I have been recently thinking about living the golden rule at work. Treating others as we want to be treated pays off in so many ways.
In The Beginning
We learn to integrate and interact with community at a young age. The most brutal community many of us experience early in life is school.
When we are young, we search for identity and desire to be included. Some kids may be worse than others, but I feel like almost everyone has been excluded and excluded others. Many times, students are treated in a pretty mean manner by others.
The Workforce After School
I have witnessed and experienced workplace cliques at most of my jobs. Maybe I quit caring, but it seems like the worst of workplace exclusion is not as bad as most of us have experienced in school.
Over the years, I have learned that having a positive attitude, treating coworkers, subordinates, and management well has an infectious positive effect.
Sure, we’re all fairly tough at this point… As our lives become more focused on our families and futures, the less being included or treated nicely at works seems to matter. Still, it matters more than we may understand.
My Workplace Experiences
I have worked in more diverse workplace environments than most. I am not referring to cultural diversity in this instance, I am speaking about different types of work in different settings. Over time, I have had a lot of customer service and sales experience. I think this subconsciously lead me to the discovery that work is the perfect place for the golden rule.
As I interacted with more and more customers and clients, I realized how positive the response became. With no intention, I began treating my coworkers with the same enthusiastic positivity. Before I knew it, I started being treated like the most popular kid in school. My sales were better, I was making friends with coworkers who were totally different than me.
As for the personal benefit, I have built a strong relationship with Vail Resorts, the company I intermittently work for. I now have world-wide opportunities within this company, and more references than a potential employer would ever care to contact.
The Desired Outcome
The big picture is to see widespread benefits of living the golden rule throughout the workplace.
As I developed my workplace persona over the years, I found myself in positive environments where my good vibes lead others to act happier and treat others better. Their positive attitude and actions inspired me to continue treating others well and maintain a happy disposition.
The Golden Rule in Stressful Positions
Possibly my most stressful position was Bell Captain. I was managing a valet staff at the busiest drive and intersection at the base of the Breckenridge Ski slope. When I came into the position, my employees did not share my golden rule mindset. After a couple months of work with them, I replaced the staff before the Summer season really took off. Living the golden rule with guests and internally was the second most important element of the workplace culture I had created. Safety being the highest priority.
This position was extremely fast-paced. I had a lot of responsibilities. Yet everyone I worked with in different departments and my own kept a positive disposition and treated each other well.
Bad Vibes Follow Us Home
I’ve held other stressful, fast-paced positions for Vail Resorts. I made good money as a Bartender and Server. The difference was that my wife never told me the Bell Captain job made me act cranky at the end of the day. The food service positions did.
When the season ended at my last food service job, my wife told me that I am much happier. Even though I was bringing home $350-$550 a night. Both job types were stressful. I had a lot more responsibility managing the valet staff. Running in the snow 12-16-hours a day really wore me down at times. The difference between the valet and food service jobs – the food service jobs had cliques, staff openly showed frustration with one another behind the scenes, and at the end of most shifts, everyone would sit down for several free drinks and blow off steam about the day.
I had to let the original valet staff go. Negativity had become part of their culture. I understand that it is easy to focus on the negative, but much harder choosing to approach everything at work in a positive manner. At the same time, when we are focused on positivity and treating others well at work, we are surrounded by so many more positive feelings.
My Wichita Startup Business – Positivity Generates Productivity
During my second startup business attempt, when I was back in my hometown of Wichita, my mantra was: “Positivity generates productivity.”
I believed in positivity wholeheartedly, but my last decade of self employment and corporate employment have really solidified this idea for me.
Influencing Your Workplace To Live By The Golden Rule
Not all of us are in the position to create our workplace culture. At the same time, every one of us can influence our workplace to become more positive, and less exclusive.
Influencing a positive work environment is as simple as living the golden rule. Treating all people well at work, regardless of their position.
As the positive vibes affect others, those people may also act in a more positive and inclusive manner. When the positive feeling spread beyond those employees, the workplace unintentionally becomes more productive. As customers, guests, and clients feel genuinely good working with your staff, the are inclined to also treat that staff better. Ultimately, the golden rule will increase sales, repeat business, and referrals. As a result, staff’s job security increases, and possibly pay as well.
When living the golden rule at work, the positive environment affects management, employees, and customers. At the end of the day, everyone wins and business is more successful.
Post by Mike Gamache – ESS Blogger, Entrepreneur, Videographer
Do you need work as soon as tomorrow? Contact ESS at (877) 500-0420 to learn about entry level positions.