Work and Christmas Holidays

Posted by: KLM on: December 4, 2010

• In: Daily life
• 4 Comments

Last night was the company Christmas party at a local restaurant near my house.  These events come in two flavors – one that includes our spouses or partners, the other that is employees only.   This was an employees only affair.

I had a nice time and began to realize the value in these events – reminding us of the human aspects of our work – an chance to be people together rather than just interact based on roles and projects we are working on.

In the course of the evening, I realized, that although I’ve only been working part time and in the last months totally from home, that I have formed a human connection with many of the individuals I work with.   We traded   stories of important moments in our lives, and thankful I got to me much more of a listener than a speaker.  Conversations that did not include my health – I really liked that.

As business ethics are continually diverging from the personal ones – “it’s only business” and hiring/firing for the bottom line etc – our work places transform into a factory mentality where each of us are useful only for our part in the process.  This is a small company, that still retains much more humanity that most.  The employees were noting the differences in attitudes and expectations with the big clients we work for – the cubical farms devoid of windows, where people continue business talk, even in the Men’s Room.

No matter where I’ve worked, I’ve always maintained the old fashioned idea that people matter more than the projects, and also that people who are treated as valuable resources can and will do superior work to those following orders. Too often superior work is no longer the goal of many of the biggest companies.

This party started at 5:30, and was still going strong at the restaurant/bar when I  left to walk home at 10:30PM.  I said my goodbyes and was surprised by the many people who stood to give a most genuine French kiss on both cheeks and a warm hug reserved for friends, rather than the les personal handshake colleagues.

Doing business these days is not easy. Both employers and employees walk this fine line trying to separate business from human experience – especially ironic when we look at a company that is focused on design of human experiences.

I look back on my discomfort with the way they made decisions in October, reminding me to keep separate the business/human aspects of work.  On the other hand, I spoke up about it, and they listened.  This time, they allowed me to have a say, before making decisions.

I often speak of the value of  accepting things that we cannot fight – expending effort and attention where we can make a difference… learning to let go of fear and anxiety.

This is but one example of many in my life, when the external changes that handed to me turned out in the long run to be just what I needed.  At work, they made a one-sided decision to have me work on a single part of the project, taking my work computer, making it necessary to work from home.  Normally, not a good move politically. And as you may recall, I was upset with the decision and the process.  I had to work to let go of that anger.

The truly ironic part is that within days of the decisions, I found my lumpy lymph node and suddenly needed the freedom of working from home, with a lighter load, so that I could continue working while spending many hours each week in  diagnostics, surgery and medical visits, without anyone even having to know what was happening.

We never know until after the fact, the meaning or potential benefits that can come from unexpected and often unwanted changes.

Last night helped me to see the side of this company that I like, reminding me that they are doing their best to survive in a difficult business climate. As employees, it is hard to navigate the dual nature of business these days.