Even Poop Scoopers Can Work Happy
This is Karl of Work Happy Now, having a blast guest posting for Alex while he is snowboarding in Whistler.
I recently watched a presentation by Alex the Chief Happiness Officer. He explained how employees at Pet Butler pick up dog poop in the Ohio area (USA) and they love their jobs.
Most of you probably scrunched up your faces, just at the thought of picking up dog poop for a living. This is understandable.
Your next thought was probably, “I could never do that!”
Maybe you couldn’t, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be enjoyable. The fact is that we need people to perform this service. Some people don’t have the time. Many people are disabled and they can’t do it themselves. This company allows them to keep their dogs. Without them, many people would have a bacteria infested backyard.
The people who work for this company have tied their emotional needs to this job. They know that their work is needed and appreciated. They also know that it helps the environment. Dog poop that runs off into streams and rivers can contaminate the water.
When trying to work happy, one of the most important factors is our feelings.
- Do we feel appreciated?
- Do we enjoy the work?
When we answer yes to both of these questions – most likely the job feels good. When a job feels good then that’s all that matters.
What can you do to align your feelings to your present job? What would it take to open up some new attachments to make your job more meaningful?
Karl Staib writes about unlocking and kicking open the door to working happy at his own blog: Work Happy Now! If you enjoyed this article, you may like to subscribe to his feed, follow him on Twitter or read one of his most popular articles, Forcing a Smile Can Make You Happy.
Image courtesy of mrobenalt
Written by karl Permalink
Ask M Said,
March 13, 2009 @ 12:12 pm
What really gets my goat is people who let their dogs poop on public footpaths and green areas and then don’t clean it up.
If the owner’s disabled and can’t pick the poop up, that’s understandable – but if that’s the case, then would the owner be able to take the dog out for a walk in the first place?
As you rightly say, Karl, dog poop is a health hazard, and even more so when there are children about.
And who likes cleaning dog poop off their boots because they’ve stepped in a pile left by a careless owner (note I don’t say by the dog – he can’t clean it up!)?
Perhaps Pet Butler could provide a boot-cleaning service for disgusted walkers :-)
M
Pete Hulse Said,
March 13, 2009 @ 9:49 pm
Hah! Boot Butler! It may be time to add a new line to the business. In the mean time, Pet Butler has served customers who don’t have dogs. There are some pretty nice neoighborhoods where pet owners aren’t as responsible as they should be. We’ll just have to continue to gently remind them.
Pete Hulse, owner
Pet Butler of Central Ohio
Serving Pets and their People since 1988.
(yeah, that’s a LOT of poop!)
Pearl Mattenson Said,
March 15, 2009 @ 1:52 am
Your post makes me think of one of my favorite books- The three Signs of a Miserable Job by Patrick Lencioni. His core idea: When people feel fulfilled at work, they are more productive and reliable. Fulfillment is a consequence of being known, knowing who and how you impact the lives of others in your work and having clear ways of measuring your impact.
Pete Hulse Said,
March 16, 2009 @ 1:05 pm
Sounds like a great book, Pearl. I like the idea. I’ve worked a lot of other jobs but never had one with the satisfaction level of this. Put Tom Terez and My name in Google and read an article he wrote a about me several years ago.
While I’m plugging people, if you haven’t heard Alex speak, you should. He’s worth the investment of your valuable time.