I Love My Job

Working for the government certainly has its advantages. The pay is good and the benefits are varied. I get to do what I like to do and people pay me for it. Just recently, I was part of an oral history interview where we interviewed a former staff member who had worked at the archives for 40 years (retiring in 1980). Oh, the stories he told.

A week ago, the 10th Archivist of the United States was sworn in. He arrives at the National Archives with high expectations and many of us look for great things from him in the weeks and months to come.

Some time ago, this article came up in my reader. It offered up the seven best places to work. Perhaps our new Archivist could get a few ideas.

1. Daxko - Birmingham, Alabama - perks include $1500 a year to spend on profession enrichment, a weekly free lunch, and six weeks parental leave.
2. South Mountain Company - Martha's Vineyard - where all healthcare costs are paid by the company.
3. New Belgium Brewing - Fort Collins, Colorado - two free six packs of beer per week. And if that weren't enough, every five years, employees have the opportunity to travel to Belgium to learn more about the beermaking process.
4. Maya Design - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - employees can bring their infants to work, after a six-week fully paid maternity leave.
5. Clark Nuber - Bellevue, Washington - the accounting firm gave out $500 grants to fund local community service projects.
6. Seventh Generation - Burlington, Vermont - fully paid sabbatical program, money for making employee homes green.
7. Badger Mining Corporation - Berlin, Wisconsin - a very progressive benefits package.