Oh,
life at work can be either interesting, inspiring or challenging.
I
remember my former manager in my former job saying:
“Whether one likes it or
not, Chona, the work atmosphere can affect one’s daily life greatly. One works around 35-40 hours a week. Although we tell ourselves that family and life oustide work is most important; our life in our workplace is vital, as
we spend most of our waking hours at work!
Thereby concluding that creating a healthy working relationship with
everyone at work and creating a very good work atmosphere is essential. Or else, we’ll get so stressed that we carry
that work burden to our dear loved ones at home.”
I
totally agree with Ms. Lisa Chan!
And
Ms. Chan continued: “That is why as a manager, I am very keen on each of my
staff’s work relationship with each other – more keen than their eloquence, their degrees,
qualifications, IQ level.
I do not tolerate rudeness and impoliteness.”
I
have not paid attention to my chats with Ms. Chan before as I thought she was
just giving her pep talks. Hey, I have
always been branded as ‘the most pleasant person to work with’, anyways!
Not
until now.
I am
not going into details, but there has been challenges in my workplace
lately. Needless to say, I will not even
say that I am right and the other is wrong – as I know that it takes two to
tango.
Neither am I going into that overused phrase: “You’ll need to understand her/him more as he/she is really very old.” Or, “You’ll have to be the bigger person as he/she is very young and immature.”
Hence,
my realisation to take up Lesson 101 on emotional intelligence and do my fair
share in creating a very good working atmosphere in the workplace.
I truly believe with all my heart
that EQ knows no age. Experience does
play a role, but hey, so does inexperience and upbringing! I have met young people with superb
characters and soft skills! So I really
cannot blame it with generation gaps.
So here
goes introspection number 1 – How do I respond to the different personalities
in the office?
I can
see much diversity in my workplace: in
race, language and generation. I have
not seen any issue in the first two diversities. Only with the third.
We
have a handful of baby boomers, more of generation X and an increasing number
of millennials.
I
belong to Generation X and have had extensive experience in working with
them. Working with baby boomers is like
working with my parents, which can be challenging but certainly
doable.
Now
with the millennials is an entirely new thing. Or should I say, with a millennial. Because as I mentioned before, I have seen
other millennial co-workers, and they seem to be just fine.
Someone
sent me a video about the millennials and how difficult they are to be
managed. But here’s the thing, I believe
that all generations need to learn how to work with each other, regardless of
the difference in style. All it needs is
mutual respect, the ability to work as a team and the willingness to learn
from each other.
Bottomline: be respectful and be courteous with each
other. Give credit to those where credit
is due - do not own all the glory for
yourself and while you let the other do the hard work for you.
That
being said, and one may read between the lines(!), I have drawn wisdom and strength from the Scriptures and from
teachers of our present time.
The Bible says in
Colossians 3:12: “Therefore, as God’s
chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion,
kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
Wayne Dyer
said: “When you have a choice whether to
be right or to be kind, choose to be kind.”
Lao Tzu said: “Because he doesn’t display himself, people
can see his light. Because he has
nothing to prove, people can trust his words.
Because he has no goal in mind, everything he does succeeds.”
This
does not mean that I 'd be less productive.
I will do everything for the glory of my Creator, the One whom I'd be answering to, anyways, when my end comes.
I will be alright and I will
be safe.
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