Why are gravediggers are so satisfied with their jobs?
Every once in a while, I find it extremely calming and therapeutic to a long walk through a local cemetery. Alas, all the chaos and drama of life, subdued under a few feet of soil. The silence is pervasive and permanent.
You'll soon notice correlations (albeit completely useless ones) about the height of one's tombstone and his lifespan -- rarely will you find tall, ornate stones bearing an individual with a short life. Let's never take for granted the spoils of our (relative) wealth.
I decided to forgo my early Saturday morning run for a cemetery walk today. It just so happens I ran into 2 gravediggers, preparing a double plot (I didn't ask, but assuming husband/wife given the proximity of dugouts). I've always had a fascination with gravediggers. In essence, you're constructing the structure in which someone will reside, for an eternity. If only Toll Brothers or K Hovnanian could build such resolute and everlasting residences. But I digress.
Without boring you on technicalities, graves in the developed world are essentially dug using a Caterpillar backclaw tractor, and then finished off (the edges, corners, pit depth, etc) by manual shoveling. I had a brief chat with both gravediggers, who seemed amazingly upbeat and happy. There were two thoughts on my mind - are all gravediggers this happy? or do they just hate the two people about to be buried? So much so that I asked them naively "most people think gravedigging is supposed to be a sad job... why do you guys seem so happy?" One of the guys answered jokingly "well we don't have promotions". Jokes, it seems, are often truths wrapped a box called humor. And it got me thinking.
Associate. Co-pilot. Vice Chairman. Junior Portfolio Manager. Support Analyst. Janitorial Lead. Partner. Senior Managing Director. Within each career vertical, we have so many ranks.
And then there's gravedigger. No junior gravedigger, no senior gravedigger. No gravedigging manager.
Just him and the cemetery who contracts him. And no peer reviews, or any reviews whatsoever. Is it even possible to "mess up"?
So it seems that workplace unhappiness is a result our innate competitive spirit. We want that promotion, that corner office, or a flashier title. But it is often not attainable, despite our best efforts. The constant scrutiny of our work only exacerbates this unhappiness.
I'm not suggesting we all quit our well-paying jobs to dig funeral pits. To those who love their current roles, kudos to you. For everyone else, I think it's to the benefit of all on WSO to begin a discussion towards understanding the causes of professional (and to an extent personal) dissatisfaction. It's a good step towards preserving mental sanity (if such a psychological state ever existed in the first place).
-Jay
Makes sense to me. No promotions I assume descent pay for what you do. Also, solitude at work. Just need to be respectful. It is an honest profession.
quiet clients and plenty of steady work?
It also gives you a sense of calm about the promotions and prestige. No matter if it's an MD at a bank or the manager of McDonald's, we all return to the ground some day. Prestige of your plot location aside, we're all decaying bits in the end.
I wonder if whoever invested in your education is happy you're so passionate about gravedigging now
Who wouldn't be happy to be in a horrorcore Hiphop group with RZA? (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravediggaz)
Really well written. I found myself turning to stoic philosophy to answer these hard hitting questions.
While it's a good joke, I imagine their satisfaction has more to do with their environment than the lack of promotions. They do manual labour outside in a calm, contemplative environment that has some spiritual significance to it. Think about all the money people spend in order to be active in a beautiful or spiritual environment (yoga memberships would be an example). I imagine it's just a bit easier to appreciate life when you're working in a place like that - reminded of the dead, but not having to see them in any kind of traumatising way.
Ignore the odd criticism of your post... anyone working in finance who doesn't occasionally question what they're doing and why is completely lost in my opinion.
Grave digging job market is the most stable in the world.
Lol creamation is rising by 2% a year doe
Isn't population also rising by 2% a year?
Who does the most grave digging deals? GS? MS? D.C.? What are the exit ops like? Do they take non-targets? Is a grave digging internship preferred?
Top exit is to have a book written about you, then a movie directed like; Holes.
compelled to SB
They are so happy because they ladies never say no.
Couldn't not SB this
One word: perspective...
from ashes to ashes luv
Really good piece. I've thought a lot about this and could write a huge rant on the topic, but I'll be brief. I've come to define happiness as having two essential components:
So in essence, to me happiness isn't the next job title. It's that moment after 2 all nighters when the president of the firm pats you on the back for a job well done presenting to the investment committee. It's realizing that, in this moment, your goal is within closer reach than you thought it was going to be. And at the end of the day, you pick your own goals and you pick your own expectations. In that sense, happiness really does come from within - it just takes introspection to figure yourself out and grow comfortable in your own skin.
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