Labor Day is one of my favorite holidays.

A day off from work, to celebrate the work we do.

For our non-Canadian/American readers (many of you!), Labor Day is celebrated on the first of September, usually with hot dogs and a trip to the beach.

The first “Labour Day” was held in Canada (hence the different spelling of labor) way back in 1872.

This inspired our neighbor to the South, Matthew Maguire, to bring the holiday to the U.S.A. in 1882, but it took 10 years for his attempt to celebrate America’s workers to catch on.

In 1894, Labor Day became a national holiday.

In 1994, Labor Day became a nationally recognized reason to kick back, eat barbecue, and attempt to squeeze your adult sized frame into a child sized blow-up swimming pool! * (See footnote)

In 2014, we will celebrate Labor Day by sharing a whole bunch of links dedicated to improving the way we work.

Let’s start with something beautiful.

“The achievements of workers are important. Our lives are based upon our own work and the great work of others.” Sharlyn Lauby – Click To Tweet

Sharlyn’s quote is a perfect introduction for this beautiful video that tells the story of Chris Merrick, a 34-year firefighting veteran.

See what else Sharlyn has to say on her blog, the HR Bartender.

Most of us will never contribute the way Chris Merrick has, but most of us work hard, and try our best.

Show appreciation for the efforts your employees make on a daily basis with one, or all of these 11 Non-Traditional Ways to Reward Innovative Employees.

How do you explain what you do to other people?

Personally, I avoid saying that I work in social media at all costs because whenever I do… I see you judging me; don’t pretend like you aren’t!

Mihir Patkar has a suggestion that might solve this problem for me:

Answer “What Do You Do?” By Explaining How You Solve Problems.

But that opens-up a whole new can of worms.

What if the way you solve problems is even more awkward to explain than what you do?

If it is, you should probably give Annie Mueller’s article, How to Handle the Conflicting Demands of Your Core Actions, a read.

Annie’s post is full of excellent advice for getting to the core of what you do, and learning to make that the focus of your work.

If all else fails, and you happen to work in HR…

Just carry around a printed out copy of this meme:

Happy laboring, and Link Loving!

* “Fact” entirely made-up by the author. I mean, who has ever needed an excuse to eat barbecue!