Enjoyable

Today was a special anniversary for my husband.

Thirty years ago today, 8/21/81, he started working for IBM.

I remember when he decided that he didn't want to continue teaching high school math.  We had only been married for six months and I had just started working at Marshall Field's.  I wasn't exactly bringing home a big buck paycheck and I was concerned about how we would be able to pay our bills (and eat!) if he didn't find a job right away.  I will also admit that I was not happy about how his proposed career change was shaking up my self-image.  Ever since I fell in love with G, I had always envisioned myself as the wife of a high school teacher.  I wasn't quite sure what it would be like to be the wife of a business/computer/whatever guy.

In a huge leap of faith and confidence, G tendered his resignation at the Catholic high school where he had taught for the past two years.  He did not have a job lined up.  Truth be told, he didn't even know exactly what he wanted to do, but he did know that he wanted to work with computers.

School ended and G embarked on his job search.  Every Sunday he would pour over the Chicago Tribune help wanted ads and then he would spend the week typing and mailing out cover letters to prospective employers.  (In the age of job searches that are conducted almost exclusively online, the typewriter and snail mail approach seems positively ancient!)

Weeks passed and the end of the paychecks from Immaculate Conception drew closer -- thank heavens G had elected to be paid on a 12-month schedule.  He had had several interviews, but we were still waiting for a job offer, G more patiently than I.

In mid-August, IBM asked G back for another interview.  One of the interviewers asked him to describe himself in one word.  His answer?  Enjoyable.              

Really???  Enjoyable?

When I heard his response, I was flabbergasted.  Why did he choose the word enjoyable?  Why didn't he say driven or hard-working or determined or creative or dedicated or any of a hundred words that I felt would have seemed more impressive to someone who had been in IBM's employ for several years?

No matter, enjoyable must have resonated with someone associated with the hiring process because G was offered and accepted a position as a customer service rep at the IBM Help Center in Chicago.

Over the ensuing thirty years, G has worked for numerous managers in a variety of environments.  He has had the opportunity to travel to China, Singapore, Mexico, Canada, England, Germany, the Netherlands, and Russia, as well as most of the United States.  Most importantly, he truly likes what he does.  His job is stressful and frustrating at times, but he has never regretted making the decision to leave teaching.

Today it is rare to find someone who has worked for the same company for more than ten years, let alone thirty.  In the new millennium, neither employers nor employees feel the type of loyalty to one another that was more common in the mid 20th century.

But I think my husband has found part of the secret to job satisfaction and longevity . . . enjoyment.  Not only does he genuinely enjoy what he does, but his superiors and peers find him to be enjoyable to work with.

Enjoyable -- I guess G did have it right all along.