I asked dishwashers in an online forum…

“What's your reaction when you hear people talk about doing what you love, finding meaning in your work, following your passion?”

Listen to their answers, which are sure to surprise you.

For lending their voices to this episode, my sincerest thanks to 

 —  Tara McMullen | Tara’s Substack: What Works

 —  James Richardson | James’ Substack: Homo Imaginari

 —  Colin Bullen, one of the first and foremost Heigh Ho supporters, generously shared an audio clip I was unable to use due to a technical glitch. Learn more about Colin and his work at Virtuositeam. 

My thanks, of course, also go to the dishwashers who freely shared their thoughts and feelings for this Heigh Ho post and podcast.

Heigh Ho wants to amplify the voices of workers, especially those employed in non-desk jobs like retail, food service, manufacturing, agriculture, health care, mining, and construction. Leave a voice recording here.

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A Surprise Appearance

A mistreated newsboy becomes a titan of industry. This episode reveals a unique connection between Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and working life, especially as it relates to the jobs we hold in our youth.

What seems like character-building experience to the beholder may be more like trauma to those in the path of that beholder’s unkindness.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heighho.substack.com

This episodes includes 3 ways sabbaticals enhance employee wellbeing while creating opportunities and the 3 pillars of good sabbatical policies.

When first awakened to the sabbatical idea, I reacted skeptically. I’ve since seen that most medium and large companies can offer sabbaticals — longer, paid sabbaticals. 

Some advocates hail sabbatical as a solution for burnout. But time off, in the absence of a broader strategy, is just an anti-burnout placebo. That’s probably why Kira Schabram, Matt Bloom, and DJ DiDonna advise employers:

"If you facilitate sabbaticals before employees are pushed to the brink, most will return with renewed energy and greater clarity… Listen to and work with returnees pitching you new projects, requesting transfers, or embracing leadership opportunities."

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One thing I learned from this job, and the many warehouse, retail, and food service jobs I had thereafter, is to refrain from assuming that most people's work lives are anything like mine and yours.

Workers like little Louie and Old Joe, the bookie, the thieves, the truck drivers… We live and work among them.

We also live and work among the women getting harassed on the street; the legions of exhausted commuters; the transportation workers taking flack from those commuters when they can’t stick to schedules they don’t control; tradespeople suffering injury or indignity, whether it’s being stabbed by a pen in their soap or something worse; and the gamblers sacrificing their paychecks to dreams of easy street.

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Labor utopia or dystopia?

What looks like a degrading portrayal of outcasts has also been framed as an homage to the American worker. In Disney’s Snow White classic, the depiction of the seven dwarfs informs modern perspectives on labor in the context of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Read the original article (with links to source material) here.

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Despite the fact that leaders seem determined to suppress the meaning of Labor Day, news reports in recent years may leave you with the impression that organized labor is resurgent. Stories abound about workers organizing and/or about work stoppages (or looming strikes) at Amazon, Starbucks, Chipotle, Trader Joe’s, Apple, and UPS, and among members of graduate student organizations, United Auto Workers, SAG-AFTRA, and the Writer’s Guild, to name a few.

In this episode, recorded on Labor Day 2023, Bob Merberg chats about whether unions can really be considered resurgent in this era when union membership rates are at an all time low.

He also confesses his journey out of union skepticism.

CORRECTION: The episode cites 450,000 UAW workers primed to strike. While available numbers vary — UAW reports it has more than 400,000 members — most news sources are reporting that approximately 146,000 are employed by Big 3 automakers.

Resources

* Labor Unions and the Middle Class; US Department of Treasury; 2023.

* Have We Forgotten the True Meaning of Labor Day?; Zagorsky, J; The Conversation; 2017.

* Union Busting: What Employers Can and Cannot Legally Do (5-min. video); Bloomberg Law; 2022.

* Unionization increased by 200,000 in 2022; Economic Policy Institute; 2023.

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Today’s Episode features another installment in our series looking at work through the lens of Disney’s 1937 animated classic, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs has its share of chilling moments, though Disney sanitizes the darkest details of its source material — the 19th century Grimm Brothers’ version.

Perpetuating white lies, so to speak, may be inherent to a tale’s retelling: Even the earliest versions of Snow White, arguably based on a true story, apparently glossed over a human tragedy — child labor — that plagues us to this day.

(Read the text version of this episode, complete with links.)

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This episode is based on one of the most popular posts in the Heigh Ho series looking at work through the lens of Disney’s 1937 classic, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Here, I use Snow White’s hit song — Whistle While you Work — as a springboard to explore the history of music at work, with tips on the genres that do or don’t make good on-the-job listening based on your likes/dislikes and the task at hand.

Links cited in the episode:

Sam Kemmis Zapier post on how to choose music for work: https://zapier.com/blog/music-and-productivity/

“Whistle While You Work” scene on YouTube:

For additional links, see the original Heigh Ho article this episode is based on.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heighho.substack.com

Bob Merberg kicks off a series looking at work and wellbeing through the lens of the 1937 animated Disney classic, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

In this epidode, we set the stage… examining why the influence of pop culture — including media targeted to kids — shouldn’t be underestimated. Decoding it helps explain how and why we show up at work. 

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This is a quick introduction to Bob Merberg’s new Heigh Ho podcast, created in conjunction with the newsletter, Heigh Ho — Work, Workplaces, and Worker Wellbeing. Upcoming episodes feature spunky, evidence-based storytelling about work.

Subscribe to the newsletter at https://[email protected].

Bob Merberg has set the pace for employee wellbeing in the US for more than 25 years. Learn more about Bob on the website of his consultancy, Jozito LLC.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heighho.substack.com