Things I've learned at work.

At the risk of jeopardizing my employment, I am going to talk about my job.  Hopefully, the good things that I have to say will make up for the bad, and my stint as a "Temp Workers Compensation Coordinator at Banfield Pet Hospital Central Team Support" won't be terminated before the set date of January 27th.  As you may have gleaned from my illustrious title, I do temp work for the corporate office of the largest chain of pet hospitals in the country (that's right - corporate pet care) on the Worker's Compensation team.

There are almost 800 Banfields in almost all 50 states - they run all of the hospitals in all of the PetsMarts across the country.  Banfield is also owned by Mars - turns out Mars makes way more money on pet products than on candy bars.  Isn't it interesting, that after ranting about corporate corruption in my last post, I admit that I work for a huge corporation that mass produces something as intimate to home life as pet health?  How do I justify this?  I don't know.  I pay my bills and can boast employment and financial independence.  What is that worth?  Something.  But Banfield itself is actually quite a moral company.  The pet health plans are good and affordable - the services are good.  Banfield has developed its own IT system that allows for easy immediate access to a pet's medical records nationwide.  So no matter where you go, Vets have access to an accurate medical history.  Banfield also uses this wide network to issue a "State of Pet Health Report" annually, utilizing the size of the company to gather, analyze, and diseminate lots of useful information.  This can lead to better research, public health information, and better preventative care.  This is probably good for human health too, since it's probably good to have healthy pets in a country where we're obsessed with living intimately with small carnivorus animals. 

Actually, I know exactly how I justify my job. I am getting to know intimately the 8-5 routine that has run this country for at least the past 60 years.  In fact, one reason I started this blog is to report on my findings as I test out this life that many, many people live.  Here are some of my findings so far. Expect more to follow...

1. There are 8 people on my team, ages 30-60, and 6 of them have been divorced.  3 are remarried, 2 are single moms, and 1 is singularly odd.  They all have fascinating stories and are beautiful people, but I don't feel I have the right to get much more specific with the details of their lives on the internet.

2. Hardly anyone within at least a 20-cubicle radius of me seems to care too much about their job.  Everyone gets along, people are super laid back, people like the compnay, and everyone likes the perks of working at Banfield (benefits, flexible hours, decent pay, good cafeteria food), but almost everyone seems to find fulfillment outside of work and some people nurse a private misery which is worn either blatantly or under wraps.  I think it's just hard to feel a burning passion for bureaucracy.  There are so many good people here, but I'm so heartbroken each time a new person inadvertantly feels the need to make an excuse as to why their life is what it is.  "I am the least talented person you'll ever meet."  "My IQ is not high." "I didn't kiss enough ass."   "I put on makeup everyday to remind myself of the beauty I once had." "No one likes their job." (These are all, essentially, direct quotes.) Everyone has their own reason for being here, and people seem generally satisfied besides these flashes of self-disappointment, but it just makes me think - This is the lifestyle that a couple billion people in the world are envious of?  We make money so that we can try to spend it on things that will fix the unhappiness created by our jobs.  I'm not convinced that that makes sense. 

3.  As far as I can tell, my job is pointless.  I have been through various emotional stages once I realized this.

Shock and Denial: "What? I have spent 300 hours filling out OSHA forms that no one will ever read?  Someone will read them someday and be so thankful that I existed!"
Pain and Guilt: "Most of my life is a total waste of time.  I am a leech on society."
Anger and Bargaining:  "Dammit!  I'm gonna start a blog on company time! Then you'll see!"
Depression, Reflection, Loneliness: "I am going to die in this cubicle with only OSHA logs for company."
The Upward Turn: "Wait a minute, worse things have happened to better people."
Reconstruction and Working Through: "If all these people can survive this, so can I!  I'm gonna  do fulfilling things outside of work that will contribute to my real career."
Acceptance and Hope:  "It's just a day job, and I'm already halfway through this assignment.  I'm gonna be at a sweet-ass grad school next fall."