think the current one more aptly describes my intent.

This work is all about “work,” which is an obsession with many people on this planet. Human beings can’t relax and spend time doing nothing, but instead need to keep “busy.” Most people in the new millennium must be

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constantly occupied; otherwise they get bored, that is, fidgety, uneasy and irritable. Many primitive people are quite content to sit for hours at a time doing nothing.

We don’t have the time to appreciate a crackling campfire or wonder in awe at a glorious sunset or a thundering waterfall. Even vacations are rushed to the point that the return to the home front dictates a few days more off for recuperation. It seems we have transferred our work habits with all the hustle and bustle to our time away and that makes matters even worse. If you don’t believe this, why do so many people check their Email while on vacation and why do they have to check in with the office?

While I am alluding to beepers and pagers, we have all types of new technology that should enable us to lead better lives and work considerably less than previous generations. Unfortunately the workweek has not only not changed, it has gotten even longer. Perhaps all the “improvements” in the way we accomplish things have not been for the better. It really shouldn’t take us longer to get a job done using some machine. Even if it takes a bit less time with a computer, that gadget may not be all that worthwhile. This consideration is something that cannot be overlooked. The long hours at the office or even at home when we log on to our PC to get Email has not helped in the long run. The endless days of work have had many ramifications, including the breakup of the family and the breakdown of individuals. If our society is to progress, drastic changes must be made and soon.

This book will try to remedy some of these concerns. You may not be completely free of the burdens of work but, by reading this, you may be able to better cope with the 9-to5 routine. There is no one who shouldn’t read this and I sincerely hope that it will have some beneficial effect on your life.

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Table of contents

1. What did I do?
2. Sure it’s work but…
3. Show me the big money
4. What can you pay?
5. Boss spelled backwards is double SOB
6. “No soup for you!”
7. Working to save the union
8. Another union
9. Dangerous work
10. That’s not for me
11. A job I liked
12. This agent is not secret
13. We’ll create a position
14. You pay for the shoes
15. Work and revolutions
16. Have you done your home work?
17. There’s a better way
18. Why we work
19. Working it out

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Introduction

You may wonder where work originated. As soon as there were human beings on the earth, work was around. If prehistoric man decided to become a couch potato, he didn’t really have that option as there were neither couches nor potatoes, let alone satellite TV. Since food and drink are necessary for survival, the caveman had to make sure he had plenty of both. Certainly one could survive without food for some time, but not without water. Nonetheless both were needed at that time to sustain good health just as they are today.

Perhaps the early caveman, whom we shall call Charlie, came home to his cave mate Millie with his new find from the woods. Out for a stroll he happened to stumble onto some blueberries and he tasted one. He was quite pleased with the taste so he picked a few more and indulged, and the remaining berries he brought home to Millie. When she tried them, she liked them too so he spent afternoons harvesting those little nuggets. After a time, he may not have been able to find anymore or even worse, Millie had a reaction to them.

“Those blue things are good, but they really leave my digestive system in knots,” Millie said to her friend.
“Maybe I can find something in the field that won’t cause us to run out of toilet paper,” Charlie replied. Well, those weren’t his exact words but I think you get the point.
The master of his domain headed out in search of some other food and noticed these beautiful animals gliding across the landscape. He also saw small animals hopping in front of him in the meadow. Suddenly a thought occurred to him. These creatures could be a nice substitute for the blue stuff but somehow he would have to subdue them. His job (a definite reference towards “work”) was to come up with a scheme to “bring home the bacon!” Perhaps he figured he

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could entice the animal to eat some of that blue food, provided the creature liked it, but who wouldn’t? While the deer was indulging, Charlie could smack him on the head with a rock or large stick and then bring him home for supper. He couldn’t shoot him since he didn’t have a gun. The NRA wasn’t around then. Eventually he succeeded in overcoming this animal and brought him to the cave.

Of course there were still some slight difficulties, as the meat was inside a layer of skin and the deer had to be “processed.” When this was done and Millie and Charlie sat down at the dinner table, they may have been a bit disappointed.

“Charlie, this tastes gamey and I don’t like it,” Millie offered.
“You’re right dear; it needs something.” Partaking of the raw flesh, which really hadn’t aged, wasn’t exactly their idea of good eating.
“Perhaps we should barbecue it!” Charlie’s better half suggested. Well, she really didn’t offer that suggestion but perhaps putting the meat into or above the fire (assuming they had that luxury) could do something to improve the flavor. So let us assume that they did have a fire going close by. Millie took it upon herself to make this venison more edible by cooking it.
Thus Charlie worked at capturing game and harvesting food for the table while his partner was also working by preparing dinner. Since neither party minded doing his job, it may have been work but it certainly wasn’t drudgery. Perhaps the person who had to do the dishes afterward did consider it an inconvenience and something to be avoided. You will note that neither got paid, as their reward was something to keep them going from day to day.
It couldn’t have been too long before either or both of them got tired of deer and berries. Millie may have been outdoors one afternoon and tried some green leaves she

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found and it may not have been too long before they had salad on their table. At around the same time Charlie brought home pheasants and rabbits and their menu now became varied.

Charlie ran into another human being, whom we shall call Frank, and they exchanged business cards. Well, that really didn’t happen but they got to be friends. They didn’t kill each other off in a brutal and violent way because Tarantino and Craven weren’t yet on the scene to give them any ideas. Our hero was quite creative and had another brainstorm. He could have more time for leisure if he could get his neighbor to do his hunting for him. His idea was to somehow convince Frank to hunt and process the meat and Charlie in turn would then reward him with a portion of the spoils. Thus the agent was born.

You will notice that Frank never realized that he was getting the raw end (pun intended, get it?) of the deal since without Charlie he would have had the whole animal to himself and he was doing all the work. If Frank came to this realization and refused Charlie’s offer, the former may have come up with a counteroffer, namely that he would hunt the game, Charlie would process it and they would split the meat. Another possibility is that Frank might have offered to do the processing while Charlie did the hunting and trapping, with a split of the venison once again occurring as in Frank’s offer. Thus we have the first business deal as Charlie and Frank became incorporated.

Not long after this arrangement Charlie met a guy who had trinkets around his neck and was really impressed by them. He asked Tom, the owner, where he got this beautiful necklace and the response was that he made it by collecting different shells and stones as he wandered about the area.

“If you’d like, I can make you one just like it,” Tom offered.

 

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“That would be great and in return you can have some of this processed deer meat, if that suits you,” Charlie added.

“What does it taste like?” was Tom’s reply. “Come in and try some.”
After Tom had a taste, he said, “You’ve got yourself

a deal.”

Thus the first barter took place, where goods were exchanged and money was not involved.
Some time after this Charlie was out and about when he saw four guys who seemed to be bored. This sparked an idea in his brain, as he was a bit weary of his food producing endeavors. He approached them and offered to teach them to hunt and process animals that were captured. In return he would let them take home some of the spoils (in this case the game and not what spoiled.) They figured “why not”, so he spent some time teaching all the fine points and before long his business was even better since he minimized his work. Thus the first manager was born, the teaching profession began and the first firing as Frank was no longer needed. The business world can be very cruel indeed!
One day Jeff, who had been working for Charlie the longest, indicated to his fellow employees that he liked his job but what he took home for his efforts was less than expected. Charlie gave him and the others meat from the legs of the deer but he felt that there was much tastier venison on other parts of the animal.
“We can’t just complain to the boss,” said Jeff.
Tim replied, “What if we organize and all have the same demands?”
“That could work, but we could also all get canned as Charlie might be able to find someone else to replace us,” added Lloyd.
“If we do this in the proper manner, stand firm and are unified, it might develop in our favor,” Jeff chimed in.

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Thus the first union was formed and probably not long after this Tom stopped working one morning and pulled out a thermos and poured himself a cup of coffee. Lloyd reached into his pocket and pulled out a short funny thing that he brought over to the fire and lit. He then put it in his mouth and before long, he exhaled rings of smoke from his lips. This was the beginning of the coffee break and the pause for a cigarette.

The union meeting may not have come about for many years and perhaps the same could be said for the work break but each did eventually happen. It was just a matter of time and certainly the organization that existed in the twentieth century was much more intense than those first attempts to unionize. But there was a beginning sometime very long ago, even though there were neither dues nor cafe lattes at that time!

As you can see work has been with us for a very long time. The first jobs were necessary and today many tasks are done for the same reason. People need to put food on the table and they have to pay the rent. Thus work is a must. And yet many people work when they really don’t need to do so. The idea of necessary work comes into question. It’s based on society as it exists today, inspired by the almighty dollar and our desire for possessions.

We shall also see that there are all kinds of work. In some ways work today is so much different from prehistoric times while at the same time it is so similar. This book will cover some of the issues that Charlie faced. It will state many of the reasons why we work and have to do so, the role of the union, housework, management, laziness, creativity on the job and work without pay. Our caveman friend may not have encountered it, but this book will mention an aspect of work that has been around for centuries and cost thousands of people their lives: slavery. Sadly, it has not gone away.

It will also will get into unnecessary work, dangerous ix

work, “working” professional athletes, work of entertainers and agents, work that is good for you and work that can kill you. Also covered will be the cost of working and the argument of working against collecting unemployment. Other connections to work discussed will have to do with the idea of control, the creation of jobs that really don’t need to be around, consulting and a few other related topics. It will also delve into the question of “illegal” work and some of the arguments might surprise you.

Finally solutions are proposed to guarantee that we don’t become workaholics or, if that is already the case, what options we have to change for the better. Most people, myself included, spend a great deal of their lives working, so this book applies to us all. The insights offered may get you to think about your current employer and the rat race that overwhelms you. Many people have done a great deal of thinking in this regard and have changed their outlook as well as their jobs. You may be joining them in increasing the quality of your life.

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1. What did I do?

You may be wondering what qualifies me to write a book on work. Like many people reading this, I have been working the majority of my life. Most recently I spent a short stint on a contract at a health care company. Prior to that I was a software consultant for a year and a half at one of the most visible student loan corporations in the country. I have been contracting my services for over twenty years and I started studying computers in the early 1970s, so I have a fair amount of experience in both consulting as well as in computer software.

Over the last few years, I have had contracts from as short as a week to as long as two years. My work has taken me to the east coast from Maine to Florida, with most of my endeavors in the state of New York. I have worked for six different lending institutions and four food manufacturers. I have also put time in at three different health care corporations in three different cities, even though the name was the same. This might give you a clue to what company it is.

I had contracts for other major corporations that sell computers, and I have worked for one power utility and one telephone company service, both in New York State. I have worked with consulting firms and taught a few computer courses. I worked on Y2K projects for a few clients, including a county government. Other contracts involved the entertainment industry and some small businesses in various locations.

During my consulting years, as well as when I worked as a full time employee in the computer industry, I managed to do quite a few different tasks. I designed systems, wrote programs and did all kinds of testing, including unit testing and system testing. The former involved testing of the program by itself whereas the latter had to do with working with other programs in a group or system. I did regression testing and even testing for the Y2K problem.

I also had to look into other programs that abended, that is ended abnormally, or others that didn’t work exactly as planned and in each case, determine how to make them work. I documented programs and systems and taught programming courses in COBOL as well as seminars on specific computer systems. I did all kinds of analysis and became very familiar with job control language, which is needed to actually run programs. I was even a computer operator for a short period of time and I installed systems that I had written and tested for various clients. I also worked on conversions of one mainframe computer to another.

I worked on mainframes but also on mini-computers and microcomputers. I worked with the programming language of COBOL so much that I became an expert. I also got to know other languages such as FORTRAN, APL, PL/1 and BASIC. My work dealt with batch programs as well as online programs. I worked with plain files as well as with different kinds of databases, some relational and others hierarchical.

You can see that I had a great deal of experience in the world of business and computers, specifically software. Before I stepped into the business rat race, I spent eight years teaching high school mathematics at locations in New York and New Jersey. Leaving education for the realities of the world of business was quite a change despite the fact that each had many similarities. Just talk to any teacher and you will realize that the profession is grossly underpaid for what the majority of participants do.

In the secondary schools I taught algebra, geometry, trigonometry, general mathematics, calculus, advanced algebra and computer math. I even developed the computer math course, which was challenging and exciting. At one of the schools I was moderator of the chess club and I also helped at the football games by working at the popcorn concession. I also did wiring for the school video systems.

At the first teaching assignment I had, I coached an elementary school basketball team and was the baseball coach for the high school junior varsity for a single season. At the same time I worked part time in a supermarket, including the dreaded graveyard shift every weekend from midnight Friday until 9 on Saturday morning.

I actually spent a total of eight years at this one supermarket, working all through college as well as graduate school in addition to those two years while I was teaching. My jobs included bagging groceries, building displays, stocking shelves, cleaning up spills in the aisles and an occasional Sunday inventory. During my last few years there, I had my own aisle to stock and I even did all the ordering for it. I worked the aisle part time while all the other stock clerks had to spend forty hours a week stocking their aisles. This prevented me from being called up front for bagging, as the manager wanted me to get the groceries I ordered on the shelves.

One summer, while I labored in the grocery store in Cheektowaga, a suburb of Buffalo, I had another job at a supermarket in the city. I drove a pickup truck in search of grocery carts that people had removed from the store. Carts were smaller then, so lifting them onto the back of the truck wasn’t that difficult. My pay was based on the number I retrieved. Because I didn’t slack off, my hourly salary was better than when I was stocking shelves.

During one summer while I was teaching, I worked at an establishment that provided souvenirs for Niagara Falls. Another summer I took a computer course but also did some work without pay at a speech clinic in central New York. I was enticed there by my girlfriend and it was a good way of being close to her and the experience of working with young children was very rewarding.

I also spent three years while in high school working on a truck farm, getting vegetables ready for the market. The pay was a pittance but it did give me some cash for minor expenses. When I graduated from high school I had a short stint working at an ornamental iron shop, readying iron lawn furniture for sale. It was a dirty job and fortunately I was there only for a month or so and I still have all my fingers.

I made a few dollars mowing lawns for people, but it only involved a handful of homes. One summer I assisted in distributing a sample of a new laundry detergent in tablet form. Another summer job involved a short stretch at a grain mill in downtown Buffalo that produced breakfast cereals. I also had a great job weighing trucks at a stone quarry that provided gravel for new buildings. The pay was better than at the supermarket and I read quite a few books waiting for the returning trucks.

I also did a bit of math tutoring and I taught mathematics in night school for one session. I had a job doing cleanup at a movie theatre complex but I quit that endeavor after a few days. The job just wasn’t for me so I quickly replaced it with a job pulling orders for loading trucks at a spaghetti factory.

More recently, I had a long span between computer contracts so I took on a few other unusual jobs. One involved dropping off cookbooks at different business establishments for a few days and then returning to either pick up the book or money for the book. The real hope was that more than one person would buy the book and thus more money could be made. For each book a small commission would be given the distributor, and the percentage increased as the sales did. The only people who profited were the managers, as you really had to hustle. After spending about a week or two, I figured out that I made less than a dollar an hour, so I left.

I went from there to a company that produced a product that was supposed to make your car look like new. It was some kind of car polish or paint and I have no idea if it worked. Our jobs were to fill the containers with the chemicals and get boxes filled with the bottled product. I stayed there for a few weeks and then moved on to a box factory. All that company did was produce containers for such diverse products as food and vacuum cleaners. It was so strenuous a job that if you weren’t in shape before you started, you would be in a week’s time. I left there very quickly when I got a computer contract in Rochester at a local bank. I was exceedingly grateful.

I was going to mention that this summary covered most of the work I did over the years but I need to mention other tasks for which I received no compensation. I worked around my father’s house while it was being built. I did menial tasks and I carried bricks for the laborer who did the exterior. I also weeded the garden and assisted on many other projects. Now I have my own garden so I do many of the same tasks and also cut the lawn, trim shrubs and remove dead tree limbs and cut up for campfires outdoors.

I have a monster mall for splitting wood as well as a chainsaw so I have provided firewood for many of the woodstoves and fireplaces that I have had in my homes. Now the wood is only burned outside, as I have neither fireplace nor woodstove in my house. Not too long ago I built my own bookshelf and it came out quite well, simple though it is. Over the years I have painted rooms in my houses, stripped bare and refinished window frames and furniture. My brother helped me install a new floor in one of my bathrooms and I did some wallpapering on my own, which came out fine.

I do my own taxes each year and have written some of my own software at home for keeping track of spending. I used to do my own tune-ups on the car but now I just manage the oil changes, which I am on my way to doing right now. I don’t do it that often but I do clean my own house and naturally I do the dishes each day, as I don’t own a dishwasher. I cook a lot and don’t mind creating meals for others to enjoy, including one item that I make without a machine, bread. I have made my own beer and wine on occasion and they have come out very well.

As you might guess, I shovel the snow in my driveway. The current snowstorm dumped about 4 inches with more to come, so I’ll probably have to shovel again later today. On other occasions, when it was warmer, I did some minor landscaping when I had a deck and sunroom added to my house. I have a project that is still in progress of covering the grounds around my house with a combination of annual as well as perennial flowers. My garden each year has a wide range of herbs such as dill, thyme, oregano, basil, sage, caraway, cilantro, tarragon and anise.

I think that covers most of the jobs that I had over the years. As you will agree, they have involved many different tasks. Naturally there are many types of work that I didn’t do, and I will talk about some of those jobs in other chapters. Suffice it to say that I am qualified to write a book on work. I have spent years doing it and I have been introduced to all kinds of ways of earning a few dollars.
2. Sure it’s work but…

For any work that is performed, there must be some return for the amount of effort spent. Without it, the person involved will either rebel or question whether the whole thing is really worth it. Some of the benefits might be better health, a feeling of joy and happiness, satisfaction or sanity. One outcome that really is not always necessary is a financial benefit or even some kind of barter. This chapter will deal with that specific category of work that is done even though no pay is involved.

I have been at my present address for over ten years and each summer my sister and I have a corn roast for friends and family at my house. The event actually started at a home I owned outside Syracuse some years ago. The number of attendees can be as high as seventy or eighty, with a good percentage being children. Fortunately we get plenty of help, as this is a big endeavor in which we do most of the cooking, planning and cleanup. I have my own garden and it provides some of the ingredients for many of the dishes served.

The corn roast features food, music and, of course, the people in attendance. This implies a great deal of effort as menus need to be written, guest lists created, and music selected that will please most of the participants. Don’t forget about the grass that needs to be mowed and all the housecleaning. A tent, as well as tables and chairs, corn, beer, soda and a port-a-john, all need to be ordered in advance. Then there are all the small things like balloons, games for the children, setting up the kiddy swimming pool and volleyball net, and the work never seems to end.

Once the big day arrives, there’s still much more to be done such as last minute pickup of the corn, soda and beer, the baking of bread, the actual cooking of the corn and hot dogs and all the movement of the food from the refrigerator, oven or stove top to the serving tables. Eventually it’s over and all too quickly, but don’t overlook putting away the leftovers as well as all the cleanup and undoing of what was done before. Thank God for the volunteers, who are more than happy to pitch in. A day or two after the event, either my sister or I decide that we won’t have it next year. However in a few weeks we change our minds and the anticipation begins again.

You may ask why we do it. It’s a monumental task but we look past the work and see the festivities of the day with all the smiling people, great food and music. Even when the rains came, which they have occasionally, we didn’t let it dampen our spirits. In fact the children had a great time when the skies opened up and even some of the grownups didn’t mind. Sitting by the fire outside at the end of the evening, we realize that it was all worth it.

There are other benefits of all this time spent. People get together with one another. Some people wouldn’t see certain others except for this event. I won’t have to cook for a few days and I will get leftovers for my freezer, which means more future meals with little effort. I do clean my house in preparation although this is not the only time of year that I get out the mop and vacuum cleaner. I mentioned the youngsters before and they all seem to have a splendid time. The age variation has been from infants to senior citizens in their eighties and I receive many compliments on the roast each year.

Over the years people have reached out to me and I have not been able to pay them back in kind, nor will I ever have the chance. However, the yearly corn roast is an opportunity to give to others, who in turn can then do the same to their friends, neighbors and relatives. This whole process keeps repeating and it is a great example of people reaching out to others. Giving to others is one of the best things you can do for your fellow man.

You may agree that this creates good will and you do feel better, but believe me, it gets more difficult each year. The first reason has to do with topping the previous year’s effort. Second, with each corn roast the laborers get a year older and this poses a challenge. So how do you minimize all the work? One way would be to have everything catered (and I do mean EVERYTHING) so that all that would have to be done is make a few phone calls. Well, I do make some calls and someday I may enlist a service to bring in a barbecued pig, but even then we would still manage to do much of the cooking.

As I have already alluded, you have to look beyond the work and plan well. The goal is to get as much done in advance as possible and delegate tasks on the day of the event. If one person does one thing like cooking the hot dogs and someone else is in charge of the kitchen, this makes it easier for us. This will also give us more opportunity to spend time with the guests. It certainly won’t eliminate work, only alleviate it. Certain things are best done on the specified day such as bread baking, which I do mys