Up & Down – Trending Morale

So at any given time in a company you can take a snapshot of morale. It can be ugly, meh, okay, good or great.

The trick is to realize that you need to be in an environment where the average is good to great.

There will always be the people who are cranky. Apparently, for them their fuel tanks are running on fumes. And to be fair, there will always be the super perky people who you just want to strangle for being to cheerful.

But sometimes, you can’t help an environment that has trended to a poor morale due to the company circumstances. Layoffs, off-shoring, closures.

So, what can you do?

Work to stay out of the drama. Keep your own morale at an even keel. Stay as positive as you can. I know that these are difficult times. As an individual, I can control my reaction to adverse conditions.

I choose to trend upwards in my morale. I choose to be positive in the face of adversity.

Never ASSume

This is a delicate topic, but Admin Gal feel that it is necessary to address. When a floor has a single-room restroom that is convenient to the population and a larger multi-stall facility in an inconvenient location, it really is not appropriate to assume that it will be ‘convenient’ at your arrival!

If the floor people work on is busy and at capacity and the restroom facilities are limited, being polite has never made an ass out of anyone.

There is nothing more frighting when engaged in the restroom to have the door all but beaten down by a person who is not paying attention to niceties. Running into the door at full speed like a herd of rampaging elephants, does NOTHING for the expediency of any processes. For all rampager knows, the lock might give and all involved will be in for a rude surprise.

Admin Gal admonishes all to use some restraint when heading into rooms that might be occupied.

Volunteerism

Admin Gal recently got to ‘volunteer’ at an event that her corporation was sponsoring.  On a whole, the time was rewarding and fun, aside from the heat and ‘glow’ that everyone was wearing.

All in all, Admin Gal fully supports corporate events that helps the community and the social causes that the company lives in.  The question arises, is there a line that can be crossed between social awareness volunteerism and brand promotion?  And wherein does that line be come work and not voluntering?

Here are the main points that crossed my mind as I thought about this issue:

1. While most volunteer events and experiences involve work, should the work required really be so closely tied to your actual job responsibility that you feel are working for free?  And should you be?
2. If your company is organizing the event, encourages ‘Volunteers’ to man every conceivable booth, gate, and other event staffing need, shouldn’t they be paying employees for the time instead of taking advantage of a ‘service opportunity’?
3. The guise of ‘volunteerism’ should not be code for promote, promote, promote the company while giving it a glaze of social relevance.

Admin Gal is aware that most corporations have parts of their companies that are devoted to the concept of ‘doing good for the community’.  But at some point, what the employee does during this time really does have to benefit the community, not the corporate coffers.

Pearls before …

In the world of an Adminstrative Professional, there are a multitude of levels that can be achieved. From the receptionist, whose demeanor sets the tone for employees and visitors as they enter the facility. To an actual executive level, where the Adminstrative Professional sets policy and procedures for the admins through out the organization. An entire spectrum lays between.

I only point out this breadth of range because of common comments I hear amongst my peers. “I have no way to advance.” or “Nobody takes me seriously because I’m an admin” or, my personal favorite, “I just can’t do what they are asking me to do because they haven’t trained me.”

Pardon me as I call bullshit on these whiners! I’m sorry to be blunt and rude, but enough! We who are admin are not brainless space holders who do nothing. If that is all you do? Get out now. You are doing your peers no service.

If you feel stifled, plenty of opportunities abound.  You just have to take them.

Today’s economic climate does not leave pearls strewn across the road for the lucky to find. Instead you have to be savvy. Take advantage of work assisted education. Look for grants and programs that might suit your circumstances.

Opportunities abound, no one will hand them to you on a silver platter.

What’s In A Name?

In the course of my day I seen a multitude of different email addresses.  Each company has its own email protocol.  First.Lastname@company.com (a classic) or First Initial.Last Name@company.com or Initialsplusnumber@company.com. These examples are just a few ways to skin the email naming cat.

But when you get to the personal side of the email world, all bets are off.  I have a few creative email addresses.  They’ve helped me beat spammers. But when I have to put a professional face on my personal life, I make sure that I have an email address that won’t have people giving me a second look.

When I am applying for a job or trying to grow a business, most potential clients are taken aback by the more creative email addresses.  For example:

1. An experienced IT professional with 12 years experience is putting himself out in the market place, the contact email is badmojojuju@xxxxx.com.  Seriously.  Bad Mojo Juju?  Would I want that person anywhere near my computers? No.
2. I get the Make-up Artist: MUAdiva@xxxx.com. That one makes sense, but I’d like a name to go with the email address.  Do I call the person M-u-a-h?
3. How about the just plain secure?  perfectlygood4U@xxxx.com.  Good for me?  How do they know?

Maybe I’m taking things to far, but the point is that your first impression often is your email address.  Witty can come through in different ways.  Unique does not have to be a flag flying high and proud.

Being proud to just be Jane.Smith@xxxx.com.

Am I Risk Adverse?

I’m currently blessed to be employed.  Due to the circumstances of my employment I am surrounded by people who are in the process of losing their jobs due to a decision to off-shore their jobs.  Needless to say the environment is a little hostile.

This is proving to be a fascinating study in human nature.  Some people sit and moan about the tragedy about to befall them.  They wander the halls weeping and wailing, mourning their loss.

Some are confused with the situation.  They know that opportunities are out there, but have no idea how to take advantage of them.

Then there are those who are taking the opportunity to reinvent themselves.  Stepping outside of their comfort zone.  Looking at jobs that the little voice in their head would normally be saying no to.  Taking that risk.

I’ve learned that without risk, there is no reward.

So, to answer my own question am I risk adverse? No.

Unique Patterns

The work environment is an ever changing kaleidoscope with shards of glittering glass mixed in with ordinary objects to create one-of-a-kind experiences.  Each twist of the prism brings a different vision, a different perspective.

Sometimes, this creates a rich, robust atmosphere where people can truly offer the best of themselves. Sometimes, it creates growth opportunities.  Sometimes, this creates a clear vision of the changes that must happen to make the organization stronger.

Then there is the daily routine which grinds all that amazing sparkling fabulous stuff into dust. Where your best can be looked as threatening to the over all good, because you are standing out from the over all mediocrity.

I’m tired of being forced to live to the standards of mediocrity that are posing as perfection.  I stand against the forces that force people to conform.

I propose a revolutionary idea.  The idea is simple.  Take a journey of discovery.  Own your talents and utilize them to the utmost.  Don’t be afraid of what makes you a spectacular person.

Own the shards and pieces that create the amazing kaleidescope of your personal and professional life.  If you can’t create the pattern that makes you unique where you are, then perhaps you aren’t in the right place.

Timeliness is Next to…

If a contractor says they are going to be doing work at 1:30 pm, knowing full well that the people they need to see are leaving at 2 pm.

DO NOT Show up 15 minutes past the deadline thinking that all will be well. It won’t be.  You will have a very cranky, non-cooperative  individual on your hands.  Whose time has been wasted.

Just because as a corporation we choose to pay extreme amounts of money to be told how to manage ourselves, a little courtesy goes a long way.  Makes the sting of cutting those very large checks less painful.  So, respecting the various calendars, appointments and just the individuals time is a sign of respect.  When a consultant stops extending those common courtesies, well contracts can be broken.

If you set a time, stick to it.  It makes a better impression and the world a brighter place.

Won’t You Be My Frienemy?

The old adage ‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer’ seems to have become an unfortunate by product of today’s work environment.

The workplace is always wild mix of personalities.  The quiet to the quixotic, the domineering to the domestic, no two people are the same.   Yet management models do their darnedest to smush us all into identifiable geneses for easy judgment.

So we cozy up with people that we frankly don’t care about to further our careers, sometimes leaving the important people behind.  How can that be healthy?

A healthy work environment would allow people to get the job done; judgment would be based on performance and merit.  I really don’t enjoy working with people that I don’t trust, I can’t feel free to collaborate with, or want to spend time with.

So, no, I’m going to be honest.  Maybe start a quiet revolution.

I won’t be your frienemy.

Melting the Myth

Admin Gal is irritated.  Why do you ask, oh fabulous reader? I’ll tell you!

Admin Gal is irritated with the double standard of perfection.  Yes, that nasty, unobtainable expectation that is set forth before us in our performance evaluations. Yet frankly, never achievable.

Perfection on the job is a highly subjective thing.  One person’s perception of perfection will be completely counter another person.

The dilemma Admin Gal faces is she can’t read minds. This automatically sets her up for failure in the eyes of the person expecting perfection.

Maybe Admin Gal is becoming Zen or numb.  But she has come to the realization that perfection is as elusive as the frost on a window.  Pretty to look at, but under scrutiny it melts into nothing.

So, Admin Gal ignores the unobtainable expectations of others dreams of perfections.  She simply lives a life that is guided by integrity, diligence and the desire to always do ones best.

At the end of the day, those same people can seldom live up to their own expectations of perfection.

Why should Admin Gal?