Your job makes you a better person, if ya let it

People of my generation and older have generally had more than a few jobs in their lifetime.  We also tended to stick with our jobs for much longer than folks do today.  I know that sounds contradictory, but it really isn’t.  When I was a kid, the world was more like an old episode of “Leave it to Beaver” than it is today.  If kids wanted money, we rounded up ways to get it.  Mow lawns.  Shovel snow. Scrounge trash (yuck!) for empty pop bottles or aluminum we could sell.  The harder we worked, the more money we could make.  We learned, and accepted, the concept that nothing comes easy. As young adults, we took any job we could get to pay the bills, and kept working that job while still looking for one that paid well enough to support our family.  We may have “upgraded jobs” a few times on that journey, but once we found that “good” job, we tended to stick to it.  We never gave much thought to quitting a job without another one lined up, no matter how much we may have hated our current job. These are concepts that most folks today seem to have forgotten, or never learned at all.
     Along my journey, I was able to find work at retail stores, restaurants, and factories.  What I quickly realized was how little regard people have for those who help them at the restaurant or store.  Waitresses or retail employees are treated like servants, something less than human.  I have seen firsthand how hard people work to serve your hamburger, or handle your transaction at Wal-Mart.  I understand why I will volunteer for overtime at a factory, but get mad when management makes overtime mandatory.  I learn something from every job I do, every person I meet. But,the most important thing my journey has taught me, and a lesson many, many people have not learned for some reason, is that every working person you encounter is there for a reason.  They are no better or worse than you are, and may well be working harder than you ever imagine, for a lot less money than you would think.  They deserve to be treated with respect. Ask for help nicely. Tip well if appropriate and the service is good. Pay attention and you may learn from them.  I know have.