Roberto is 40 years old and lives in Rome with his mother. His father died some years ago. He has two married sisters.
He has worked for several years at a company that provides cafeteria services to various government agencies and large private businesses. He gets up very early every day, and to reach work he takes two buses and the subway.
I meet him one afternoon at a beautiful celebration—a wedding of two friends from the group. In a quiet room, away from the festive cheer of the others. Roberto talks about his work.
I'm not sure what I can extract from his answers once they're written down. Certainly less than what I understood listening to him speak in a voice always calm and almost self-effacing, yet full of nuance and inflection—all the more eloquent for being the expression of an innate authenticity—that enriched his account with everything his words could only hint at.
Above all, one would need to see Roberto come home tired in the evening, having done his hard day's work, certainly never having seriously thought he could escape it.
His attitude of serene and unconditional acceptance of what remains, nonetheless, a difficult but beautiful reality of our lives—I believe it is, first and foremost, a true lesson for everyone who has known him.
What schooling did you have, Roberto?
Until fifth grade. Then I did third year middle school.
How did you get the job you have now?
As a person with a civil disability.
Was it hard to get?
No, I waited until they called me. I went every Wednesday to punch the clock.
Were you happy when they told you that you had the job?
Yes, very happy.
Can you describe your work a bit?
I work at the cafeteria, where we move the trays...where we move the trays around, it's basically a self-service place.
And what exactly do you do at work?
When I arrive in the morning, I put napkins on the glass bar. I put three rows of napkins—first I put one row, then I put two, then I put another one on top. The same on the other side.
Then I go put the oil bottles on the tables, at the cafeteria. I finish that around 11. Then I have breakfast.
After breakfast?
I go down to the dishwashers. There, I start putting plates in the machine...until around 2. Then I go unload the carts. I unload one, then I go take out the trash. By 3 I'm done. I take off my work clothes, put on the ones I came to work in, and go home.
What do you wear for work?
A jacket, a shirt, a pair of pants, and a hat.
Do you like putting it on?
Yes, I like it, that way I don't get so dirty. Only my white shirt and my apron get dirty.
Who comes to eat at the cafeteria?
People from Enel.
Do you talk with them?
No, I never talk to them, because I'm always downstairs. I only see them when they come to eat. I only know the security guards at Enel.
Do they greet you and what do you say to them?
I say good morning, good evening, and I leave.
How do you get along with your coworkers?
Well.
Do you have any friends among them?
Yes. I have plenty...ah, the Tuscan!
And why is he your friend?
Because I'm always joking with him. When I'm doing something, he tickles me. Then I do it back to him, and he does it to me, and I do it back to him, and then his wife complains....
Have your other coworkers ever made fun of you?
Yes. Some of them.
What do they say?
That I need to hurry up.
And you?
That if I go slowly I do things right. Because I can't go fast, or everything falls out of my hands. I can't go fast.
When your coworkers do that, do you find them annoying?
Well, a little bit.
For you, is work overall something good or something you have to do to live?
No, I like to work. Without work I can't stay, because otherwise I fall asleep doing nothing. And anyway, where would I go? I'm just at home and I don't have any friends.
Do you remember any funny episodes at work?
Plastic glasses fall to the floor and they don't break so I put them back. Many times I have to set out cheese around 11 and then I forget everything: to put out the spoons, to put out the oil.
What's the best thing about your work?
The best thing—I don't know.
And the worst thing?
That the director comes once a week.
Would you like to do a different job?
Yes, washing cars.
Would you like to wash cars all day?
Yes. When it rains you stay home, but there at the cafeteria you work even when it rains. And you don't see the water coming down.
Does it happen that you stay home because you're sick?
Yes, it has happened.
And do you like it?
The first day I like it. The second day I'm already bored.
Was there a time when working became a big problem for you—when you'd wake up in the morning and think: God, I have to go to work?
Every day.
So work is in some ways a good thing and in some ways a hard thing...?
It's really hard, it is.
But despite that you like it...
Yes, because it tires me out.
For you it's good to be tired...
Yes, because what do I do at home? I'm just bored. And I don't do anything.
- Francesco Bertolini, 1991