I'm a nice philosopher at heart. Already you may see my disadvantage, in the job market. This looked like a nice place so I came around. I am interested in finding employers that haven't fallen into that colossal zeitgeist that is "the business world." I'll be frank right here: I am slow, and I am lazy. I am not eager, but instead relaxed, sometimes anxious. I am not competitive, but instead strongly oriented on cooperation. I don't feel a strong personal sense of responsibility to any company I work for. These aren't things that can be learned, or can change, as I've seen over the past 6 years. This temperament has met more than a few disasters since the employers I've found were all looking for a single kind of person: a single way of thinking, and a predictable behavior, and that way is not mine.
To say all my aspects are bad however, and unworthy of ever earning an income is throwing out the baby with the bathwater though. I am slow, and I am careful and persistent, and things get done when I'm around. Just not quickly. If you're someone who has difficulty getting out of the house on time, sometimes slides past whatever deadline was guessed at, but comes to work with the day's solution on the tip of the tongue, you might understand my frustration. Employers I've seen value time more than they value worthwhile contributions.
I am lazy, but what is lazy? Is it really a bad thing to seek the most efficient and the easiest way of living? Despite what the Protestants say, hard work isn't its own reward. In my laziness I am excellent at finding new ways to do things that are much easier and more productive than what was labor intensive and traditional.
All employers are seeking eager employees, employees who jump into the fray without a whistle or a wink, and always answer yes to the question of can you do more work? However, those people tend to be neurotic, and have a hard time judging since they inherently don't know when to stop. I'm the whole grain rice to the quickie employee who's a fast food milkshake. When things explode into chaos and panic, I can generally remain calm and take a measured approach to the situation. It might not result in the biggest bottom line for you, but nor will I bring down the house in a nervous breakdown on the office floor.
And whatever happened to cooperation? I keep hearing employers seeking independant self motivated individuals who are team players. As much of an oxymoron that seems, both statements share something in common: competition. Even teams exist to oppose other teams, and to outperform other departments, and to crush competitors. I prefer to be in "groups" instead of "teams," and that can work out much better than if you try to infuse your employees with a sense of paranoia and hatred for others that we call competition. When individual, I am excellent there too, but my excellence is no excuse for bad management. That's the first thing that comes to mind when I hear the phrase "self-motivated." It sounds like the people hiring are trying to find workers that they don't have to manage, that they don't have to spell out clear requirements and that they don't have to organize or treat with respect. Too often this has been the case. Yes I'm a loner; yes I work well with groups, but I'm not on a team because there's no winning that concocted game, and I'm not self-motivated if an employer doesn't have anything he or she wants me to be self motivated to do.
...and I don't like working hours without pay. I know the deadline is coming, and the share/stake/stock/bondholders are beating down our door, but if your idea can't be done without killing ourselves to do it, then maybe it's not an idea we should be pursuing. The rats are the first to leave the ship when it sinks, and we could learn a lesson from them. It's okay to fail. It's okay to screw up. Once the fit hits the shan, it's not always 100% the best idea to keep plugging away like a juggarnaut and just assume that sleepless nights and empty pockets will somehow be worth it. As the phrase goes, Horatio Alger must die. Sometimes it's better to give up the battle, and try a different solution. Sometimes it's better to ask that lazy philosopher if they have any ideas how to get this done on time. I'll devote my life to the company, the day they promise their life to mine by saying they'll never take away my job. It has to work both ways.
Posted this on idealist.org, but it seemed like a good journal entry too.`
Comment
Index
Previous
(Sex is a virus)
Next
(Installed a Dishwasher^H^H^HGarbage Disposal)