Are you Doing Your Job or Just Going Through the Motions?

Everyday in my neighbourhood I take a walk early morning along the lakeside where I live. As I walk through the area full of wildlife, beautiful paths and plant life I am amazed at the beauty of this area. In the spring many babies are born to various mothers of swan and geese variety. It really is the wilderness in the city. Attached to the area is a well known park that is kept up by the city. Once you leave the woods of this area you come into the park area where at the same time in the morning I can see tractors cleaning the baseball diamond, maintenance people checking the pool and so on. There are also a couple of kids hired on by the City to pick up the trash. Although I have issues with the way some are doing their jobs in the park the ones that get me the most are the ones that are assigned to pick up trash. They drive along in a golf cart, one driving, and the other with a long pole to stab the trash they see and put into a bucket. What gets to me is that I am sure they are being paid good money for their work, so the least they could do is get off the cart or at least slow down the golf cart and pick up some trash. After they have passed by me at a high rate of speed I can walk by after them and see trash in plain sight on the path. Was it too far for the pole to stab it, did they even see it? At the speed they drive I bet they didn’t even see it, but their job is not to drive around on the golf cart, their job is to pick up the trash. They are in effect going through the motions of their job.

So I ask, are you just going through the motions in your job? I am going to hope that the answer is no, but some of you may be answering yes. As human beings we are all easily set into our comfort zone and if you work at a place long enough you will get complacent and stop working hard at your position. This happens to all of us and the only way to battle it is to stay fresh through trying to attain new goals or changes within the company. Many feel they are so well integrated in their company that trying to succeed or pushing the envelope is too much work and security will keep them employed. Business has changed as of late however, and it is not enough to go through the motions and hope that your productivity will keep you where no one will notice. As the new people looking for our positions will be coming from schools many of them more educated than we were and giving us a run for our money at these jobs. We have seen this many times before in the movies and news stories. The employee has been at the company for twenty years or more and all of a sudden is handed a pink slip and a package with no notice and not sure what they have done wrong. They may have been doing a good job but was it enough to get them noticed? Was it enough to make a difference? Now I certainly don’t think that every time a company downsizes or lowers their employee count it is based on performance, but sometimes it is.

One of the ways of battling this scenario is to keep trying to attain new goals. Keep the job fresh by reorganizing, changing the way you operate, or improving the team. Keeping yourself fresh is the best way to make sure you are employable in the future.

About the Author

Bruce Outridge has been in the transportation industry for over 30 years and helps new drivers have successful careers through career guidance and business advice. he is the author of the books Driven to Drive and Running by the Mile. To learn more about Bruce and his work visit his website at www.outridgeenterprises.ca