Steven Slade

Difficult People at Work

2011-10-14T04:03:17Z

As a young student I have had some awful jobs. From fast-food, to garbage collection, and worst of all, the dreary, wasteful days spent working in call centers.However, if working at the worst places has taught me one thing it is that the job tasks do not make it horrible, it is the people you work with.

One of my favorite past employments was in fact gruelling outdoor labor, but I established a strong connection with my co-workers that made coming to work easier. In contrast, working with difficult people can make the best jobs a nightmare and unfortunately, my father tells me, there will be difficult people at every job in some way or another. A huge advantage in the work force then is the ability to deal these types of co-workers. In a previous employment at a restaurant, I struggled to keep my cool while dealing with the general manager. The manager was pompous, controlling and disrespectful. He barked orders and was the cause for tears sheds by waitresses and employees leaving. I regarded him as a bully. Nevertheless, other than this manager the job was fantastic. I had to learn to deal with the manager in appropriate ways that was professional. I learned a valuable lesson, it is inevitable that there will be arrogant, difficult people throughout my life in any job; the key is to take the higher road and demonstrate that I can manage other people and control myself. The right people will notice and I will be thankful in the end. It will also deter you from unwanted situations like telling your boss to "F**k off" and subsequently get fired (it has never happened to me but I can't say that I didn't want to).

For helpful tips on how to deal with these types of people in the work place check out Rise Above the Fray.

Eight hours.

2011-10-09T19:27:45Z

On the home page of my site you will see a quote by British historian Arnold J. Toynbee that says, "The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play." This may seem like an obvious piece of advice but my worst fear is not taking it to heart. Whereas I will mostly likely be spending forty hours a week for the next fifty-some years working, it needs to be doing something that makes me happy. It is amazing that for eight hours a day I can work; I cannot watch television for eight hours without going stir crazy, I cannot read for eight hours without needing to take a break and I cannot play soccer for eight hours without needing to rest. Somehow though I am able to spend eight hours of most of my days working--it is incomprehensible and frightening. This is why it is so important that I choose my career path carefully and for the right reasons. How do I do it, though? How do I blur the line between work and play? I have come up with three simple rules in order ensure that I do take the aforementioned saying to heart and never forget what I want for my working career.

1. I will never settle. I will never take a job that I do not want because it was offered to me first, or it is easier to achieve, or provides me with more money.

2. I will explore opportunities. I cannot expect to find what I want unless I go out and look for it.

3. I will know what I want. I do not think that I can find the best suited job for me by chance, I believe I will have to know what I want, otherwise I will dwell on the negatives of work whereas my work at a preferred employment will make the negatives worth it.

These are my personal rules that will hopefully lead me towards a job that I want. They essentially come down to doing something that makes me happy. For those who are currently working and are not excited to get up in the morning here are some tips from Forbes.com on How to be Happy at a Rotten Job.

Are these three gentleman enjoying their jobs? You decide.

I am not special, but luckily, neither are you.

2011-10-07T18:20:35Z

I had heard of "life changing experiences," "epiphany" and "the moment I knew everything would be different," but I had always questioned if I would ever know when these realizations would occur in my life. I got my answer when I realized that I was not special. It sounds self-loathing and pessimistic but it is in fact the exact opposite. The realization occurred, not instantaneously one morning, but after key events leading up to my final year of university. Firstly, four years ago, I was applying for university programs and researching the number of admitted applicants each year, and discovered that the numbers were surprisingly low. Secondly, job searching and waiting in rooms full of fidgeting applicants like me opened my eyes to others in my exact situation. Lastly, researching graduate schools and job markets led me to understand that competition for positions would continue. Whether I succeeded or failed with any of these opportunities was not the trigger in my epiphany, it was realizing that there are so many people in my same situation. Others set similar goals and go after them with the same vigour which inevitably causes others and I to compete for the same scholarships, job positions and university program spots. I am not special, not in a "I am worthless and useless" way, but in a "I am not a superhero with extraordinary powers that makes exponentially better than mortal humans" way. This pushes me to work harder in order acquire skills and experience that will increase my appeal to employers and universities. If I were to acquire a job position over another person it does not mean I am better than them, it only means I am either better suited for the job or have smartly packaged my skills and experience in order to better please the employer. This is a life changing idea for me because it tears down any notions that I am inherently better at writing, speaking or any of my skills than others which in turn, allows me to constantly improve myself. I am not special, we are all equal; I do not possess anything that will automatically beat out my competition, I need to push and work to succeed. Perhaps, as of now, my greatest advantage is realising this, unfortunately though, by sharing my epiphany, we are right back to the same playing field level again.