Hello everyone,
As I sit here and think about my experience in the mining industry, I wonder if the times of doing work because its the right thing to do are over.
I was raised up working in a family business. Started working summers when I was 10 years old, even worked every other Saturday. I'm not griping about my experience I had with my Grandpa, but at the time I thought it was borderline child abuse. Looking back I realize that all of those summer days throughout high school, listenening to the fact that most of my friends were headed to the lake shaped me into the worker I am today.
I watched my Grandpa do whatever it took to keep the ball rolling in all matters of the business. He did not care if it took skipping lunch or staying till 7 at night. He was there to work and that was it. In my 6 or 7 years working with him I can count on my hands the number of times I remember him cutting up. He was always so serious, I definitely picked up that characteristic. His work ethic is still so impressive to me, he was the boss he could have made others do more so he could do less, but he didn't because no one could do it to his standards. I guess as time working with him went on I got older and more capable and I found my self trying to cut him off doing things so I could take the pressure off him. It worked I could tell that I was doing the right thing. No he didn't slap me on the back and say Thanks, he didn't have to I was happy to have the ability to keep the ball rolling myself. Why did I do this? I wasn't told to. Where did that want to come from? Genuinely wonder. Genetics? I don't know.
12 years later I dont work for my Grandpa anymore, but my way of doing things hasn't changed. I am always thinking a step ahead of my supervisor because that's the way I work. People say why are you doing that? It's not your job! Why are you helping him? They are wrong it is my job I want to help make the processes run smoother, yes it's more work but that's what I'm here to do. I'm not here for pat on the backs or good jobs!
I'm afraid that we are living in a world now that everyone needs gratification for everything they do. It's a bad look. Seems that everyone is worried about doing more than the next guy. If we all just stepped up and did what needed to be done, we would be much better off in every area of the world (Not just in the workplace).
I'm not the perfect employee, but I do my best. Maybe the problem we have as a working world isn't a work ethic problem at all maybe it's a ethics problem. We all need to do our best all the time. You only get one round on this ride we call life, why not make the best of it.
Couple definitions
Work
1. activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result.
Work ethic
the principle that hard work is intrinsically virtuous or worthy of reward.
Question
Do you think that you are born with work ethic? Or is it something that has to be instilled in you as person?
I'm leaning toward the side of it being a learned trait. Strictly my opinion.
I both agree and disagree that work ethic is a thing of the past. We form judgments based on what we see around us, on the news, and how we personally feel about the topic. Unfortunately, hardworking people often aren’t in the media spotlight, so they aren’t portrayed as the norm. Despite the changing work ethic, I believe the country is still supported by hardworking Americans who don’t receive enough credit. Many of them aren’t seeking praise; they just want fair compensation for their work and to improve the workforce.
To answer your second question, I personally believe work ethic is instilled in a person. While some may be born with it, I attribute my work ethic to my upbringing.
Great newsletter, I look forward to the next one.