A Good Boss Is Hard to Find
A good boss is hard to find, especially if you are sixteen years old and it is your first job with an outside-the-family boss.
Do you remember your first boss? Not the neighbor who wanted you to mow the grass or watch the children for a few hours. Not your uncle or aunt who wanted you to have an experience of some craft or activity that would teach you some skills. As important as those jobs were to us when we were young, there came a time when we would venture into the specific type of employment that presented totally new challenges. Keeping a time sheet or using a punch-in time clock were new experiences. Dealing with work colleagues older than you took finesse, tact, and courage. There was much to learn.
Mr. Neff was my first boss and, I will admit, the job started with lawn mowing. Our next-door neighbors were Elmer and Esther (I am not making this up—it was fun to say their names together). Elmer was a linotype operator at a small printing company within bicycling distance of our home.
I had never seen a linotype machine before, let alone see one in operation. It was large and noisy, and the operator would type in letters and the machine would arrange individual blocks of metal type used in trays to print newspapers or books. Originally the metal was hot, but later machines used cold type. Elmer was a type of graphic designer in today’s language. With more than one linotype in action at once, the shop workroom was so loud that conversation was nearly impossible. I know this because my jobs gradually brought me back inside to do work there in addition to outside.
My job began at the Johnson County Herald when Elmer told me that the owner of the business was looking for someone to work around the building. The boss, Mr. Neff, wanted me to mow the grass, but he also needed painting and landscaping outside. He said he would pay me $1.25 an hour.
In retrospect, I believe Mr. Neff liked me, but that did not lessen my feeling of intimidation by him. With a cigar in his hand, he gave me careful instructions as to how he wanted the work done. In the summer I could work almost any day, but, once school started again, I was less available. At one point, I read an advertisement in his weekly local newspaper for my job. Have you ever seen a written ad for your job? I have (twice). He was tired of waiting for me and this was his way of getting my attention. I have a clear memory of going into his office and appealing to keep my position.
The other awkward encounter was when I ran over and sliced the garden hose on the company driveway as I was pushing the power mower. I genuinely thought that the mower would be far enough off the pavement so that it would miss the hose. When I saw the miniature geyser, I realized I was wrong.
The job eventually morphed into Mr. Neff asking me to contribute a weekly column for his newspaper; the information was to concern activities at the local high school where I attended. I felt like a professional writer; he paid me ten cents per column inch. Since each column was about twenty inches long, I made $2.00 for each submission.
Different job types introduce us to different skills. These young people we see around us at coffee shops, restaurants, and grocery stores are learning, as we each have had to do, how to deal with customers. You and I know that customers are not always patient and kind with workers who are on a steep learning curve. This may be his or her first job; it may be their second week of work. Hopefully, they have a boss who has built them up as their feet get tired and they try to navigate through embarrassment and sweat. When you punch in for a shift, you are “on;” that is a consequence of getting just about any type of job.
Generally, parents and grandparents are proud of young people having the courage to seek a first job, learn from it, and polish “people skills” that had been hidden to them until now. First jobs and first bosses start that process.