What work would you do …

… if no-one (including you) would judge you for it?

I almost applied for a part-time job advertised on the counter at the local Screwfix depot recently because the staff there were so lovely when I went to collect an order.

It felt like it would be a happy and purposeful place to work for a few hours per week. 

So what if my BA, PhD and PGCert wouldn't be relevant? So what if my most recent employment was as a senior manager in a university? I don’t think any of that would preclude me from being a cheerful, helpful and practical member of the team, locating hardware supplies and handing them over the counter.
I like systems and order. I had a happy time as a library assistant finding and sorting things on shelves. I work out, so I’m pretty good at lifting. I like transactional interaction. One way or another, I’ve got decades of experience of helping people get what they need – in fact, it’s what I do for a living right now.

In any case, no specific experience was needed. Training – and development, moreover – was provided.

But seeing the advert made me reflect that telling yourself ‘I could do that’ is not always, or only, about whether you believe that you’re capable of doing it. It’s also about whether you could allow yourself to do it. 

When I’ve shared another variant of this retail flight of fancy – working on the tills at John Lewis – people have said things like, ‘Aren’t you worried about former colleagues seeing you?’, hinting perhaps at a comedown from the kind of work I’m known for. ‘No’, I’ve said.

Certainly that would be less of a 'risk' at Screwfix, where the overlap between customers and former university colleagues would, I guess, be fairly minimal.

But I didn’t apply for the Screwfix job. And I haven't applied to John Lewis.

Why? Partly – mainly – because I have other work and non-work things that I’m putting my energy and time into. I have clients to coach, existing services to deliver and new ones to develop. I have interesting projects on the go. I don’t want anything to get in the way of those.

But no doubt it is also because we are somewhat hidebound by what we think is appropriate work for people like us, whatever kind of people we are. And by what other people think is appropriate for people like us.

Perhaps it seemed an identity step too far. Perhaps that’s a shame.

I could have been happy and purposeful doing that Screwfix role, if I were lucky enough to secure it despite my qualifications and career history. And it would have given me insights which could have served me well in my current interests and activity around career and work at 50+. 

What’s more, it wasn’t a decision for life – or even for the whole week, being very part time. So why the big deal? 

Which brings me back to my question:

What work would you do if no-one (including you) would judge you for it?

Photo: Everyday basics on Unsplash