Why I work where I do

When I first moved to St. George in 2006 I found a job working in the front office for a local dentist. I liked it there. I thought I was doing a good job, and was told I was doing a great job. And then, after 4 months, I got fired. No warning. Nada. To this day, I don't know why. So I went on unemployment and started looking for work. Again.

My vehicle of choice for job hunting is the Utah Job Service web site. One day I got a call from an employer who's ad had not interested me. Apparently at Job Service's website, employers can see who clicked on their ad and read their resumes. Who Knew?

The job was for a chiropractic office putting heat and muscle stimulation on the patients. Since they'd called me I felt that I needed to go ahead and apply to keep good faith with the state agency paying my unemployment benefits.

The manager wanted me to come down right then, if possible. I was in jeans, doing housework. Told her I needed time to clean up and she said not to worry about that, just come on down. So down I went. Had a pleasant interview. Came away pretty sure I was going to get this job and pretty dang sure I didn't want it. Yup. She called the next day and the job was mine. I figured, what the heck, I'll take the job and earn a few bucks while I look for something I actually want to do.

I've been with Gunn Chiropractic for 2 1/2 years now. Here's the thing. The people who work in this office are the best. Dr Gunn, Josh, is the kind of boss you all want, but probably don't have. He treats us well. He trusts us to do our jobs so he steps back and lets us do them. No nagging, no badgering. And he's a genuinely nice person. Treats his patients' physical needs and listens to their emotional ones. And jokes around with us. My kind of boss.

Our office manager, Nancy, is one of the kindest souls I have ever known. She would give me the shirt off her back if I needed it. And go without herself. She is a world-class listener. The patients, and those of us who work with her, know that she genuinely cares about our problems - and would fix them if it were in her power to do so.

Hannah, who now does patient care while I do insurance billing, is nothing short of amazing. She has this knack of making whichever patient she is with feel like they are the single-most important person on the planet. They adore her. Me too, Me too! I don't think Hannah knows how to complain about anything. Nice is not a nice enough word.

We four are of four different generations. And yet, somehow, it really seems to work. I think our patients recieve top-notch care on every level. We are an old-fashioned, extra-mile, type of outfit. We take our jobs seriously and try to do them well. We work hard but we have so much fun while we're doing it, it is not uncommon to laugh until we hurt.

So, officially, my job is insurance billing. Insurance companies are of the Devil. They exist to aggravate me, I know they do. I cannot say that I love the job that I do. But I can say that I love the people I do it with so much that I can't imagine working anywhere else.