8 years of working ...
... is a longggg while. I remember when I started working and saw people who had 5 years and were senior in the team, and thought to myself, Are they old or what!!. And today, I am a month away from completing 8 years, albeit with a 15 month maternity gap.
... teaches a hell-of-a-lot. And I can see myself so much calmer and wiser in parts (: P).
I have learnt ...
... that rough patches give way to happier patches and vice versa. Like in life, nothing is permanent. Today a project will be happily skipping along, tomorrow it will be sucked into a quick sand that threatens to eat it up. Today the team will be difficult and closed, tomorrow it'll be a big smiling family.
... to keep the big picture in mind always. The big picture about my role overall - what am I doing in this organization and why. The big picture - about the task at hand. The big picture of life. Why am I where I am and where would I like to head from here? It's not always easy and temporarily I might miss the woods for the trees, but over time I've realized that keeping this in mind results in high levels of sanity. :P
... not to judge people around me very quickly. Give them time. Try to see things from their point of view - however distorted and absurd it may appear to me, try at least.
... that if someone is totally negative towards me, I can influence a change in behaviour by being positive myself. Though my tendency is to feel slightly embittered and negative, choosing to be positive and working on changing the negativity works. It just might take a while and I need to keep at it. Despite setbacks and wanting to give up. It has taught me to forgive and forget as well, something I'm not very good at usually - forgiving yes, forgetting no.
... there will be frenemies. Nice term, right? That's friends who behave like enemies. I have had people who I actually like, who are fun to hang out with, who I discuss the world and it's mother-in-law with - who will suddenly one day try behave strangely - the way someone who didn't like you would behave. It's a little disconcerting but I learnt that sometimes there is no black and white - it's all grey.
... the friends one makes in office are the biggest source of fun. Even if the work is great, if there is no one to chat with, bitch with, critique with, go out for lunch with, speak my absolutely-unfettered mind with - work can be a dull routine. And when the chips are down on the work side, it is this bunch who pull me through a day. This is what I missed the most when I was on the 15 month maternity sabbatical. Not the work, but the social interaction. Of course some of those in this group will only turn out to be frenemies. But it's worth all that to have a fun group at work.
... that politics at work can be unsettling and unnerving for me. Like when my boss purposely does not include me in team meetings to try and send a message to someone else. I need to remind myself that he has nothing against me and that there is a larger intent at work. I should just make my stand clear and then watch. Not get involved, try not to get affected. Let them battle it out.
... the team is what matters. And that's the one that takes maximum energy and effort to build. The people part is the tricky part - and to get that right without letting politics in, is the biggest achievement anyone can put on their work-ex.
... teaches a hell-of-a-lot. And I can see myself so much calmer and wiser in parts (: P).
I have learnt ...
... that rough patches give way to happier patches and vice versa. Like in life, nothing is permanent. Today a project will be happily skipping along, tomorrow it will be sucked into a quick sand that threatens to eat it up. Today the team will be difficult and closed, tomorrow it'll be a big smiling family.
... to keep the big picture in mind always. The big picture about my role overall - what am I doing in this organization and why. The big picture - about the task at hand. The big picture of life. Why am I where I am and where would I like to head from here? It's not always easy and temporarily I might miss the woods for the trees, but over time I've realized that keeping this in mind results in high levels of sanity. :P
... not to judge people around me very quickly. Give them time. Try to see things from their point of view - however distorted and absurd it may appear to me, try at least.
... that if someone is totally negative towards me, I can influence a change in behaviour by being positive myself. Though my tendency is to feel slightly embittered and negative, choosing to be positive and working on changing the negativity works. It just might take a while and I need to keep at it. Despite setbacks and wanting to give up. It has taught me to forgive and forget as well, something I'm not very good at usually - forgiving yes, forgetting no.
... there will be frenemies. Nice term, right? That's friends who behave like enemies. I have had people who I actually like, who are fun to hang out with, who I discuss the world and it's mother-in-law with - who will suddenly one day try behave strangely - the way someone who didn't like you would behave. It's a little disconcerting but I learnt that sometimes there is no black and white - it's all grey.
... the friends one makes in office are the biggest source of fun. Even if the work is great, if there is no one to chat with, bitch with, critique with, go out for lunch with, speak my absolutely-unfettered mind with - work can be a dull routine. And when the chips are down on the work side, it is this bunch who pull me through a day. This is what I missed the most when I was on the 15 month maternity sabbatical. Not the work, but the social interaction. Of course some of those in this group will only turn out to be frenemies. But it's worth all that to have a fun group at work.
... that politics at work can be unsettling and unnerving for me. Like when my boss purposely does not include me in team meetings to try and send a message to someone else. I need to remind myself that he has nothing against me and that there is a larger intent at work. I should just make my stand clear and then watch. Not get involved, try not to get affected. Let them battle it out.
... the team is what matters. And that's the one that takes maximum energy and effort to build. The people part is the tricky part - and to get that right without letting politics in, is the biggest achievement anyone can put on their work-ex.
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