A New Angle

Remember that cliche quote “Teamwork makes the dream work”. That’s very true. Every job I’ve had there was little to no appreciation for me being there until it was my last day working and suddenly I was being showered with gifts, cards and many kind words. None of these were what you call “real” jobs these were all jobs that you get as a student to pay your school fees. I got my job in healthcare and when I say it’s rewarding it truly is…a patient’s family member passes away and the greatefulness that people share make you tear up. It’s hard being on the phone with someone hearing that you changed their life in someway and you’re trying your hardest to not cry over the sentiment and you just say “thank you so much” and then the next phone call is completely different with someone yelling at you for something that is not your fault for example: being on hold for two hours. The variations that as an Administrative assistant that I get keep my job interesting. Patient care is just one side to my job, the other side is your co workers and your supervisor. I strongly feel that being in a supervisor role you need to have the right personality for it. I know for a fact I would not be great in that role because I don’t know how to say “no” or to stand up for myself, sure, I’ve been doing it more often but you need a strong personality and be able to hold your own. I like being told what to do, where to go, what the procedure is and how to do my job. That’s why I love the job I have. Certain people should not be given leadership roles even if they are most senior on your team or if they know what they are doing.

When I first started out we had a supervisor that came off as mild, timid, a bit shy and very sweet, but not someone you can ask questions and get answers. We were provided with little to no direction. It’s hard showing up to work not knowing if your supervisor will show up. Eventually, it came to light that this individual had taken a leave of absence, so for a while a few of us had to have additional work with no direction on how to do things. Then, from the patchwork came something else, apparently she had not been doing the job for months…we offered to help numerous times and were turned down, so we all assumed everything was working well. Then, one of our senior members who knew the job inside and out stepped in and suddenly everything was different. People were coming into work, the whole department seemed to shift. I was not constantly asking for more work- I was delegated more tasks. She showed up everyday to her job with no training and figured it all out. We seemed to be more put together. I was astonished by how fast everything changed it was almost like our whole work changed. It was like night and day. My supervisor wants to improve the department, pick up the pieces that were left behind and put everything back together when functionality was key. Then, with moving into a new building we knew we had a leader to rely on when things are bumpy and given little to no information, she remained a calm lake in the midst of a crazy storm. I know I mentioned that just because you have experience does not make you right for the job, that’s true to an extent but you need the right type of personality to make it to a leadership role. I know I’ve worked in customer service for near 12 years or more but never would I want to be the person where you “escalate issues” to. It’s a horrible feeling being yelled at for an issue that you never caused. I am happy with being told what to do and do my job. We all deserve great managers, supervisors and leaders in order to be satisfied with the jobs we have.