good work

I am feeling very grateful for my job these days. I am a TV/web news producer at an NBC affiliate. I hadn't had a "real" job in years when I got this one in early 2004. I had been working from home/telecommuting for six years as a writer/editor/online producer. I worked full time -- often more than full time -- during this period, but mostly from home.

I was really anxious that after it became clear I needed to get an outside-the-house job after my divorce that I wouldn't be able to find one. For one thing, I am stuck in Knoxville for the forseeable future (because my kids' father is here and of course, I would never move them away from him) and most jobs in my field are in NYC or Chicago or Atlanta. For another thing, no matter that I had written for major magazines and newspapers, I knew that when I applied for jobs, my freelance work just wouldn't look as good as "real" jobs.

But somehow I lucked into this job and it's just been the best work ever. I could stand to make more money, but I don't work in a high dollar field (unless I move to a bigger city, which I will likely do when the kids are older). But aside from the money part, this job is wonderful.

For starters, it's the most amazingly KIND work culture I've ever encountered. From the top on down, everyone at this place is genuinely nice. Folks are just nice to each other. It's almost weird how nice everyone is. People want to see other people there succeed. Everyone's successes are celebrated. Everyone truly has a sense of cameraderie and teamwork.

Plus, there's a culture of trust there. My boss trusts me to get my work done. He does not micromanage me and he lets me make mistakes and learn from them. He isn't watching my comings and goings and he lets me work in the style/way that works best for me.

As an example, I had never produced ANY television before I started work there. They hired me to be the online editor. But I now produce the weekly political TV roundtable and have been given lots of latitude to produce other on-air ideas I've had. My first foray into TV producing won a nice award last Spring.

And after a year, when I went to my bosses and told them I needed a more flexible work schedule, they didn't hesitate to give it to me. I am really grateful for that, too.

The station is owned by one of the big five media corporations; some people refer to it as "McNews." I was very wary about working for this corporation. But my experience has been that it's entirely people-oriented. Although I work at a station in Tennessee, I am on a first-name basis with the corporation's major news execs who are headquartered in Wash D.C..

Yeah, I'm gushing. But I have a couple of friends out of work right now and I just feel really lucky to have this job. Today was our annual work holiday party and it was actually a great deal of fun and made me appreciate my coworkers and workplace all the more.

I am always happy to get up and go to work in the morning. 99% of the time, I actually look fwd to being there.

I will now end my job love letter and return to our regularly scheduled programming.