@Jason I’m not so enamored with labor. Ask me about the time I sorted through boxes at a fake floral warehouse — or about taking orders at a Chinese food restaurant for 8 hour shifts — and I’ll tell you that working in Human Resources is a walk in the park. I really appreciate people who can do that kind of work and not let it wear on their souls.

@Jackbuilt Totally good insight. I think you picked up on an important part of the work/life balance discussion. Do your job and find balance elsewhere.

Thanks for posting this. It is fabulous and I posted it over on my blog.

He makes such fabulous points. Thanks for sharing.

I’ve written two books, started a business, met with business leaders you read about in Fortune/WSJ/etc., and my best “day” of work, hands down, was a 72 hour stretch freshman year of college when I loaded boxes of personal belongings onto a UHaul, drove 14 hours to Phila, met up with 12 or so other guys, unloaded the boxes (along with boxes from ~7 other trucks), sorted them at a self-storage facility, reloaded them according to their destination, and delivered them to their rightful owners at their dorms.

The work was nasty: each of the 3 white t-shirts I wore had to be thrown away

Dudes, I’m going to trade school. Screw HR.

Jackbuilt

@HRpuf I had no idea you liked zombies. It’s so awesome that you can link HR, zombies, and Mike Rowe!

@Teresa I think people say ‘work is for suckers’. At least, that’s what they say in my family.

@InkedHR I’ve heard rumors of his operatic voice!

@Lisa Oh! I’m so glad you liked it!

@Lois I think that’s right — a management case study is long overdue. We claim to learn so much from Jack Welch. What can we learn from the average garbage man who picks up my trash every Wednesday and does it RIGHT FIRST TIME?

@Ali I totally hope it goes viral. It’s so smart & should be shown in business schools.

@HR Minion He is the best. Mmmmm….ike Rowe!

@Mary Ellen I’m with you. Also, fun stuff doesn’t really pay. Sometimes people can earn loads of money and have fun. Those people are brilliant. The rest of us should be so lucky — and we should appreciate other things in life.

@Ken I know this: I totally respect anyone who can build shit, hang shit, fix shit, or work in my yard. I never learned those skills, and I would pay a million bucks to have someone fix a clogged toilet. So there is a market for people who have mad technical & hands-on skills — people like me will pay money, and people with technical skills should take my money, work hard, and grab a beer after work and watch the game.