Homer Simpson is another American middle aged, middle-class male. He has a "do I really have to wake up to go to work again" type of job. Actually, Homer is quite fortunate to have his job. His boss, the filthy rich, coniving, sneeky, and unscrupulous Montgomery Burns, fired him once before. He somehow managed to recoupe a position with the plant as, of all things, a safety inspector (doesn't the picture explain enough?). Like most small towns supported by huge businesses, most folks of Springfield work or are related to someone who works at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. For the Simpsons it's Homer. Does Homer take his job seriously? Why, of course he does! Is he any good at it? Well, we'll let you watch the show for "further investigation."
So how does Homer's job remind us of ourselves and our jobs? Most Americans are currently investing much of their precious lives in a job path that they don't really care for. (Because one doesn't care much about his occupation, it can only be called a job; careers are for people that are happy where they are.) Homer, like many of us (you know who you are), does just enough work at his job to get satisfactory evaluations (evaluations being that he gets to keep the job). His boss is evil, his coworkers are also his friends, and he probably spends too much time on lunch break (and all breaks in general).