Even to this day, postal workers tend to get a lot of flak sometimes when people’s mail is messed up or they don’t get it in the timely manner that they’re expecting. A lot of times people might agree that if something does go wrong with the mail that it’s all the fault of the people working at the post office. But the truth is that being a postal worker isn’t all fun and games, and a lot of times it’s barely even tolerable since they have a huge job to take care of when it comes to circulating the mail in any given town or city and making certain that it all gets to where it’s supposed to go. The fact that there are still myths about postal workers going nuts after having to endure too much at their job isn’t hard to figure out since they do have kind of a thankless job that lends itself to certain abuses when people don’t get their way and want someone to use as a scapegoat. In short, mail carriers and post office workers do have a hard job and while it’s not always given the respect it deserves in the movies, this type of work is definitely worth a little more regard than people give it.
Here are a few things the movies get wrong about being a postal worker.
5. It’s not hard to be a postal worker. Try taking the test, then say that again.
Let’s put it this way, you don’t have to be a neurosurgeon to be a postal worker but you also can’t be a blubbering idiot since one has to be able to perform a wide array of functions when it comes to collecting, sorting, and delivering the mail, along with other tasks that will need to be done. Postal workers in the movies aren’t always looked upon as the brightest individuals but in real life they are fairly smart since they have to be able to keep track of what they’re doing, whose mail they’re delivering, and of course what street they’re on, just to name a few things. So being a high school graduate is usually good enough since the on-the-job experience will come eventually, but a person usually has to be fairly intelligent.
4. Postal workers are nervous around dogs. Has anyone met a postal worker?
It’s possible that a postal carrier will get nervous if they don’t like dogs and happen to come across a big specimen that won’t stop barking. But all in all a lot of dogs might bark because they’re scared, they’re excited, and perhaps they’re even eager to see the carrier. But a lot of individuals that deliver the mail either don’t have to worry that much about this issue, or they learn to get used to the dogs and find ways around them, or just greet the dog since it’s bound to be a daily meeting. Dogs and postal carriers aren’t mortal enemies as has been shown in the past.
3. Postal carriers get to drive around all day. The average postal carrier is going to walk quite a bit.
If a carrier is able to deliver to a communal set of mailboxes then they might not have to walk as much, but in a lot of neighborhoods, a carrier will still have to walk from door to door or mailbox to mailbox in order to deliver the mail. Plus, depending on who orders what, they might be carrying parcels from their trucks to the front door, so they’re having to deal with at least 20 to 30 lbs. of mail as well as whatever you might have ordered online since these days quite a few people order items over the internet, and this tends to add to the weight of the mail that the carriers have to deliver. Plus, post office workers are bound to be up and walking around for a majority of their shift since there’s usually something to be done.
2. Postal carriers are careless with packages. There might be a few, but most carriers will be as careful as they can.
This is a pretty common myth that floats around the USPS, FedEx, UPS, and other services that deal with bigger packages. Typically the only places that are going to be rough with a package, if that even happens, will be the sorting rooms where the items are sectioned off according to their address. Otherwise, most employees that work in these areas are going to be fairly careful with the items and won’t be banging them around on purpose since the reputation of their workplace is important, and too many broken and damaged packages are going to look bad since too many complaints is never a good thing.
1. Being a postal worker is an impersonal job. Nope, a lot of postal workers know quite a few people in their community.
It does depend on how personable each person is, but in smaller towns and cities one can depend on getting to know their local postal carrier and office worker if they keep in contact. In a bigger city, it’s tougher to really get to know your average postal worker, but it’s usually a good idea to be on good terms with them since they might appreciate it and even be a little more productive because of it.
Be kind to a postal worker, their job does matter more than you realize.
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