Rethinking Your Work

Earlier this week, I was grocery shopping at Sobeys (IGA) and had an unusual retail experience.  The service was extraordinary!  I keep reliving the incident and feeling good about employees feeling good about their work. Let me tell you the story.

Every once in a while, I decide to be adventurous and try something new.  On this particular day, I was drawn to a new fruit – quince.  It was bright yellow and looked like the larger half of a pear. Not sure about the taste, when it was ready to eat, or how to prepare it, I asked the man restocking the bins. (I am sorry that I didn’t ask his name, but I will call him Tony.) Tony had no idea. But he thought another employee would know so set out to find him.

Tony came back shortly; the employee in-the-know wasn’t available, but a colleague in the back thought a quince was a cross between a pear and apple, just a little tarter and a drier. I decided to give it a try and continued on with my shopping.  

About ten minutes later, Tony found me at the other end of the store. He thought that he (and his colleagues in the back) should have first-hand knowledge about this fruit so cut one open. He also thought that I might like to taste it before buying, so came looking for me. Wow!

When is the last time you remember getting service like that? I couldn’t get Tony out of my mind. Or how good it felt as a customer. When we see our work as an act of service, how we think about and do our work changes. We are clear that our work is about the customer, client, patient, student, etc. and not about us.  I don’t know if Tony consciously thought about this, but his actions were a definite demonstration.  It was obvious that he was an engaged employee.

I wasn’t the only one who benefited from this interaction. We have learned that deeper meaning and fulfillment comes from service. The more we serve, the more fulfilled we are. How might you serve others through your work?  What would it take? Start rethinking your work today for a happier and more fulfilling tomorrow.

In our last blog, we talked about helping employees see their work as a noble calling. And how that would help them to feel better about their work and, at the same time, reduce absenteeism. All work matters and all work makes a contribution. When we begin to rethink our work and see it as being important, how we do our work and how we feel about our work changes.

It is not so much about what we do, but how we do it and how we think about our work. Serving others is the path to deeper meaning and fulfillment and spirit at work. We fulfill our deeper purpose by serving — serving others or serving a cause. It is through service that we make a contribution, and that is where meaning and fulfillment come from. As the saying goes, “It is through giving that we receive.”

Shelia’s story demonstrates this well.

Sheila was a graduate coordinator at a university. Among other responsibilities, she fulfilled the role of counselor to students. She dealt with students who ran out of money before their next loan was available, got kicked out of their apartment or ran out of food. Rather than be annoyed with the students, Sheila welcomed them. In fact, she looked forward to helping them. That was her job and she was there to serve. Sheila felt good about being able to help the students solve their problems. She took pride in helping them achieve their goals and was often invited to their graduation ceremonies. She knew she was making a difference. Sheila was very clear about her purpose — to serve.

Sheila’s experience was different than her colleague’s experience. Although they did the same work, Sheila had spirit at work; her colleague was struggling with burnout. What do you think was different? Sheila’s co worker was frustrated with the students and their lack of responsibility. She saw their visits as an interruption to her work rather than as a part of her job. She couldn’t believe that these students could be so irresponsible and working with them took a toll.

Often it is just a matter of our attitude and thoughts, because the work we are doing is already about service. This is the case for many employees and especially for those in the public sector and helping professions. However, if we do not see how we are serving others and do not take time to feel good about serving them, we lose most of the benefits. As did Sheila’s colleague.

What would change if you saw your work as an act of service? What would you do differently? How would it feel to see your work as a noble calling? Start to rethink your work today.