There's a reason postal workers are often associated with trudging through
rain, sleet and hail.
"As a letter carrier, weather is probably the biggest challenge," admits
Matt Charlton. And he should know. As a letter carrier, Charlton runs into
some pretty nasty days.
"It is a great job on those nice sunny days, but a heat wave can take the
bounce out of your step. Likewise, trudging through a foot of wet snow for
several hours, and well past sunset, can certainly make you reconsider the
idea of working outside."
But when he's not actually working through them, Charlton realizes that
those nasty days are in the minority.
"Generally, it is great to be outside, in the fresh air, by yourself, working
at your own pace," he says. "You have the opportunity to build relationships
with your customers (and their dogs) and while the job is overall fairly repetitive,
there are always things that shake up the routine on a daily basis."
It's hard to imagine what kinds of things can shake up the routine of a
letter carrier. But Charlton is able to quickly provide multiple examples.
"Getting a smile from a grandmother who is receiving a birthday card from
a child is a winner."
Charlton also points out that letter carriers are able to act as security
guards of sorts for the neighborhood they get to know well. He helped save
an elderly shut-in who was not picking up the mail from his mailbox. Because
of that subtle clue, Charlton called the police. They found the man very ill
on the floor. He had been there, unable to call for help, for two days. He's
also helped break up a couple of mail frauds.
Besides the personal rewards he gets from moments such as those, Charlton
appreciates other aspects of his work. As a competitive athlete in the sport
of freediving, Charlton is able to make a decent living while enjoying his
work but leaving it behind at the end of each day.
"I enjoy the fresh air and the physicality of the work," he says. "As an
athlete competing internationally, I count the delivery portion of my job
as part of my training. I like the independence of the work.
"I also enjoy knowing that when I drop the mail into the last box on my
route, I have nothing more to think about regarding work. I don't have to
bring any home (in fact, bringing work home with you is cause for dismissal!).
So while there may be some stress during the workday, I can leave it on the
route or at the depot. It never follows me home."
But that doesn't mean that Charlton's work doesn't matter to him. In fact,
he takes a great deal of pride and satisfaction in what he does, despite some
drawbacks.
"The dog bites do get old after a while (yes, dogs bite carriers) but overall,
the work is pretty satisfying," Charlton says. "It may take some time to get
a full-time position and then some more time before you get a nice walk of
your own, but once a walk is yours, you have a real opportunity to have a
direct impact on the quality of life of your customers."
Charlton admits that there might be many unhappy postal workers. But there
are also unhappy people in every other profession. "It is cliche, but you
get out of it what you put into it," he says.
He also contributes more to society than most people realize. Our mail
service is one of those things that we tend to take for granted. Until, of
course, that service breaks down. Then we realize how important mail is to
our daily lives.
"Communication is vital to all of us and the mail is but one form of that
communication," Charlton says. "But it is a very important one. Mail itself
is not changing the world but it is allowing the world to change. The services
we provide (of which there are well over 100) allow people to do business,
exchange ideas, trade goods, and build commerce and relationships.
"We move the world, one letter at a time."