| ABOUT LEMONADE
by
Michelene Malosh
Dissatisfied at Work? Take a refreshing look at a stale job by "making
lemonade".
You’re feeling underpaid and overworked; unappreciated and overwrought. Your company
has downsized, rightsized or capsized for the umpteenth time. You lost your parking space
and found that your long awaited raise was grounded ("delayed") - again! Your
coworkers are irritating, your boss is agitating, and your work is no longer stimulating.
We’ve all had jobs that started with promise, but ended up making us feel
stressed-out, bored, apathetic, or just plain unhappy. Sometimes the realization that the
job is no longer "working" for us takes 30 days, sometimes 30 years. How do YOU
know if your job and you are no longer compatible? And, what steps do you take toward
PROACTIVELY making changes at your current job, as well as finding a better employer
and/or career match?
Throughout life we occasionally encounter difficult situations due to a variety of
circumstances. When presented with problems and unexpected glitches, we can react in a
variety of ways, including: do nothing (passive), avoidance (escape), do not deal with
problem directly, but rather address in an indirect, sometimes un-constructive way
(passive aggressive), and directly addressing the source of the problem in a realistic and
positive manner (proactive).
When life gives you lemons on the job, what do you do? Do you stew and sulk (passive),
quit without preparation (escape), withdraw emotionally or engage in bad coping, i.e.
overeating, overdrinking (passive-aggressive), or do you realistically assess your current
problem, take responsibility to make any changes that you have control over, and make the
best of a bad situation (proactive). Making the best out of a bad (or ANY) situation is a
key to success in surviving as well as thriving in today’s rapidly changing world of
work. So, when your job has got you down - and - "when life gives you lemons, MAKE
LEMONADE"!
The following are the essential ingredients in workplace lemonade:
L-earn. Often our jobs grow stale, not because of the duties, but our
ATTITUDE toward our work. Through the experiences in our work we can learn new things
about the nature of our business, human nature, and ourselves. We can decide to take an
approach toward our work to try new ways of doing things and to learn new skills. A
well-respected administrator for the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, Bert
Bertolino, is notorious for his trademark - "Today is another day of challenge and
opportunity". Bert’s mindset toward his job involves seeking to learn something
new each day, which creates a freshness to the work, despite the "routines" all
jobs have in varying degrees.
E-arnings. When we are hired in a job, we agree to perform a set of work
activities in exchange for pay. We therefore, have a responsibility to perform the
assigned work, irregardless of our discontent with the various dissatisfying factors
(unless we are asked to do work we are untrained and unqualified for or is illegal).
Again, we should take an attitude check - Are we willing to do the work, because
that’s the reason we are there. We get paid to do the work our employers need and
assign. Period. That’s a bottom line of any job.
M-otivate. What motivates you? Most management theories agree that other
people cannot motivate you; you can only motivate yourself. How do you motivate yourself?
By self awareness and getting in touch with who you are and what you are about.
Identifying and understanding what you want and what you need from a job, employer, and
career are important steps in knowing if you need a change and in what direction.
O-rganziation. Besides income, one of the human needs we satisfy through
our work is the social need for affiliation, belonging. All employees are an important
component of their employer’s "team", formally acknowledged by the company
or not. When we as employees take the proactive attitude of being team members on our
jobs, we find greater satisfaction in all our contributions (small and large). We feel
more "connected" and create greater harmony when we have a helpful, positive
attitude toward our coworkers, bosses and customers.
N-ew perspective. When we are in the middle of events that seem
overwhelming, we lose objectivity and perspective. This leads to nonproductive work and
career pattern, i.e. getting "stuck" (passive). Sometimes we all need to take a
"time out", especially when the stress of our job begins to negatively affect
other areas of our life. Try taking a vacation or even a long weekend to relax and
reflect, talk to a friend (from outside of the office), or seek professional personal or
career counseling. These interventions are most effective when utilized regularly and
proactively, rather than just when there is a problem.
A-ttitude. Our attitude and mindset are our filter toward everything in
life. The foundation ingredient in taking the cards we are dealt in life and making the
best of them (i.e. making lemonade) is thinking and attitude toward what we do, including
your job. When experiencing difficulties at work, the first thing you should check is your
attitude - is it productive, realistic, open? A positive approach toward your job will
allow you to feel better about yourself and your options and will give you added energy to
make changes.
D-ay at a time. In order to have a sense of control in your work and
career, you need to identify goals. This becomes easier when you explore your needs and
wants in a job. Once you identify your long-term goals, you will move toward them more
efficiently when you establish related goals and priorities on a daily basis. If your
current job is unsatisfying and you decide you want to find another job, do you just quit?
This is not usually very practical! Rather, you develop a concurrent strategy: 1) For the
job search, 2) For optimizing each day at the current, and realizing the benefits of
giving good performance while there.
E-mpower yourself. Empowerment is a management buzzword. But for the
individual worker, empowerment means that YOU can choose to take responsibility, to take
action, and to be proactive in your job. If you don’t have the skills or education to
do the work you would like, you have choices, i.e. going to school or getting tutoring.
Just because your current employer does not provide opportunities for you, you can still
weigh the your cost (time, money) and do it on your own. Choices and actions you have in
your work place that you may not think of exercising is communicating your ideas, giving
your boss feedback. |
