Whose Week Is It, Anyway?

When National Zookeeper Week rolls around, as it does every year at this time, a zoo or aquarium often has two choices with how to proceed.  Is it a week for the zoo? Or for the keepers?  Some zoos take the opportunity to really put out lots of content to celebrate the work that the zoo does - keeper talks, behind-the-scenes videos, camps, you name it.  At other zoos, it's more a special party week for keepers (as long as regular work gets done) - prizes, treats, special recognition.  

I used to work at a facility that was very strongly geared towards option 2.  The director refused to do anything extra for the week that would make more work for us.  Instead, we had cake and ice cream and pizza until we were all fat and happy and borderline diabetic.  Now, I work at a place that's a little more biased towards option 1.  There are still some treats and fun games (during lunch or after hours), but management really hammers the message that the week is about recognizing keepers in the general, rather than the specific.

At some zoos, the festivities are extended to appreciation for the entire staff, which makes some keepers bristle at what they see as the dilution of "their" week.   Some get especially offended if the week also includes a celebration of management - even if, as is often the case, management of the animal department consists of people who still get their hands dirty and do animal care on a somewhat regularly basis.  At others, especially small facilities where everyone wears a lot of hats, there's more of a recognition that everyone in one team and should be celebrated accordingly.  

In recent years, as workers everywhere - including zoos - have become more vocal about the need for higher salaries, better conditions, healthier staff dynamics, etc, other keepers have felt that a week of treats as appreciation doesn't go far enough to making the kind of work environment that staff should be striving towards.

I try not to stress about it too much.  All I've really expected out of National Zookeeper Week is some ice cream and pizza.  When you set expectations like that, you'll never be disappointed.