Can’t remember If I have stated it here but I got a job with Channel Fireball in order fulfilment. As a result I have gotten a slightly different view on the service industry. One of the common thoughts about the people in the service industry is that “anyone could do that job.” While this is true physically (In most cases, disabilities can make certain ones harder) it is not true mentally.
Let me explain. In my job I retrieve an order and then go around a warehouse room collecting the cards on the order. And while certain types of orders can be slightly more complex than that I did just sum up 75% of my current job. Sounds easy right? But could you do that for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week? The job gets very repetitive. This is part of the reason my coworkers and I have conversations during the day or listen to music/podcasts, to break up the monotony. But some people just can’t seem to do this job. For some it is the monotony, for some they don’t mesh with the culture of the workplace, and for still others they lose interest in the job because they just don’t click with the job.
And all of this is without any direct customer interaction. Having to deal with sometimes unreasonable, stuck up, hostile, confused, or just delusional customers adds a whole nother dimension that I am happy that I don’t (at least yet) have to deal with. I am sure some customers are a joy to interact with, but it does add another difficulty in the job.
So the next time you look at someone and think “Anyone could do that job.” imagine yourself doing that job. Imagine that doing that job would give you a living wage. If you would rather do a different job then you just disproved your assumption. Not everyone is mentally equipped to do these types of jobs.