Does your work environment reflect your personal values?
Suppose you read this question and answer, “No,” run as far away from that job as possible. Most businesses or companies put on the facade and spread the fallacy of caring and creating a ‘family’ environment to settle one’s mind when joining the team. Sometimes, it is easy to sniff out because it wreaks of, well, bullshit, and other times it is more complex because you are dealing with sociopathic tendencies. It is essential to surround yourself with the values you seek and acknowledge in life because it allows your mind, body, and spirit to grow.
The service industry is a cut-throat environment that undoubtedly tests the balance of a person’s physical and mental willpower. This has certainly been the case for me as I have found myself in positions where integrity and incompetence seemed to have overlapped, and incompetence always tends to thin my patience. When I look at myself, there are four things I always want to come to mind: integrity, respect, responsibility, and compassion. It would be a disservice if my workplace does not share these values. Granted, I am here to make money and help build a business, but I must get out if I know I will not be supported and there is a lack of action in any of those four values. No amount of money can buy peace of mind and happiness for anyone. Reread that. Double it. Give it to the next person.
I am also my most prominent critic, not due to negativity but because of passion. A suitable environment would be filled with like-minded individuals who are just as passionate or willing to be as passionate because it translates on the floor into work ethic. A strong ethic and desire to improve the quality of work impacts everyone in that vicinity. If you find that your job needs more initiative, be the motivation. Usually, it only takes one person to instill change in others, but sometimes, this does come from the top down, no matter how hard you try.
Assume you are someone who knows their way around the human psyche. You can find the person who oversees the daily operations, have a conversation, and you will have a better understanding of the culture within that business. Ask that person their values and see how genuine of a response you get. Take that information for what it is. Then, see if those values reduce to actions that validate their statement. As candidates, we cannot settle for anything less than purity in our workplace. Always remember, we do not need the workplace; the workplace requires us. The individual creates the business, not the other way around. If business owners could do it all alone, they would; however, they need us. Reread that. Double it. Give it to the next person.
Author’s Note: These thoughts do not reflect the environments of my current employers.
