I am really slow at work; about half as fast as I used to be. And since I do basically the same tasks every day I learned the easiest way to do them with the least effort. Gone are the days when I unloaded heavy objects off trucks at breakneck speed for five days a week. I’m winding down; another three years
and I’ll retire.
I’ve often wondered why the supervisors let me work so slow and why they’re not cracking the whip and making me work harder. As I’ve found out the last several months the answer is simple: my coworkers are also slow and don’t work hard. I fit right in.
Today was a case in point. I got in at 8:00 am and they told me to do the trash on the North Side, both the 1st and 2nd floor. Five years ago it would have taken me an hour and a half. Today it took me two hours. And when I finished I went to our little janitors office and told our relatively new boss that I was finished. He looked up and surprise and told me he had allowed me the whole day to do it. They don’t expect much from me!
I realized I could have taken my time and they don’t mind. In fact I got finished so fast today that I had to help the regular guy who does trash every day. I realized he takes his time so much that I did the same amount of work as him but I did it 45 minutes faster. Now another reason why they keep me on. And I learned today the new boss doesn’t mind that we’re all slow. I know this all sounds bad but this is what my job consists of. I put in my time and do my work and I don’t get any complaints. Hey, if it ain’t broke then don’t fix it.
They don’t expect much so I won’t do much. I mean it’s not like I’m goofing off or anything. I’m just slow, but so is everybody else.