This is my fear.

You’re working a job. You’re expected to be working during your shift. If I save you a few moments by returning my cart correctly or stacking carts in the corral, then I’m not actually saving you any time, because all I’ve done is move the next task closer.

The flip side is something like the movie theater floor cleaner: If I throw my popcorn everywhere, then that person has a job. If I’m tidy and don’t make a mess, that job might go away or the staffing for it cut.

My hope is that by reducing the need for the unskilled jobs of cart cowboy or floor sweeper, then we build more skilled people. But I also recognize the need for unskilled jobs because no one starts out with a professional background.

I return my cart because it feels right… but is it?

Same. And I’m being serious here while it could sound sarcastic:

I feel good knowing I saved the cart return guy 15 seconds. His day will not be improved because he still needs to move all the carts; and when that task ends there will be another. I understand this, but I still feel like I made the place better than I found it. Where I am, it’s hot-AF outside right now, so I hope that I’m making the next indoor task sooner and my time is appreciated – but my time is literally like <1 minute, so I know it’s not a lot of anti-entropy.

My math is that, with billions of people on the planet, if even part of us tried to save someone 15 seconds every few days, we could build so much faith in humanity.