Another day another dollar at the day job. I feel like the “norm”
in my work place, and many others, in this current economic climate is to
complain about work and the conditions we work for. I will not. There are
definitely things I would love to improve at my workplace (most notably, I need
more digits on my pay checks!) but I’ve been thinking lately about all the
non-monetary things that make this job so great to me.
I work around 45 hours per week. And I commute 1 hour each
way to get to this office. I have to pay for daycare for a 1 year old and some
before school care for a 6 year old. The
first 16 hours of my work week cover the “expenses” of me getting here to work.
I won’t begin bringing my lunches and health insurance costs into this – my husband
does work so it’s not like I am completely solo here.
Nonetheless, it’s depressing when I look at it like that.
Especially when I think of how long I am away from my home and how badly I long
to take care of my children, house, and husband better. Just because I want to
dominate the working world does not mean I don’t want to be a domestic goddess
as well, after all. I also know, thanks to the number of working moms available
to commiserate with in the world, that I am not alone in this.
I urge us all to stop for a moment and look around though.
Times are tough. We all want more money and I promise you our companies do too.
Maybe they’d share if they got it, maybe they wouldn’t; but there are very few
companies that are bringing in what they feel they “should”. They’re in the
same boat as us. What we need to lean on now is the “personal paycheck” and not
the paper one.
On my birthday, cupcakes and a card appeared on my desk.
Signed by everyone in the office and some emails from off-site accounts poured
in also. I did not tell anyone it was my birthday, I do not make it a habit to “friend”
co-workers on social sites (I DO need vent some!), but my company posts our
birthdays every month to keep us all engaged. When my children are sick, my
office set me up with a remote desk top so I can work from home to preserve
personal days and vacation time. They could tell me I’m on my own, deal with it.
My schedule right now is varied for allergy treatments for my son – not only
does the boss let me have the time but he checks in from time to time to see
how the treatments are going. My boss and co-workers know my husband’s name, my
children, and some of the big things happening. They ask for updates and offer
support. My son sold over $300 for his school fundraiser in this office. I did
no selling, I just set the form on my desk and they passed it around. He got the
prize he wanted :)
They rolled out a new recognition system that’s like
Facebook. We can post “good job” notes on people’s walls. The grumbling has
already started about the low pay and wanting more tangible goods but I guess I
do not agree. Would a key chain make the work place better? No. But the hot
cocoa, Dunkin Donuts coffee, teas, and other drinks we’re granted do. Would
another 15 cents an hour really make me happier? Honestly, I probably wouldn’t
even notice it. But when I worked late one night during a snow storm and the VP
of Operations brushed my car off in the cold and dark so I wouldn’t have to –
that definitely made me happier.
Stop focusing on what you don’t have and be thankful for
what you do. A paycheck, some cupcakes, and a little appreciation for a job
well done.
