You're Fired!

I work in the telecommunications industry, and I am so sick of the dryness of it all. It seems to me like the population at large doesn't understand or appreciate what it's like to be verbally abused for a living. I got suspended, and I hope I get fired. I have a job interview with another company, much more suitable to my personality and skill set. I think there's a problem in America, most people get so bored that nothing gets done efficiently. Anyway, thanks for your time and wish me luck on my new job journey!

That article was right on target. Thanks for finding the humor in it!

I really liked your article. I thought it was really funny, thought provoking, and brutally honest about the corporate world. I am about to complete my summer internship and go into my senior year of college, and the fact that you weren't sugar-coating the working experience made me feel a lot better about how I sometimes feel at my internship. Sometimes I feel great, like I'm accomplishing a lot, and other times, I feel like you said, I am doing jobs an arangatang (ignore the spelling on that word, please) could perform if trained properly. All in all, I am not sure what I want to do, and like you, I am worried I am not going to choose something that is personaly fulfilling as well as financially supportive. I guess time will tell, but its good to know that I am not alone.

I've been threatened with being fired. I don't deserve it.

I gave up being the vice president of an exclusive private school -- tacning hmy onw kids at home and being "just a mom" -- and took a job to make endes meet.

At first, my waitressing job was often just moving bricks around. It was a new restaurant, and had very few customers. I made sure I treated each customer like s/he was our sole reason for being in business, and this kept many coming back, even while others accidentally discovered us. I put out fliers. When customers said thaey were very satisfied, I suggested that they tell their friends. I told people I met about the restaurant, and handed out copies of the menu. I made posters to promote each new offering. I thought up ways to improve service wihtout additional cost, such as folding inexpensive napkins into elegant shapes. I foudn ways to save money without cutting quality or service. I put my heart into making the business profitable.

Now, after five years of dedicated service, I have been told that I might be fired. That would make me the first employee to be fired, because even lazy bums who stole kitchen equipment have been kept on until they quit. Another worker, known to be a drag on business, is still working, and the boss confides she hopes that employee will just forget to come back after vacation. But I am still working my heart out, and I'm threatened with dismissal!

Just when all my hard work to build up the business is bearing fruit, and the amount I earn in tips is steadily increasing, I'm told I might not be allowed to stay on. It isn't fair! I've always been the employee who earned the most tips, which says something about the quality of service I render.

My best guess is that my boss feels threatened by my contribution to the recent profitability, that perhaps she things I will start demanding a share of the profits in addition to my wages and tips.


Yes, I'd like a little recognition, but I'd be content if that meant just being told, "you stuck with me when busines was thin and if you still want to work here now that the job has become more demanding and more profitable, you have earned it."

Since that seems unlikely, I think I need to start thinking about a different job.

I may come off a bit judgmental so please allow me to apologize in advance if I come across as opinionated. Many others, myself included, would think you are exceedingly fortunate to have what you have. I never had the luxury of a good paying job, never mind a career - even though I struggled to overcome a learning disability to earn a university degree and hold financial planning & insurance licenses. I did "all the right things" to be "worthy" of a chance for a good job, or at least a job that would enable me to support my family without having to rely on food stamps and Medicaid because of the wages being below poverty level. I graduated college at age 35, trying to re-enter the workforce in 2001. Nobody would hire me because I was getting close to my middle-aged years (by corporate America's standards)yet I had no more experience than the 23 yr old college grads who often got good jobs over me. How do you think I felt after having more adversity to overcome as a disadvantaged partially disabled woman? My husband, fully disabled from chronic heart condition and back problems, gets a $604/mo social security check. We were reduced to extreme poverty because of my pounding the pavement with no income during a 4 yr long fruitless job search. My student loans went into default after my last unemployment/hardship deferrment was exhausted - which ruined my credit (something else that is held against job applicants is bad credit - even in jobs that have nothing to do with finance or money). With no health insurance, we were forced to go on welfare when we got hit with catastrophic medical bills we could not pay. The hospital was going to take our modest, working class home - if the bank didn't foreclose on us first, so we had no choice but to go on welfare - which is a very dehumanizing experience. Our gas (our heat, cooking and hot water) was shut off for inability to pay despit the little bit of help we qualified for as welfare recipients, because it simply was not enough to pay the outstanding balance and get caught up. Ironically, my career profile indicated I was CEO material and also lawyer material - but I would have been darn grateful for an entry-level professional job that paid a living wage with health benefits, and I did not even get a chance to have that. At the only synagogue in our town (Conservative), I was the absolute poorest Jewess - and I was reminded of it every time I was asked why I could not spare one dime to buy this or that book to participate in the study groups and I had to hang my head in shame in front of the others because how can I explain having no money without explaining I am poor - scraping just to survive? My husband and I were snooted by the rabbi's wife - because we were poor. Since I could not get any chance for a "real" job despite my education and credentials, I was treated like I was somehow less of a person than everybody else - I was always asked "did you try going to the unemployment office?" and "have you tried submitting your resume online to any companies?" and my favorite "did you try to get help from all these social agencies out there that help poor people?", etc which is the same as saying to me that I must not be trying hard enough when in truth I had tried everything ANYBODY possibly could have. We live in a classist society where anyone having problems getting a job that pays enough so that they still are not poor enough to qualify for food stamps is looked down on and treated like dirt, like they've got nothing to offer and are treated as objects of contempt, scorn, disdain and ridicule - as if the deprivation of real human needs entailed with being poor isn't bad enough without the bad treatment from everybody else in society on top of it. Moral of my long-winded story: You could be in much worse shape than in a boring job that pays well.

Gideon, as someone who's been in your shoes and even used to relate to the song 'I'm a loser' by Beck, you should find yourself another job. Trust me, there is always something better, you just need to look for it. Nothing just falls out of the sky. Good luck and do not lose hope, there is always something out there.

Not a long-term resolve; when you hate your hate your job, you should quit but find something else first....However, even musicians have to move equiptment and untangle cords - the menial part of creativity is part of the end, seemingly ideal goal. If you move bricks or shuffle paper you need to learn what the end product is you are helping and the people that product or service reaches and how it helps them to understand your work matters. However, if you help make grease for fast food resaurants that only gives people high cholesterol levels, this thought won't even help sometimes.

Certainly working at something beneath your skills and experience and/or education is clearly worth the effort to change even if you can't go kicking and screaming out the door to the Bahamas for a week. Done it myself without the vacation - more than once and learned to research alternative employment vs just jump in. Most places have a foot in the door, 3-6 month probationary period (no benefits or perks and you still don't get the ideal job - just a foot in the door & a possible opportunity so you know - you stick get the menial, dull, boring, de-energizing work on the way up a new ladder)

Take your passion and do it on your off hours in the meantime, so when you get near the top of the ladder, you have your portfolio ready to go to get the push up and don't have to feel stuck in the wrong field. And, if nothing else, you'll be loved by fellow struggling ametuers with plenty of local venues open for you to channel your energies.

All the best.

Why is it that Judaism takes no position on the ethics/morality of the outsourcing of American jobs overseas ? This issue has negativly impacted 3 million Americans in the IT field. Is there a Jewish position on this ?

I have great sympathy for Gideon and everyone who identified with his situation. My husband and I dealt with his having a very unfulfilling job, followed by unemployment when he quit. We finally realized that we needed to make the leap to actually change our situation. In our case that involved a move to a city across the country with a lower cost of living, and a complete career change for my husband that involves starting at the entry level but working his way up over time. The point Gideon avoids about the Brick story is that the brick carrier quit the job! I am not saying making huge changes is easy but if you truly feel so distressed in your situation that it is affecting your performance and noticably changing your mood, it is time to think very broadly about what other options are out there. This goes for people struggling with dating as well, by the way.

It is rare that I see an article that speaks so directly to my own situation.
Gideon doesn't mention the type of work he does. But speaking for my own experience in tech/IT work, the opportunities out there are drying up due to outsourcing and many American workers find themselves in this type of situation: under-employed and under-utilized, and with a lack of options to change the situation.
Excellent article

I don't care whether you like working your job or not. You took the job and to deliberately do other than your best is a complete chilul hashem. It's hard to be stuck in something you don't like and not know what else you want but in life is often like that. Meanwhile you have to do your best at the job you have. Besides since you didn't tell us what you do it's possible that YOU are the one who finds it boring. Someone else might not agree. What do your co-workers think?

I live the non-Torah movie called "Office Space" in many ways in that I work at a helpdesk. I am over qualified and under-experienced. But I also try to find joy in a little Mishnah, writing poetry, pushing myself to exercise (even though I may only do a little exercise), and of course family. It's hard to find a balance, much less hope, but I think of those that are greater and have gone before me, and am both humbled and more thankful. It's been said that HaShem wants us to talk and ask for what we want and need, and some days it's just about praying to get through with strength and dignity. I am reminded of 2 important phrases that I carry with me: Hillel says that in a place where there are no human beings, one must strive to be human. From the movie Harvey (sorry, I only saw a remake, not the Jimmy Stewart classic) " You have two choices in life, you can be so, so smart or so,so pleasant. I've been smart all my life. I suggest being pleasant."

I agree to an extent that your work should not be your life, but if youcan ease the necessity of working by doing a job you like, why torture yourself with one you don't?

In a well run office, your dissatisfaction should be a sign that you are ready for a more challenging, or at least different, assignment (if that is realistic). Merely point out to you that you aren't happy does nothing at all.

Gideon, your article underscores the plight of many people with menial, unfillfiling jobs, but does so in such a refreshing, genuine way, and with commendable optimism. Reminding yourself that this job is temporary, as all suffering ultimately is, might ease the burden just a little bit. I'm sure you'll eventually find your path, with G-d's help.

Oooh... I DO think you're complaining about nothing. I live in Argentina, and despite my 2 university degrees and my 4 languages I earn what you'd call lower middle class for US standards. And after that I have to go home and wash and cook and iron. Imagine our great-great grandfathers following old Moshe 40 years through the desert! They'd feel useless enough, yet there was a purpose in that and a good lesson to learn!
So your boss feels you should leave. My question is, if you're a brilliant and talented man and live in a country of wealth and opportunity, why don't you start looking for another job?
Or a better advice: you work 8 hours. Then you have 8 hours for sleep and 8 hours more. Let's say, why not dedicate 2 hours for Tora and tzedaka, 2 hours to go through the Internet and newspapers to find a better job, and 2 hours just for fun and family?
Maybe you'd learn something new...and find a promised land in some months...

Gideon,
it is such a relief to hear that someone out there feels exactly the way I have felt for the past 4 years. And I know that learning Torah should be our ultimate goal regardless of what we do for a living, but even so that doesn't assuage the feeling of wasting 8 hours every day. As sacrilegious as it sounds in today's world, sometimes I too wished to be fired (despite of a pretty handsome salary) just so that I would have a decent excuse to leave this place. Even thinking of donating this money to a worthy cause does not help to pass the sometimes grueling hours. The solution I have found for myself thus far was to just focus on my other goals(creating a family, becoming an artist, buying my own place, exploring other career options).It's still difficult and I am still searching for a more satisfying answer. The only thing I can think of (from the Jewish perspective) is that if one is feeling unfulfilled, that must be a test too. Maybe this is how G-d encourages people to search for their true destiny more actively and find those who can use what it is we feel that we have to give. Can you imagine how unfulfilled G-d could feel given how much He has to offer, and how relatively little people make use of it? Does that mean he would want to stop being G-d?I still believe there is always someone out there who needs what it is that you have to offer. Both of you just have to find one another.

You should thank Hashem that you are working - instead you arfe complaining. DO you realize how many people are out of work, who would love to have a job. I personally know several people who would love a job, even 'brick laying' they have been out of work for almost three years. Any job becomes tedious after awhile. Remeber Hashem put you there - but to complain - you want to change poroduce more give ideas get involved instead of kvetching!

Come home (to Israel)to be with 'family & friends.We can always use some more brick carriers here. We've got a Temple to rebuild. What are you waiting for? Another 9/11 or London bombing?

Your article caught my eye. You are a good writer. But now that you have bricks in your hands, everyday, and you are even being paid to move the bricks, why doesn't it occur to you to build with those bricks?
My job was always to move bricks across a field (during my career it was referred to as "pushing paper"), but every job I had, I looked at that pile and the simple task and asked myself, how can I make a difference with this pile and what I can build from that?
I appreciated the Mom's comments. The only stay at home moms that are bored are ones that aren't creative. The tasks are the same day afer day, but they have to be done, day after day, no exception. Diapers have to be changed. A mom can't say, I don't like doing this anymore, so I'll quit. A baby can't fire his Mom and she has to keep changing his diapers. We also know that this task will someday end and both Mommy and baby will clap and cheer when that day comes. If we were creative in getting there, the joy is even greater. Moving bricks isn't as bad as removing dirty diapers (how many times a day, a week) - but think of the rewards. You've got bricks in your hands. If you can't build something with them, then you deserve to be bored.

Gideon, welcome to the club! In my job, I don't even push paper. I am a small cog in a small organization. One of the managers (Baruch HaShem, not by boss) is practically psychotic, and I'm not the only one in the organization who feels this way! And this is a Jewish organization, and we are considered (as a technicality, of course) "Klei Kodesh")!

Of course, there is no fulfillment in this job, but I never expected that there would be. Were it not for the fact that I need money to pay for groceries, clothing, and housing, I wouldn't work at all! For fullfilment, I learn Torah. This is my life, and that is what "I do" (should someone ask me what do I do).

Some people, were they to lose their jobs, would suffer an identity crisis. I don't believe this a healthy attitude. Certainly a job should not be unpleasant, but a Jew's life is Torah. With all due respect to doctors, lawyers, and high powered businessmen, there is no Mitzvah to have a career, but Talmud Torah k'neged Kulam -- learning Torah outweighs everything.

What an accurate depiction of so many career paths! I work in the computer field, and for many years have felt very unfulfilled--what is the point of my work, what am I "creating"?

As Gideon accurately states, one (the??) mainstream view is that even in a dull, boring, thankless job, our goal is to earn money to support our families, give Tzedakka, etc. As such, our lives do have meaning, even under the most dismal conditions. However, as you said, avoiding the nervous breakdown can be VERY difficult.

Regarding the "Brick Theory," I have heard a slightly different twist--although I don't remember teh exact details. Basically, a ruler has a person moving brick/hay/whatever from one place to another for many years. When, decades later, he reveals to that person that all of his work was meaningless, the person dies from the sheer grief. Huaman beings, as you said, must be creative.

All in all, a VERY well-written and deep-thinking article, as also evidenced by the many positive comments. As I was reading the article and putting together my comments, I fully expected to be the only one in favor of the article.

i too am in an rut at work. i started drinking lunch hour which helps. i have coffe about 3pm and then go home about 5pm. the home life with my wife and family is fulfilling but i think i might need a change re work. it's scary as the salary is ok and work atmosphere is pretty good with a generaly friendly group of people. we enjoy each others company on a casual basis. most of the work is not very challenging. Freight forwarding is pretty straightforward and once one is familiar with the options available it is not overly taxing. i don't know what else would be better plus i've gotten complacent. actually, now that i've thought about it i feel better about the job already. decent pay, colleagues i like, managable hours so i guess attitude is big.thanks for bringing it to my attention.

I am very disappointed in the negative comments made about Gideons article. The guy opens up about a difficult personal situation and some of you think you have a right to judge him. Shame on you! He shared his experience for the sake of other to learn from. His entire point was the existential question of whether we have a purpose on this earth and whether we are actually thinking about fulfilling that purpose. Gideon is obviously at a crossroads in making that decision and he chose to share that. Those of you who made negative comments obviously gave up a long time ago in fulfilling your potential in exchange for a false sense of security. The point of the article was obviously lost on you. Shame.

Gideon I thank you for your story. Now I feel me like you - I try to find my path.

On a whim I decided to see what was new at Aish.Com. I came across Gideon Silverstone's article "You're Fired".

I found myself reading the article with amusement and empathy. I too work a brainless job and often wonder what I am meant to do with my life. Mr. Silverstone's article has made me feel like I am not alone.

I too hope that I will eventually - with G-d's help - "take those piles of bricks and build something."

Gideon,
You took the feelings from my heart and put them into words. I too am in the same position in life. Thankfully my company is being taken over and I'm praying they close our offices and offer us severence packages. I might be the only one in the office that feels this way put probably not. The Brick Theory of Working is spot on as well. Your work is truly uplifting, knowing I'm not the only one with the same thoughts. "I don't have to accept the idea of spending a lifetime in an unfulfilling career." A truly spot on statement and one I have adopted to get through the 9-5 or in my case 9-6. Thanks for taking the time to write such a wonderful article, you're the first writer I have ever responded to in any medium and for that I thank you. Jonathan. p.s. "If it isn't fun why do it?"

Gideon, I find it very hard to understand you at all. You don't have to look at starving people in other countries to make you know what you have. My husband is out of work for many months. He would be thrilled to have even a mindless job. While we both know that the money one earns is up to the One Above, it's hard not to worry and be upset.
If you don't like what your doing, find something else. In the meantime, stop whining about not likeing what your doing and be gratefull that you have a job.

If I were still in the workforce today, I may not have a challenging, meaningful, productive job; however, I'd be darned grateful to have a job at all. If some of these whiners were pounding the pavement, looking for work and/or on unemployment, their songs would surely be a lot different.

I was laid off on 2 January, 1992, which was on a Friday. On 5 January, which was the following workday (Monday), I was out hitting the bricks, and following up on employment openings that I'd found in the paper on the previous day. It was 5 below zero that monday, incidentally. However, I knew that I had to find work again as soon as possible, even if it wasn't very meaningful, super-productive, extremely
interesting, etc., at least to begin with.

Maybe a dose of being 'on the beach' with no income (outside of unemployment), and a very gnawing need to work might change these big babies' minds on how they feel about their jobs. After all, it's what you make of your employemt, not just what you get out of it.

Why don't you quit your job, and find another job worthy of your talent, brains, and valedictorianship.
Perhaps as a professional complainer.

Gideon,

I moved piles of brick for 16 years and for more than 15 employers before finding a job that made sense for me. I now realize that every one of those previous jobs, even the menial, frustrating ones, were preparation for what I do now (and what I have been enjoying doing for the past 26 years). Even jobs you don't like and employers who are jerks can teach you something that will help you in a later job. That doesn't mean that you should spend your entire life in a menial job trying to learn all the lessons it can teach you, but as long as you learn something worthwhile during the time you are there, then the time was not totally wasted.

Shalom.

Women who are homemakers often have the same feeling as Gideon. They don't even have the option of taking a risk, quitting and hoping they'll find something "creative" or meaningful within a reasonable time, and without going on the dole. However just as there are many wise directives to women to find something meaningful in housework, changing 300 diapers a day, washing endless piles of dishes and enduring the job description of "just a housewife", so too with some imagination and positive thinking, you may be able to find a good side to your boring job--now that's a challenge to your creativity. Another idea: why not talk to that snippidy boss of yours about adding something to make you and your fellow workers more motivated, more productive and happier at their work (that's her creativity challenge). It may pay off for her in the end as well.

Mr. Siverstone, you have written an article that speaks to the masses sitting at their jobs doing menial tasks when they were expected for greatness. What is the answer? You my friend, you! You have inspired me to pick up and move out. I can't waste anymore time and neither should you. Life is like a box of chocolate, they melt if they just sit around. Why don't we start a chocolate factory together? Great article!

Classic Jewish theology purports that everyone has a divine purpose to fulfill on this life. One's occupation is held to be a part of that. Although everyone has times when they are climbing uphill and need to persevere, continued dissatisfaction could mean someone isn't doing what they need to be doing. Ironically, it is often when we ARE fired that the doors open for us and we find the path to our purpose. Soul searching may help. Taking tests from a career counselor which shows your strengths and desires can also be an eye opener. I took a career test in my early 20s and then went into the military for a career. I thought it was the path for me. During that time I got an MA in English and taught English at a Service Academy--the happiest times in a high pressured and stressful career. After retiring I looked at that old career test again and discovered that I had been marked highest in "teaching English." How ironic. Now I'm an English teacher and extremely happy. Keep searching for your bliss.

Sorry, only now I read that you live in the Northern American continent.
So, my advise is: look for a colleague who can advise you on how to realise a profitable change of job.
Joseef

I enjoyed your article. I felted like you on my old job. Thanks for putting it on paper.

Good article. I'd be curious to see your resume (at the risk of lowering my IQ level, :-) )

my email address is:
a[my last name][at sign]gmail[dot]com

You'll probably be happier if you take your creative energies that aren't being used in your job to look for a career path. You sound like you're not even trying! The Almighty is probably not going to hand you a perfect job on a golden platter; you need to show that you're doing your part to find your path.

Good luck.

My formula for success.. you need gassing up metaphorically.. you need high octane petrol to drive you to fields of new oppurtunities,, your windows need cleaning and your eyes need testing for focus problemns and exercise..identify your passions.. then think laterally.. if you like reading or writing as evidenced by your article.. you could write a best seller about your experiences..disasters and successes... you could work for newapapers.. journals..radio.. televisions.. when one door shuts another inevitably opens .. you have to turn the handle... sometimes you must start at the bottom of an organisation and work your way to the top... remember workplaces always monitor and assess workforce performance.. so you will always be monitored and assessed even in the menial jobs.. but they are also likely to promote you to better positions if you performm well,, so shine up,, groom yourself,, take a realty check.. identify your work passions and goals.. go door knockings.. and head will turn in your direction... market yourself and then deliver results plus.. you will then hopefully and more than likely be promoted.. and new arenas and oppurtunities will present.. as your cirriculum vitae expands.. your future lies within yourself.. you may even end up as the PRESIDENT OF YOUR OWN SUCCESSFUL PUBLISHING COMPANY OR WEBSITE IN SUCCESS IN EMPLOYMENT AND OR EMPLOYMENT OPPURTUNITIES.. THE VISTA IS ENDLESS AND SELF GENERATING...go for it now...AND GOOD LUCK TO YOU...