Really enjoyed this. Reminds me of Werner Herzog advising filmmakers to try to work with their hands in between projects, that when "you work with abstractions" too much, you become "abstracted" yourself. I think it's also important for office work chumps like me to realize that not all blue collar work is punishing and disrespected in this country (the way it's often portrayed to us)--that, as you say, it's likely better than our jobs.
Dec 6, 2023·edited Dec 6, 2023Liked by Elle Griffin
As former blue-collar worker, I can honestly say, blue-collar work isn't all roses. Depending on the job. But manual labor is definitely satisfying and good exercise. And you get a sense of accomplishment. I knew as a teen I didn't want a "desk job" and didn't go to college. (My father worked in a GM factory his whole career.) I went to work at an airline at 19, and worked for the airlines for 27 years loading and unloading airplanes. In all kinds of weather, include the icy-cold Michigan winters. On weekends and holidays, often on bad shifts (5:00am-1:00pm or 3:00pm-11:00pm.) But I enjoyed the work. It was physical, challenging, and different every day.
When a flight came in, we had a set time to complete our job. Unloading the plane, loading the plane, making sure the balance was correct (you don't a nose-heavy or tail-heavy airplane. Especially flying overseas) and entering the cargo load into a computer. If they hadn't contracted out my job, I would have stayed until retirement.
I liked most of the people I worked with, because I took worse days off to get on crews with hard workers and good people. But there were plenty of people who fit the rough, negative, blue-collar stereo-type. I saw sexism in action. When women took the job, they were shunned by many of the guys for whatever reason (lack of strength, "it's man's work", they had to behave better around women, etc.) I frequently volunteered to take the women on my crew because they invariably tried harder and were good workers.
The pay wasn't as good as a skilled trade like a plumber or mechanic. My peak year was $60,000 (due to a lot of overtime.) But it wasn't bad for an "unskilled" trade. And I got to fly for free. The best benefit.
Doing a job you enjoy for less money is better than doing a job you hate for more money. In my opinion. By the way, after I lost my airline job, I started teaching guitar for a living. It also doesn't pay that well. But it beats working a "desk job." 🤣
Hang around me long enough and you’re bound to hear me say two things;
“everything feels the same under glass” about the printing and book business, which is why there will always be a business for books. They are real.
...and ...
“Get that English degree, but also learn to hang drywall.” Drywall being a metaphor here for a technical skill, but y’all know that right away, didn’t ya? 😀
I hate writing software for the very reason it just ain’t real. I’m trapped in the business, though, but if I could escape, I’d never write another line of code ever... ever, ever, ever.
Love, love, love the intro and the thesis behind this piece in general. It's probably my favorite of your takes. When you start a cow milking business, please hire me as your first employee.
Wonderful piece! It’s especially timely now, as people consider whether college is a good fit and/or worth the money. I have the utmost respect for the hard work these people do. I did cringe a bit at the environmental impacts of some of these companies. 😬
I agree, a manual job can be very satisfying because you see the results of your work. There is also the immediacy of the work. When I moved from nursing into teaching I found my work stayed my work. Any work not completed yesterday, was still on my desk today (and tomorrow etc. until it got done).
As a nurse you do your work, then hand over to another nurse. Your work is done. When you go back to work the next day, the tasks and the patients may be very different. Sometimes it is hard that you don't get to stay with a patient longer, but you also don't have the stress of work hanging over your head when you go home.
My personal feeling on this stems a lot from the fact that your reality in white collar world is plastic. Plastic keyboard and mouse, plastic top tables, plastic plants, you name it. Sure, there's no physical risk through immediate danger, but it's almost a given that your posture will collapse as your nervous system disintegrates through the monotony.
Having said that, I think it's important to note that I refer more to the process based jobs rather than the creative ones. If you're a designer, a writer, a whatever, that takes things from idea through gestation and into creation, you have this feeling that all the blue collar workers quoted in the article have. You look back on the day and see the thing you did, you made, and you feel a sense of pride.
The absence of physical exhaustion remains a factor, no matter how you slice it, which I suspect is what drives the 'office-to-gym' culture (my own experience as well). All the energy that you didn't use has to come out, otherwise you feel psychologically exhausted and physically energised, the usual end result being a poor night's sleep.
Another great article Elle, very nice to see people framing the positives of trade jobs. In school the narrative was clear: 'only stupid people work in trades'. So insulting and so wrong. But time tends to prove these narratives wrong :)
Wonderful piece. When I was working toward becoming a writer, I took up odd jobs as a handyman around LA. It was a wonderful counterpoint to the heady work I am more suited to doing.
I learned something important. Sometimes, it was hard to fix things. When I was stuck, I would mutter to myself, "there is always a way." And I usually found a way.
That's helpful for anyone to know-- because sometimes when heady ideas don't work out in the real world, we sometimes blame the real world for not being "worthy" of our ideas. But that's backward. The ideas are what's not worthy -- not yet anyway. But the good news is that there is always a way. Keep trying.
Doing embodied work makes you a better person, a better writer, and a better software engineer. No one should feel that any honest work is too "low" for them. It's not.
Interesting piece. Two of my family members work blue collar jobs for UPS, and they like their jobs! One recently bought several acres and is building (literally) his house on his days off.
This essay was specific and compelling. It makes a lot of sense to me. The hot thing in workforce development used to be coding; blue collar is a superior idea.
What a wonderful piece! My brother works as an electrician and I always wondered what makes him wake up at 5 every day to go to his job. What makes him work in the cold, heat, doing very physical work day in and day out, rarely complaining. I asked him but this piece helped me understand him better. He was actually on sick leave for 3 months and he kept telling me that he had video calls with his colleagues from work. And I was surprised. I thought that he’s better at making friends at work than me. 🤣
Such an important piece!
Really enjoyed this. Reminds me of Werner Herzog advising filmmakers to try to work with their hands in between projects, that when "you work with abstractions" too much, you become "abstracted" yourself. I think it's also important for office work chumps like me to realize that not all blue collar work is punishing and disrespected in this country (the way it's often portrayed to us)--that, as you say, it's likely better than our jobs.
Great piece! Just gave a shout out to you and the Elysian in this week's essay: https://the3csofbelonging.substack.com/p/a-hospitable-space-for-writers-and
Love what you do.
As former blue-collar worker, I can honestly say, blue-collar work isn't all roses. Depending on the job. But manual labor is definitely satisfying and good exercise. And you get a sense of accomplishment. I knew as a teen I didn't want a "desk job" and didn't go to college. (My father worked in a GM factory his whole career.) I went to work at an airline at 19, and worked for the airlines for 27 years loading and unloading airplanes. In all kinds of weather, include the icy-cold Michigan winters. On weekends and holidays, often on bad shifts (5:00am-1:00pm or 3:00pm-11:00pm.) But I enjoyed the work. It was physical, challenging, and different every day.
When a flight came in, we had a set time to complete our job. Unloading the plane, loading the plane, making sure the balance was correct (you don't a nose-heavy or tail-heavy airplane. Especially flying overseas) and entering the cargo load into a computer. If they hadn't contracted out my job, I would have stayed until retirement.
I liked most of the people I worked with, because I took worse days off to get on crews with hard workers and good people. But there were plenty of people who fit the rough, negative, blue-collar stereo-type. I saw sexism in action. When women took the job, they were shunned by many of the guys for whatever reason (lack of strength, "it's man's work", they had to behave better around women, etc.) I frequently volunteered to take the women on my crew because they invariably tried harder and were good workers.
The pay wasn't as good as a skilled trade like a plumber or mechanic. My peak year was $60,000 (due to a lot of overtime.) But it wasn't bad for an "unskilled" trade. And I got to fly for free. The best benefit.
Doing a job you enjoy for less money is better than doing a job you hate for more money. In my opinion. By the way, after I lost my airline job, I started teaching guitar for a living. It also doesn't pay that well. But it beats working a "desk job." 🤣
Hang around me long enough and you’re bound to hear me say two things;
“everything feels the same under glass” about the printing and book business, which is why there will always be a business for books. They are real.
...and ...
“Get that English degree, but also learn to hang drywall.” Drywall being a metaphor here for a technical skill, but y’all know that right away, didn’t ya? 😀
I hate writing software for the very reason it just ain’t real. I’m trapped in the business, though, but if I could escape, I’d never write another line of code ever... ever, ever, ever.
Love, love, love the intro and the thesis behind this piece in general. It's probably my favorite of your takes. When you start a cow milking business, please hire me as your first employee.
Wonderful piece! It’s especially timely now, as people consider whether college is a good fit and/or worth the money. I have the utmost respect for the hard work these people do. I did cringe a bit at the environmental impacts of some of these companies. 😬
I agree, a manual job can be very satisfying because you see the results of your work. There is also the immediacy of the work. When I moved from nursing into teaching I found my work stayed my work. Any work not completed yesterday, was still on my desk today (and tomorrow etc. until it got done).
As a nurse you do your work, then hand over to another nurse. Your work is done. When you go back to work the next day, the tasks and the patients may be very different. Sometimes it is hard that you don't get to stay with a patient longer, but you also don't have the stress of work hanging over your head when you go home.
My personal feeling on this stems a lot from the fact that your reality in white collar world is plastic. Plastic keyboard and mouse, plastic top tables, plastic plants, you name it. Sure, there's no physical risk through immediate danger, but it's almost a given that your posture will collapse as your nervous system disintegrates through the monotony.
Having said that, I think it's important to note that I refer more to the process based jobs rather than the creative ones. If you're a designer, a writer, a whatever, that takes things from idea through gestation and into creation, you have this feeling that all the blue collar workers quoted in the article have. You look back on the day and see the thing you did, you made, and you feel a sense of pride.
The absence of physical exhaustion remains a factor, no matter how you slice it, which I suspect is what drives the 'office-to-gym' culture (my own experience as well). All the energy that you didn't use has to come out, otherwise you feel psychologically exhausted and physically energised, the usual end result being a poor night's sleep.
Another great article Elle, very nice to see people framing the positives of trade jobs. In school the narrative was clear: 'only stupid people work in trades'. So insulting and so wrong. But time tends to prove these narratives wrong :)
Wonderful piece. When I was working toward becoming a writer, I took up odd jobs as a handyman around LA. It was a wonderful counterpoint to the heady work I am more suited to doing.
I learned something important. Sometimes, it was hard to fix things. When I was stuck, I would mutter to myself, "there is always a way." And I usually found a way.
That's helpful for anyone to know-- because sometimes when heady ideas don't work out in the real world, we sometimes blame the real world for not being "worthy" of our ideas. But that's backward. The ideas are what's not worthy -- not yet anyway. But the good news is that there is always a way. Keep trying.
Doing embodied work makes you a better person, a better writer, and a better software engineer. No one should feel that any honest work is too "low" for them. It's not.
Interesting piece. Two of my family members work blue collar jobs for UPS, and they like their jobs! One recently bought several acres and is building (literally) his house on his days off.
This essay was specific and compelling. It makes a lot of sense to me. The hot thing in workforce development used to be coding; blue collar is a superior idea.
What a wonderful piece! My brother works as an electrician and I always wondered what makes him wake up at 5 every day to go to his job. What makes him work in the cold, heat, doing very physical work day in and day out, rarely complaining. I asked him but this piece helped me understand him better. He was actually on sick leave for 3 months and he kept telling me that he had video calls with his colleagues from work. And I was surprised. I thought that he’s better at making friends at work than me. 🤣