I keep on thinking about work. I am in a good place mentally about work at the moment. It can be extremely stressful and demanding at times, but right now, I am coping just fine with that. That’s not always the way. Some weeks, I am so exhausted I come home and curl up wishing that I never ever had to go back there.
Some times, I feel as if I end up doing all the least popular tasks. I don’t mind. I really don’t mind what I do at work. We are all part of a team. I have felt as if some of my teammates were just so stressed and under so much pressure more and more was being left for me to do. I am happy to sort out all the time-consuming, faffy, frustrating tasks and get paperwork finished off so the decks are cleared.
But over time, it has felt as if some of the team began to view it as my job to sort out the rubbishy tasks. I still don’t mind doing those tasks. But what I don’t like the idea is any of the team feeling there is some pecking order and they take on the more “glamourous” tasks. I don’t think anyone is doing it. But I do sometimes notice a spirit of “this is your job and that is my job”, whereas the truth for the most part is that we all need to be able to multi-task and be willing to do whatever is asked of us. Not completing tasks sometimes makes it harder for someone else to come along and work out what we have done and not done and fill in the gaps without a clue.
It’s not really a big issue….it’s just….the way I see it is that we are a team. I don’t believe in individual glory at all. I believe that as a team we work together. All have strengths, all have weaknesses. All are working hard. Some are particularly effective in tasks that mean we meet targets. My boss has sometimes singled me out because of the “results” I obtain in some areas. I feel uncomfortable with that, partly because of having a dislike to personal praise. But partly because I don’t want others to feel discouraged. I don’t want competition amongst the team. I perceive the team as a group of humans, with hearts, that might be close to breaking.
We all have good days and bad days. We all need to be aware that sometimes our colleagues need a little more kindness, or more understanding. When we are tired, we get whingy and start to feel as if the odds are stacked against us, or we are working harder than everyone else.
I don’t know….I just love the people I work with. We have been under so much pressure and so much stress. But for me….I don’t think wages or glory compensate for kindness and love. Some of my colleagues might not see things that way. Some want a lot more than 1% as a reward for all their hard work. Others want to be given praise and verbal appreciation or perhaps promotion. We all want to feel needed. Everyone is needed. We just are different. As a team we are especially amazing. For most of the past year there has been a tremendously supportive spirit amongst the team. I want that to stay. I don’t want anyone to feel undervalued and unappreciated.
That’s one of the reasons why I guess I am happy to take on the rubbishy tasks – because that’s my way of saying to my teammates – you do the work you find more rewarding, I’ll do those annoying tasks no one seems to want to do. I’ll do them because they are part of the work we do as a team. They may be rubbishy….but we have to make sure they are completed as a team. But I am not doing them to win praise for doing rubbishy tasks. I am doing them because we are a team – and I want the team to be happy and enjoy their work. I don’t want anyone to dread coming to work, I don’t want anyone to go home feeling bitter. I want all to know that as a collective – we are really really remarkable – we have been all year.
Caramel 