Why Surfers Skip Work
Never hire a surfer. Just don’t do it. You see, surfers will skip work. It’s going to happen. We might be good at first, punctual and reliable, but trust me, it won’t last forever. If you hire a surfer, you will, at some point, regret it.
Surfers will skip work.
Matthew Bromley surfing in a suit Photo credit: Ant Fox
To my potential employers, please understand me, surfers are great workers. Surfers are great workers when it’s raining. Surfers are great workers when the winds are coming from the wrong direction, and everything is blown out. Surfers are great workers when the ocean is flat, calm, and resembles a lake. That is when you will hire a surfer. But don’t hire a surfer.
Surfers will skip work. Let me explain.
Surfing is an intense hobby because it is extremely addicting, and you can’t always do it. Surfing is not like other sports that you play on a field, court, or in a gym. Luckily with the rise in wave pools around the world, this may be changing soon. However, these waves pools are still few and far between. And the chance that you live within driving distance of a wave pool is still slim.
Photo credit: Sebastián León Prado
So, that leaves the ocean. But surfing in the ocean is reliant on natural conditions. Surfers rely on the size of a swell, the winds, and the changing tides. Nature is not always kind to surfers. Sometimes surfers go weeks without being able to surf a good wave. Sometimes the ocean is just too calm. When the ocean is calm, there is nothing for a surfer to do, but wait.
This can be painful. We’re addicted to the waves. We’re addicted to the feeling that only a surfer knows. It can be so frustrating to be waiting for waves for weeks, only to miss that swell.
So, we don’t.
When that swell comes in, we are ready and waiting. We were tracking it in all the free time we had while waiting for it to show up. The board is out, the leash is on, and we are ready to surf when the time comes. Nothing and no one will stand in our way of that wave.
Photo credit: Mark Broadhead
The problem lies with those pesky little things called ‘JOBS’. You know that thing that helps you pay your bills and put food on the table. Yes, jobs are important. Surfers sometimes forget that.
There is a good chance that when the waves are good, we’ll be calling you with flu-like symptoms. When the conditions are good for surfing, we won’t be coming to work. We’ll take a sick day or vacation day or, frankly, we will say anything to get out of work and in the water. Those lucky people who can set their own schedules at work will schedule their days off based on the surf forecast. See, there are ways to work and surf at the same time!
But, don’t hire a surfer. Surfers skip work.
If you’re a surfer working a 9-5 in an office, my heart breaks for you. Luckily with the rise of working from home, people are often offered more freedom in their work hours.
This undeniable influence that the waves have on surfers is another reason why it’s difficult to be a non-surfer dating a surfer. When the surf’s good, we’re gone. This could mean having to reschedule that barbecue or movie date, or even just flat-out missing stuff. When the conditions are good for surfing, there is nothing else more important than going surfing.
Photo credit: Terrell Woods
So other obligations (yes, even jobs) tend to take a back seat when it comes to surfing. A non-surfer may see this as irresponsible and foolish. Employers will probably not understand why you need a Wednesday afternoon off because that’s when the swell is scheduled to be the best. But a surfer knows. They know the feeling of the surf, and they know how hard it is to not be able to experience that feeling.
Surfers cannot always surf. That is their tragedy.
Are you a beginner surfer looking to level up? Check out the Jamie O’Brien Surf App here for anytime, anywhere surf coaching.
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