№ 00065: My Full Time Job

What does a job give us, besides money?

Today on Something Lost we have № 00065, looking to claim their lost job.

According to the internet and people that Know Things, unemployment is currently low. This is particularly true in Minnesota, where our claimant hails from, where the unemployment rate was just over 2.5% in December 2023.

But lost in those figures and successes are the individual stories of loss.

№ 00065 also shared this about their lost object claim:

What strikes me about what you have to say about your lost job is that “money” is just one small piece of a flurry of associations that you have with your lost job. And that got me thinking about what jobs provide for us:

Motivation. Feedback. Routine. Balance. Culture. Enthusiasm. Routine. Money. Snacks.

And Connection. It’s written here three times, in three colors.

Connection, connection, connection.

What does it mean to rely on our jobs for connection? We do spend most of our waking hours at our jobs, meaning that if you do not (for whatever reason, no judgement or criticism implied) cultivate connection outside of work, it’s going to be a lot of our emotional eggs in that basket.

I think this also fluctuates greatly depending on the phase of life you are in, what (unpaid) caregiving responsibilities you do or do not carry, whether you work from home or remotely and a million other factors.

But to claim your lost job, maybe look closely at those things which you associate and miss about your lost object. I see many things on your list that can be found not just in a new job, but maybe can be resourced in other ways, too. As you seek to find what you’ve lost, how can you not put all your eggs into the “job” basket? What other ways can you find connection, motivation, routine, and SNACKS?

Snacks are important.

Thank you for submitting your Lost Object claim.