You're Burned Out. Now What?

摘要

Regardless of whether you were doing well or struggling at work prior to the pandemic, it's likely you or someone on your team is exhausted and burned out from the response to COVID-19. How do you reignite the fire after losing the passion you once had for your job and the cleaning industry? It may not be easy to reset your passion. You probably didn't choose the cleaning industry in the first place- it likely chose you. In my lifetime, I have only met a small group of people like myself who wanted to be in the cleaning industry since childhood. I grew up in a small town in western Pennsylvania where I spent my summer watching the garbage truck come through our neighborhood to pick up everything from bags of trash to sofas. Through the lens of a child, it was fascinating. I was impressed by how the workers moved with an energetic speed. They communicated well, and my goodness they were efficient, laughing and teasing each other as they hopped on and off the back of the truck while tossing bags of trash into the compactor. That team appeared to be so happy even though the work they performed was by no means easy or glorious. In many ways, watching their healthy teamwork inspired me to spend my entire career in the cleaning industry, and I will never regret it. Before I wanted to be Terry Bradshaw playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers, I wanted to be collecting trash on that garbage truck team.