Friday, May 1, 2026

The Invisible Workforce Behind Our Comforts

This posting is Dedicated to All the THD Staff whose has touched my Life during my almost three Years here at THD.

Some of the THD Servers and Kitchen Crew-Photo Taken during Lunch Time 4/2926

Kitchen Chef Joel Torres and Assistant, Santiago _Thank you for your delicious meals/dishes

By next month, June, I will have lived three years HERE at THD, an active senior living community that has quietly become more than just a residence-it is a living, breathing ecosystem. Within its walls are about 167 residents, each with their own stories, routines, and expectations. Supporting us is a workforce of roughly 45 employees: servers, kitchen staff, housekeepers, drivers, concierges, maintenance workers, gardeners, and activity coordinators, a general manager and resident services and sales directors. Together, they form the backbone of our daily lives.

The other day, while waiting for my take-out lunch, I witnessed something that stopped me in my tracks, not because it was unusual, but because it was so consistently excellent that I had almost taken it for granted. I wished I took a video.

In what felt like a carefully choreographed dance, the kitchen crew and five servers moved with precision and urgency. Orders came in steadily, yet within 15 to 20 minutes, meals were plated, delivered, and served with professionalism and care. There was no chaos, no visible frustration, just quiet efficiency. It struck me then: this is not accidental. This is the result of experience, teamwork, and dedication.

And yet, it is largely invisible.

The corporate management, based far away in Las Vegas, determines much of what happens here, from staffing decisions to weekly menus. But they do not see this daily ballet. They do not stand in the dining area watching a team pull together under pressure to serve over a hundred residents, three meals a day, six days a week, plus a full Sunday brunch. They do not witness the small moments of kindness, a server remembering a resident’s dietary preference, or a cook adjusting a dish to suit a sensitive palate.

What they see are numbers. Budgets. Reports. Efficiency metrics. Our RENTS

But numbers rarely tell the whole story.

Recently, the sudden departure, perhaps dismissal of a General Manager after employed only for 6 weeks who was well-liked by both staff and residents struck a deep chord within our community. It was a stark reminder of the imbalance between those who experience the daily realities of this place and those who make decisions from afar.

Leadership in a senior living community is not just administrative; it is deeply relational. When that connection is severed abruptly, it sends ripples through both staff morale and resident trust.

This brings me to a broader issue: the high turnover rates in senior living communities.

Across the industry, employee turnover, especially among frontline staff is a persistent challenge. The work is demanding, often underappreciated, and not always compensated in a way that reflects its importance. Long hours, emotional labor, and the physical demands of service can take a toll. When management decisions feel disconnected from on-the-ground realities, it only exacerbates the problem.

High turnover is not just a staffing issue, it is a human issue. For residents, it means constantly adjusting to new faces, new routines, and sometimes a loss of continuity in service. For employees, it can mean instability and a lack of long-term investment in their roles. And for the community as a whole, it erodes the sense of familiarity and trust that is so essential in a place we call home.

What I witnessed that day in the dining area was not just efficiency, it was commitment. It was pride in work. It was a team showing up, day after day, to serve others with dignity.

I only wish those who hold the power to hire and fire could see it too.

Because if they did, perhaps decisions would be made not just with spreadsheets in mind, but with a deeper understanding of the people behind the numbers, the invisible workforce that makes life here not just manageable, but meaningful.

This reminded me of the advice from a former THD employee. David do not get too attached to new employees, because they do not stay long. I should have known better.

Lastly, once again my heartfelt thanks to all the Staff that made my life here at THD a happy one for almost three years next June.

Last night, Jenny and Jimmy came unexpected but very much welcome to my apartment and gave me 3 bottles of bottled water. Later on, Patrick came with 2 jugs of water for flashing my toilet. Thank you Jenny and Jimmy-from the bottom of my heart. Hopefully, our water crisis will end soon.

Personal Note: The other morning, while reading the newspaper (WSJ) in our Fireside Lounge, a 7-month resident told me he was very happy here at THD, in response to my query. He said one of the reasons of his happiness are his fellow residents like me, specifically my daily positive blogs on aging gracefully and other topics. He said, he reads my blog daily, but never makes any written comments. After I heard this comment, I said thank you, but deep within me is an inspiration to continue my blogging activities even in days when I have a hard time waking up because of my chronic leg pains and other aging ailments... I am indeed very grateful for any feedback, positive or negative on any posting you read in my daily blogs. If you are reading this, please drop a short note in the Comments Section of this posting.

Highlights of My Professional Career

In my more than 40 years of professional career, I have experienced both working rank and file, as well as supervising the work of subordinates. I have worked in four private firms and the Federal Government, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where I retired. I enjoyed the challenges and difficulties of both types of job situations. This is the highlights of my work experience story.

My first job after completing my doctorate degree was a Chemist for Chemagro Corporation in Kansas City, Missouri. It was a subsidiary of Bayer Corporation, a German conglomerate. I worked for the analytical chemistry department comprised of about fifty people; half that number was either chemists or biologists. My specific task was to develop analytical methods for the detection of pesticide residues in plant and animal tissues. I worked on my own, similar to six other bench chemists, and we all reported to the same supervisor.

The firm sponsored my visa conversion from a student to a permanent resident, and I was able to legally work and reside in the United States with my family. The company generously took care of its employees. At the end of each successful year, everyone received a 13th month salary bonus. The employees and their families celebrated wonderful annual Christmas parties in a downtown Kansas City hotel, with dancing and free drinks for the whole night.

Inasmuch as I enjoyed and loved working for Chemagro for five years, I found a new job which offered a substantially higher pay. Due to my exemplary work performance, my supervisor preferred and lobbied for me to stay with the company. I had to turn him down because they could not match the package presented by my new employer. It was also a chance for me and my family to move and live in the US west coast, where the mild winter climate is bearable compared to the Midwest.

My next job was at the agricultural research division of Shell Development Company in Modesto, California. I was a Research Chemist, and again I worked individually, same as five other chemists who all reported to a supervisor. My specific duty was similar to my previous job. I worked for them for five years, until the company decided to get out of the pesticide business. They closed their research facility affecting the jobs of more than 200 employees.

My third industrial job was with the agricultural research division of Stauffer chemical company, located in Richmond, California. I was a Senior Research Chemist doing the same project as my two previous jobs. I worked for twelve continuous years for the company, with outstanding annual job performance. I became a Principal Research Chemist, the highest attainable non-supervisory position.

One day in 1986, my supervisor informed me that my job had been eliminated, and I had one day to vacate the facility. It was the most dreadful lay off experience in my life. I felt anger, sadness and humiliation to be dismissed from work with one day notice, after all the years of hard work invested for the company. This was an unforgettable incident and was the gloomiest point in my professional career.
The company terminated sixty research employees, who were upset of the bad news.

One of the chemists was distressed and expressed his outrageous anger by threatening the company and its workers. He told his supervisor of his intention to bomb and burn down the laboratory. He was immediately escorted by the security staff out of the building and into his car. He was informed to leave behind his personal belongings; they will be mailed to his residence. He was warned never to show up again near the company premises or risk getting arrested.

My supervisor was kind and allowed me to take my time to pack up my belongings. It took me two days to clear up my workplace, after toiling for a long period in the same jobsite. We were provided clerical help and office space, in preparation to look for another job, such as updating our resumes, and using the computer and copy machine. We were given six weeks of separation pay plus benefits.

Fortunately, with the help of a friend who is a Church parishioner, I found another job thirty days after leaving Stauffer chemical company. He hired me as a senior research chemist and as a group leader with two technicians to supervise. It was in the same field as my expertise in my previous three jobs spanning the last twenty one years. My new employer was Chevron Chemical Company, and which was located in the same area as my former employer.

This job gave me the introduction and basic knowledge of managing the work of subordinates. I worked for Chevron Company for four and a half years. The company decided to consolidate their research facilities in Texas, and lay off all its research employees. This time I had enough distress and agony from working, and eventually getting laid off from several private companies. To avoid going through any more miserable layoffs, I made a vow that I would never again work for a private company.

In my work experiences, there were noticeable and unavoidable jobsite occurrences. One can never miss the office romantic relationships between co-workers, both illicit and permitted. Though it was frowned upon, there was a boss and staff relationship, which was used as a ploy to get ahead in the company. Some relationships had chemistry, no pun intended, but some never worked out. Oftentimes, there was a sense of distrust among bench chemists for some workers who unjustly obtained preferred work assignments.

Some employees resorted to bribing superiors to get special privileges, such as being able to attend choice conferences and meetings in exciting venues or locations. Likewise, politics was always present at the worksites. It was during an era when various forms of harassment, equal opportunity and discrimination laws were not yet enforced in the workplace. Occasionally, an unexpected chemical explosion happens in a laboratory setting, where luckily no one got seriously hurt.

In the three private companies I worked for, I was able to publish scientific journals for some of the research studies and analytical methods which I developed for the respective companies of Chemagro, Shell Development and Stauffer.

After deciding and making a vow to avoid working in the private sector, I made my new goal which was either to work for the state of California, or the Federal government in Washington, D.C. Four months after I lost my job in Chevron, I was lucky and joyful to be hired by the Food and Drug Administration as a review chemist in the fall of 1990.

In 1994 I was promoted as an Expert Research Chemist with a GS-14 rating. My expertise was on Anti-malarial and Anti-parasitic drug products. In 1997, I was again deservingly promoted to Chemistry team leader, supervising the work of six Chemistry reviewers including five with doctorate degrees.

As team leader, I was responsible for prioritizing, assigning, and assuring the technical accuracy of all chemistry, manufacturing and control issues for all new drug applications submitted to the Division of Anti-Infective Drug Products, Center of New Drugs.

It was part of my responsibility to give advice, instruct and promote high morale and teamwork in my group. My work in the FDA is confidential, until the drug patent on the products I worked on has expired. There are manufacturing supplements that I have approved that are now open for the public in the Internet.

In 1998, I won the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Award. The citation reads, “For outstanding accomplishments in fostering the objectives of the EEO Program by hiring minorities and encouraging their professional growth while providing excellent leadership.” I have received numerous certificates of appreciation, awards in leadership and communications, commendation for teamwork and excellence in the accomplishment of the FDA mission. I have also received several letters of appreciation from private industry for my review work.

There are many good things working as rank and file while enjoying doing one’s job individually. It is a humbling, satisfying and productive experience, if one can work in harmony with one’s immediate supervisor. Working individually develops one’s skills in goal setting and scheduling. But in general, the financial rewards are less than a person who has supervisory responsibilities.

Managing the work of others has its challenges. Moreover, it develops one’s skill in handling and developing people, and the compensation rewards and benefits are better. Due to additional duties, responsibilities and leadership, supervisory work can be more stressful than working as a subordinate. However, supervisory jobs give one more personal growth and satisfaction, based on my personal experience. My work in FDA as a team leader managing the work of six scientists had been the happiest and rewarding work experience in my career in Chemistry. You might also like:

Friday, May 1, 2026

The Invisible Workforce Behind Our Comforts

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