SpongeBob, as all cartoon characters do, gets into a lot of weird and awkward situations.  Including having a rival with his neighbor and fellow Krusty Krab employee Squidward.  Squidward despises SpongeBob.  Squidward is your typical, worldly person.  He knows more than most (or so he thinks).  He believes that it’s only a matter of time before his greatness (clarinet playing) will be discovered and he’ll be a famous musician.  That’s why he hates his job at the Krusty Krab – because it’s demeaning to him.  He views the job as blocking his potential.

SpongeBob on the other hand loves his work.  He simply wants to be a fry cook.

This creates a great dynamic.  On the one hand you have an energetic, enthusiastic, job-loving fry cook squaring off against a miserable, self-centered, cynical cashier.  As you can imagine, Squidward is not amused by Spongebob.

But what really drives Squidward’s resentment of SpongeBob?  Well I think it’s because SpongeBob could be the (un)official mascot of Meaning to Work.  In other words, SpongeBob brings his meaning to his job better than pretty much anyone else on TV.  He’s the anti-Homer Simpson.  And because of it, SpongeBob loves his work.

Squidward on the other hand is looking for meaning in his job, his clarinet playing, and his recognition.  It’s no wonder that at the end of an episode Squidward is disappointed.  He’s looking for something that will never happen.

How many of us are Squidward?

The lesson from SpongeBob isn’t that you should quit your job and become a frycook.  It’s not even that living in a pineapple under the sea is all that great.  The true lesson from SpongeBob is that even the worst jobs can be rewarding if you’re willing to bring meaning to your work.