Signs of our time

“Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all.”

— Sam Ewing, Former American baseball player for the Chicago White Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays.

Now Hir ing. Help wanted. Positions Open.

Signs of our time. Try traveling through town, reading a newspaper, or scrolling on your smart phone without seeing a help wanted sign. America is looking for people who want to work.

If you are wondering why that is, reread that last sentence, then pause. Let it sink in.

Maybe it’s just another sign, one of getting older, but today’s work ethic is a mere shadow of the once-revered trait. One that prevailed when I started filling out job applications. I remember working at Buford-Redfearn Insurance and Real Estate on North Jefferson Street in Mount Pleasant. During Nixon’s administration. The first one. Office hours were 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., six days a week. But we got off an hour early on Saturdays. Got to go home at four.

While that might not pass for a perk in today’s culture, it was the work ethic of a nation that was strong and independent. A time when taking pride in your job meant a job well done. When the “do what you gotta do” philosophy of the American work ethic was not just a job, but a way of life.

The workday started on time and ended when the work was done. Then someone invented the fiveday workweek, and in less than one generation, the work ethic culture began slipping away.

The current lack of individuals willing to exchange an honest day’s work for a paycheck was the topic of conversation at a local coffee convention one day last week. “It’s a crisis,” said one caffeine consumer.

“Oh, I get applicants,” another local business manager chimed in. “But not many who would recognize work, even if they tripped over it.”

“In my lifetime, I’ve seen the six daywork week evolve into the six-day weekend,” I laughed facetiously.

“Dedicated to your job is considered old fashioned now,” someone else chimed in before asking for a coffee refill.

“Arrive at work five minutes early and be involved in your job before eight,” my father reared me. “And work until straight up five, then get ready to go.” These days, phone calls one minute before opening time now go unanswered. And if you wonder whether there’s life after death, just get between employees and the door two minutes before quitting time.

“Jim Chionsini, who gave me my first publisher’s job,” I offered, said, “the publisher is the one who unlocks the door every morning and turns on the lights, and the one who turns them off at night and locks the door after the last employee leaves.”

The group of gray hairs was on a roll. Solving the country’s problems.

“Applicants now ask ‘How much time do I get off with this job,’” one said. “And employers are asking ‘Who’s going to do the job.’” “Between two-day weekends, three and four weeks of vacation, birthdays off, personal leave time and an increasing calendar of state and federal holidays, there’s no more time for work,” another testified from across the table.

Enter the “new American work week,” we all agreed. Tuesday. That’s it. One day. Workspaces will still be occupied on the other days, but not much will get accomplished except on Tuesday.

Look at the Wednesday newspapers, and you’ll find the “Weekender” edition. Radio D.J.s proclaim Wednesday as “hump day”… over the hump and downhill toward the weekend. “Hey, the weekend is almost here.”

Thursday will be spent discussing weekend plans. Can’t be bothered with getting any work done. Got to see what everyone else is doing this weekend and see if they’ve got a better plan than we do before it’s too late to change ours.

And Friday? Forget that. Anything that comes in Friday can wait until Monday. We’ve got too many errands and phone calls to make, getting ready for the weekend.

Plus, Friday is already the national day of two-hour lunches, one-hour coffee breaks, and “Hey, nothing’s happening, let’s close up early.” And if weekend travel is more than thirty miles, gotta get off early, you know.

And then Monday rolls around again. After three days of preparation and two days of play, a day at work is needed to recover. Don’t make too much noise. Take that project to someone else. And hey, can you get that phone, please?

Monday will also be the day to postpone those Friday orders until Tuesday while we meet at the water cooler to see who had the best weekend. Real work on Monday? Come on, get serious.

So, there you have it. The official six-day weekend. Okay, so it’s not official yet. But it’s being tested in the Beta version.

We all laughed. “I’m trying to figure out where to sign up for it,” I concluded with the last sip of cold coffee. “But for now, I have to get back to the office. We’re short-handed. At the office.”

“Maybe I’ll get around to it next week. Not today, though. It’s Thursday.”