Occupational Snobbery
OCCUPATIONAL SNOBBERY AND EXPECTATIONS
Americans are snobs-job snobs. The Great American Dream is to get an education, get a "great" job, make tons of money and retire young and boss other people around. The only thing better than achieving the dream ourselves is for our children to achieve this dream. Then we can enjoy "lording" it over our friends and relatives who's kids have not excelled to the level that our children have. None of us as we're holding our newborn child ever imagine them working as a plumber or auto mechanic. We say, "Oh they can be whatever they want just as long as they're happy." But, what if Junior decides he loves to repair cars? Oh dear. He'd better be darn certain that he owns the auto repair business and never gets his hands dirty, otherwise, he's relegating himself to the lower levels of the success ladder.
While it's acceptable to have an "entry" level job when you are sixteen. Heaven forbid that you should still be working in the local supermarket beyond high school even if you've risen to a managerial position. We all want our supermarkets to be clean and carry the finest products. We all need someone to repair our automobiles, clean our hotel rooms and run our restaurants, and repair our plumbing. But we look down on the wait staff, the checkout girl, the plumber, the auto mechanic and the housekeeping staff. We all want our children to be doctors, lawyers or "the grand chief poobah in charge of everything."
We complain about the quality of service we recieve in this country. Yet we ignore the fact that our attitudes towards the people who work in service industries have left them little to be proud of. As a general rule, people don't want to work in retail establishments, hotels, or restaurants. Why? Would you like a job where people look down on you and treat you llike your less of a person and not worthy of respect? Why would you put any effort into doing the best job possible or providing great service when you know you won't be respected or appreciated.
Americans need to stop assuming a stance of moral superiority and worthiness based on our occupations and success level. The next time you stay at a hotel and have contact with the housekeeping staff, try saying "Thank you" and treating them like fellow human beings. Don't assume that because they're cleaning your toilet that they are not intelligent people. Smile, greet them and leave a decent tip. Let them know that you appreciate the job they are doing. They will appreciate the recognition and you will have begun your "job snob" recovery program.
