It is hard to believe that the December holidays are over! They flew past so quickly. I trust that for those of you lucky enough to have taken a break, that it was restful and you are recharged for the year ahead.
As we return to our jobs it may be a good time to again consider the dignity of having a job. And the dignity that earning an income gives us. It made me think about the ways in which I can, this year, foster dignity with jobs. Being in the staffing industry puts us at the forefront of understanding how important a job is to someone. While on holiday, we were all “touched” by so many different and diverse people on a daily basis.
From the fuel pump attendant who served us with a smile to the waitrons in the restaurants we frequented and all the others in-between who made our holiday enjoyable, we usually don’t think about the ways in which they touch our lives. Many of the jobs that served us during our holidays were created specially for the peak busy period. Yet, do you remember any of these people who gave up their own family time to serve us? Do we ever ask their name? Chances are that we do not. We like it impersonal.
Except when the service was not what we expected. Then is becomes very personal. Do we ever consider that there is a real person behind the uniform that serves us? Do we care? Do we care that they are giving up family time to be there to serve us? My very limited sample with family and friends shows that we do not really pay any notice to those who are there to make our experience more pleasant. And that made me reflect on my own attitude to those who make my life easier.
It made me reflect on the dignity that comes with the opportunity to be economically active. It is life-changing. Do we use these frequent contact points to enrich our lives or complicate our lives? How can we do that? By being respectful to everyone that we come into contact with. Even where these are people who perform a job that we regard as menial. We will build our beautiful country one job at a time.
And where the service is genuinely not up to standard, it pays to be assertive and not aggressive. Use that opportunity to show your maturity and use that experience to teach, and in the process to grow. And in that process you will enrich two lives, yours and someone else’s. Let’s make this a year of tolerance, personal growth and getting as many people economically active as possible.
