Labor Day

Labor Day might be the funniest holiday we have.

Think about it.

We created an entire holiday to celebrate work… and the traditional way to celebrate it is by not working.

That is brilliant.

We honor all the people who wake up early, stay late, build things, fix things, carry things, sell things, organize things, clean things, teach things, and generally keep the world moving.

And how do we thank them?

“Great job! Now please sit down.”

No emails. No meetings. No alarm clock if you are lucky. Find a comfortable chair, put something on the barbecue, and try not to accomplish anything important.

There is something wonderfully strange about that.

Most holidays at least try to match their names.

On Thanksgiving, we give thanks. Well… first we eat far too much, and then we give thanks while wondering why we took that second piece of pie.

On Independence Day, there are flags and fireworks.

On Christmas, there are Christmas trees, presents, lights, and at least one person asking where the tape went.

But Labor Day?

Labor Day seems to have only one important rule:

Please avoid labor.

If you see someone mowing the lawn, painting the fence, answering work emails, or carrying a toolbox, you almost want to walk over and remind them what day it is.

“Excuse me. Put that down. You’re ruining the holiday.”

Instead, we celebrate work by sleeping a little longer. We sit outside. We barbecue. We visit friends. We take a nap on the couch and somehow convince ourselves that doing absolutely nothing is exactly what the holiday requires.

And technically, we are celebrating correctly.

Of course, someone still has to cook those burgers.

This creates another Labor Day problem.

There is always one person standing beside the barbecue doing actual labor while everyone else sits comfortably nearby offering extremely useful advice.

“Don’t flip it yet.”

“I think that one is burning.”

“Did you put cheese on mine?”

“Are the hot dogs ready?”

Nothing says appreciation for hard work quite like watching someone else work while holding a cold drink.

Then there is shopping.

Labor Day sales have somehow become another tradition. We celebrate workers by going shopping because apparently nothing says “thank you for your contribution to society” like 30 percent off patio furniture.

And that leads to the biggest irony of all.

Many people don’t get Labor Day off.

While some of us are enjoying a long weekend, plenty of people are still working. Restaurants are open. Some stores are open. Hotels are running. Hospitals certainly don’t close. People are making coffee, preparing food, stocking shelves, driving buses, helping customers, cleaning spaces, and doing countless other jobs.

Some of them may even be working harder because everyone else has the day off.

Imagine that.

“Happy Labor Day!”

“Thank you.”

“Now could you please make me a burger?”

There is something almost perfectly human about the whole thing.

We work hard enough to create a holiday celebrating work, and then decide that the highest possible honor we can give work is to temporarily stop doing it.

Maybe, though, that isn’t such a contradiction.

Perhaps Labor Day quietly reminds us of something we often forget during the rest of the year: rest is part of work too.

We are very good at measuring productivity. We count hours, deadlines, tasks, projects, sales, appointments, emails, and everything else we manage to squeeze into a day.

But nobody gives us an award for sitting in the backyard for an hour doing absolutely nothing.

Maybe they should.

Because humans aren’t machines. We cannot keep going forever without stopping. Even the hardest-working person needs a day when the alarm clock stays silent and the biggest decision is whether to have another burger.

So perhaps Labor Day makes perfect sense after all.

We celebrate work by resting because rest is the reward for work.

We celebrate the people who keep everything moving by giving at least some of them permission to stop moving.

And for those who still have to work today, perhaps the rest of us should remember to be a little more patient, a little more grateful, and maybe leave a better tip.

As for everyone lucky enough to have the day off, please respect this important holiday tradition.

Close the laptop.

Ignore the inbox.

Leave that project until tomorrow.

Find a comfortable chair.

Eat something you probably shouldn’t.

And if someone asks why you’re lying on the couch in the middle of the afternoon doing absolutely nothing, don’t call it laziness.

It’s Labor Day.

You’re celebrating.

GK