Jobs can mean a lot more to us than a way to pay our bills.

They can offer us an identity, social status, cohorts, challenges, and connections to the community.

Theyre almost too powerful, rocking our lives, whether we have just secured one, with hefty pay and responsibilities, or we have just lost one.

Whether we earn mere pennies or millions it is essential that we respect what we do.

One of my professors, the late Peter F. Drucker, said: We wont do well in areas that we dont respect.

Lets say your job is telemarketing. You cold call for a living, reaching out to strangers, asking them to buy goods and services that they wouldnt have considered, otherwise.

Youre one of millions of people around the world who work in this capacity, and you help your company to be profitable. Additionally, your productivity directly and indirectly stimulates the economy, providing employment for others.

Yet, when you go to a party or tell acquaintances what you do, they cringe and ask in an embarrassing voice, How can you do that? or Are you one of those people who bothers us at dinnertime?

How can you maintain your self-respect and perform in a job that is held in such low regard?

Its tough, but essential that you do. Here are some things you need to remind yourself of:

(1) All work, if its honest, deserves respect.

(2) The social status we assign to jobs is arbitrary.

(3) People who criticize the work of others are rude and are fools.

(4) The biggest rewards go to those who do what others either cannot do well, or dont want to do.

(5) A job is what you do, not who you are.

Keep these things in mind then next time you hassle yourself about what you do, or some lout does that to you.