I
think I finally got what was coming to me. It is with all seriousness when I
say I have been employed with more companies or people than my age. I have
worked a broad spectrum – from restaurants, call centers, retail, cable technician,
and fiber glass insulation. I wish my resume could be smaller, for less is more
with my laboring portfolio. On the other side, the diverse set of skills I have
acquired is marketable. The one key aspect however – the reference – is suffering,
for I have incinerated every bridge that I crossed. Drinking and work will
never mix, trust me. A majority of the positions that I once held were lost
because of my stubbornness, arrogant approach to the mundane clock punching. I
felt above it. Today, I wish I would’ve just shut-up, and dealt with the
bullshit. Live and learn as they say.
In this entry, I want to see how workers use alcohol on the job. I also want to read how alcohol and substance abuse in general has impacted the basic foundations for our American work force. I think I was (and maybe still am) a rare breed, something that is mystical, yet fool-hearty and stubborn, trotting through life with a knowing of nothing. I also want to see how the concept of Karma stands in the modern work-force.
Oh, but here. Have some Offal information.
Offal, or know in the great old U.S. of A as Variety Meats, are the discarded organs, bones, heads, or muscles from a butchered or skinned animal. What meats available depend on the region, where as in America we have Rocky Mountain Oysters and Chitterlings, in Scotland, Hagis, and in France, a delicate and savory staple of Pate. Regardless, offal is either taken with a taste of delight from local or refined pallets, or as waste from the masses.
In Europe and Asia, nothing is thrown out. If the protein can be safely prepared and consumed, then it will certainly be ready to serve. Now, Offal is pound for pound the most expensive form of meat on average throughout the world. America mostly uses Offal to feed pets and livestock. Offal is not only defined to strictly animal parts, but also, Offal is by-products of grains that are leftover, and can be used in production of certain animal foods.
I am in no need glorifying or bragging the fact that I have bounced from job to job. Trust me, if I can hit the rewind button, I would. The skills, knowledge, and hands on approach I have successfully gathered over the years are ultimately invaluable going into most fields of employment. And honestly, as a new dad, I have no choice in what I do now for income. I personally just need to keep my mouth shut, and fake the funk. That is my feeling on it. I think it is mature, but we will see. I am ever the slave to trial and error… for science!
Alcoholism, or any substance abuse in the workplace, is usually bad. I do not have any other way to describe it. I have worked the later years drinking on the job – in secret, or with co-workers or owners. I was not alone in this. This article answered my one true question in its first two paragraphs (second link from the top):
Q: What are the current statistics regarding workplace impairment?
A: The trends between alcohol and drug use in the workplace are interesting. According to a recent study funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, about 15 percent of U.S. workers, or 19.2 million workers, are under the influence of alcohol at least occasionally while on the job. Managers are more likely impaired on the job than are their reports. Workplace alcohol use is more prevalent with men than women, younger workers than older ones, unmarried than married, and more use by employees working on the evening shift, night shift, and irregular shifts.
High rates of alcohol use and impairment have
been found in many occupations, including sales, sports, entertainment, media,
food preparation and serving, arts, and building and grounds maintenance. In
contrast, according to The Drug Testing Index, workplace drug use hit a new low
last year. There was a decline in positive drug test results for amphetamines
among safety-sensitive workers, along with a decrease in positive marijuana
drug test results among the general U.S. workforce.
This guy is apparently having a grand old time. I wonder who he is singing too?
The remainder of the article is questions about the various means for how a company tests others, policies regarding such, and new testing procedures versus old methods. This statistic, however, is accurate. I have seen this time and time again, not only in myself, but management figures. I worked in a particular sales position, and the general manager would have an open bottle of whiskey with a few glasses on his desk.
The remainder of the article is questions about the various means for how a company tests others, policies regarding such, and new testing procedures versus old methods. This statistic, however, is accurate. I have seen this time and time again, not only in myself, but management figures. I worked in a particular sales position, and the general manager would have an open bottle of whiskey with a few glasses on his desk.
One article suggests that more times than often, the alcohol dependant employee is not the problem. Workers who occasionally drink too much and come in with a severe hangover, or call out frequently at the beginning of their work week will cost an employer more in loss productivity, and higher risk of harm to themselves, or others. Also, those who live as a family member who suffers from another relative’s alcoholism are more apt to provide only a burden to the team. I have seen others who have failed day to day as a result.
Liquor is very easy to find in any shape, size, or quantity. In the U.S. alone, there are nearly forty three thousand liquor stores, with spirits and hard drink being the number one seller above all others. I personally, would find a variety store that sold liquor, and purchase my fix in the form of miniature bottles – or nips. Four and a chaser would usually run me close to six dollars, and last me from beginning of my shift to lunch, or lunch to the ride home. Some folks will consume a pint throughout the week or day, depending on need.
Karma is great. I am at the wrong end of it today, but this is a simple form of atonement to live by for wronging so many others with my destructive, selfish former self. Of course, Karma is chiefly a religious belief in India. You move up the Karmic ladder by being a moral, honest, and good person. Where you end up on the ladder decides your fate when you transmigrate – and ultimately, to the truly devote, you will find happiness with Brahma.
This has to be the best definition of Karma for not only in the workplace, but in life:
“The law of Karma ensures accountability for every thought, action and word. Each has an effect on this; and future lives.”
In the workplace, what you accomplish for good or evil will turn on you in the end and reflect your choices as a person. We can look at Martha Stewart, for example. A public figure and ruler of day-time television with her modern and plush living, she was not only uneasy to work alongside, but for. However, Karma reaped, and in 2004, she was charged with obstruction of justice and lying to investigators during an inside trade investigation.
Ultimately, we all reap. Karma comes, sure as death, taxes and commercials, to take what is right – be it for glory, or greed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offal#Health_and_food_safety_issues
http://www.startwithwhy.com/Learn/LearningLibrary.aspx?control=ViewGalleryPhotos&HideLink=1&GalleryID=10&photoID=&cat=10
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