"Be happy in your work"

This week, I've had a temp job. I've been working at a call center (basically, that's the place where they answer the phone anytime you call customer service). I've worked call-center jobs before (inbound and outbound calls). This is why I hate call-center jobs. Yes, I hate to talk on the phone, especially when I get paid to do so. Yes, I would rather dissect camel dung for a living in Afghanistan.

I don't mean any disrespect if you work at a call center. In fact, thank you for all that you do, and I truly appreciate everything that you put up with. I am definitely thankful for my temp job's paycheck, and the job has been a good experience overall. It's just that... well... it's at a call center. I've met very few people who actually enjoy call-center jobs. Sitting at a phone and taking customer-service calls is usually the type of job that people take because they are desperate for money (ahem), and it is usually the type of job that people only keep until they can find something better.

I think having a call-center job long term usually requires a specific type of person. I've noticed that long-term call center people usually don't take things personally, they are very focused, they are very steady, they are very consistent, and they are very willing to serve.

So, I've learned that working at a call center is sort of like boot camp. It's a crash course in working hard, maintaining your focus, and polishing your confidence. And it's kind of a sink-or-swim way of learning how to love unlovable people (by that I mean being nice to people who are yelling at you). Maybe when Jesus talked about "the least of these," He was partly talking about people who think they can say whatever they want just because they don't have to face you in person. Hmm. I wonder if Jesus dealt with irate customers when He was a carpenter. And I wonder if their dispositions were nastier than Judas Iscariot's. Hmm.

But working at a call center isn't for everybody. For example, it isn't really for me long term because I'm very analytical and have a tendency to overthink everything. Also, I talk really fast, and whenever I feel nervous or insecure, I talk even faster and chirpier. ("Corporate accounts payable. Nina speaking. Just a moment.") And as somebody who is designed to be a pastor, it's sort of like a torture because after callers tell you their life story, you can't follow up on them. Oy vey!

So, Daddy has been teaching me excellent cubicle lessons like how to not second-guess myself. He's reinforcing seasonal lessons like how to simply do what's in front of me (instead of worrying about 50 million other details). And I'm getting a crash refresher course in depending on Him for everything.

And working at a call center is a great way to get your focus off yourself. I've noticed that I end up getting a call-center job anytime I'm coming out of a really emotional and/or desert-y season. I don't think that's an accident.

"For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat." (2 Thessalonians 3:10)

Years ago, I was working at a call center when I met a very interesting coworker whom I'll call John. John was a very nice guy, an older gentleman with a slow, even articulation in his speech. He was a new employee, but he would preach at us: "Be happy in your work. That's our motto." Um, I don't really remember reading any company mottos in the training manual, but OK. He would repeat his "motto" every once in a while, I guess perhaps whenever any of us would complain about something/somebody or just let off a little of bit of steam (which you have to do when you have a call-center job, trust me).

So, it was sort of a shocker when John, mister "Be happy in your work," suddenly quit his job one day after he had some sort of conflict with a manager.

I've thought of John this week (in my overly analytical way). Why did he come up with that "Be happy in your work" motto, anyway? Did he just not like to hear us complain? Was he trying to psych himself up to do his call-center job? Or was he just lying to himself?

I hope John understood this, but if you're unhappy in your work, it's OK to be honest about it. In fact, if you try to trick yourself into thinking that you're happy when you're actually miserable, you could harm yourself in all sorts of invisible ways. (Take it from the chick who spent 4 1/2 days in a psych hospital.)

I think one of the main reasons why I hate talking on the phone (besides the fact that the person on the other line could quickly take you hostage on the airwaves as they talk incessantly about the weather and politics and do you know what happened last night? Well, I was in the middle of feeding my cats when I decided to multitask. So, I put Choochie in the bathroom like I always do, and I left the light on while she ate her food, and then I closed the door so that Macho wouldn't come and eat her food. She's on a special diet for her hyperthyroidism, you know. It costs me about $48 a bag. And you know, that reminds me, I need to go and clip my babies' nails, clean their ears, and give them their heartworm medicine sometime this weekend. Hahaha! It's kind of like wrestling a miniature puma. So, anyway, I was feeding Choochie while I was making my lunch and fixing myself a snack. I put on one of my Duck Dynasty DVDs, and I started eating, and then after a few minutes, I noticed that I still had the light on in the bathroom. Bless her heart! I had completely forgotten that Choochie was in there! I felt so bad. After I let her out, I apologized profusely, and I gave her lots and lots of hugs and kisses. You know, I just love her so much. OH, MY GOODNESS, I JUST LOVE MY LITTLE KITTY!!!)...

Ahem. As I was saying, I think one of the main reasons why I hate talking on the phone is because it's so easy to manipulate your voice when the person on the other line can't see you. Anytime I work a call-center job, what you hear in my voice is "I am ready, willing, and able to help you," but what I really feel is "I really don't want to be here, I just need a paycheck, please don't yell at me." (One of my all-time favorite comic strips is the Dilbert strip from February 18, 2001.)

I'm not exactly sure what John's deal was. Maybe he was desperate for a paycheck just like the rest of us, so he fooled himself into thinking that he was OK with working at our call center. I just think it's ironic that mister "Be happy in your work" left unhappily.

Meanwhile, I've got a few days left in my temp job, and I'm happy to be working. I'm happy to be learning all the lessons that I'm learning. And I'm happy that it's just a temp job.

Choochie and I are OK. She's currently purring next to me. And my tummy is currently gurgling. And now I get to eat. That definitely makes me happy.