Lunchtime post!
I’m sitting in my car at the trusty old park. It’s about 65 degrees today and I thought I’d sit at a picnic table for once and enjoy the weather, but the wind kept trying to blow the lid from my hummus container off the table and it was a little chilly, so here I am back in the car.
I am feeling pretty happy lately with all this springlike weather, although it is pretty weird for it to be so mild in early March. I also got a nice pay raise at work, so I’m feeling a little relief there too. I’m actually going to pay off one of my student loans, which feels great as long as I don’t think too much about the other loans that are left.
One of my coworkers said something the other day that I’ve been thinking about and I wanted to share it here and hear (or read) your feedback.
We had a group of VIPs visiting our site and this coworker and I lead them on tours of our campus. Afterward, she made a comment about one of them talking to her “until he realized I was nobody important.” A few days later, she mentioned something about us being nothing but minions.
Hey now! While the first comment did make me laugh, after several more disparaging remarks from her I began to wonder just how low on the totem pole she thinks she is.
In contrast it made me think about how I often don’t even pay attention to status. I mean of course I comprehend that C-level executives are more experienced and make a lot more money than I ever will, but I don’t assume that they look down on my and consider me a minion.
I guess the way I see it is that we are all humans. We all have our struggles and our triumphs. So what if someone is a “VIP” in the business world? It’s entirely likely that they are burned out or are suffering from a failed marriage thanks to all their hard work on the job. Who knows.
Of course I say this with a lot more experience than she has. There was a time when I worked as a receptionist and I felt like such a loser the whole time. No one tried to make me feel like a loser, I just felt like I must be one for not having used my college education to get a better job.
A lot of water has gone under the bridge since those days though. Nowadays I am just happy to have a steady job and one that allows me to travel and see different places. I focus more on having a good relationship with Dave and keeping our little house cozy and comfortable.
For the most part I don’t care what people think of me anymore. Of course it is nice to be appreciated and to be noticed by the C-level crowd is certainly not a bad thing. But if anyone looks down on me for not having a fancier title or living a more extravagant lifestyle, well, that’s their problem.
What do you think? Do you feel like you have to climb higher to be valued? Or are you happy where you are?
Uncommon Heather 
For me, moving ‘up’ was never about status or being valued. In fact there were a couple of times in my career that I took what many people thought was a big step backwards or sideways. For me it was all about the personal challenge and keeping work fresh. Too much time in one place or one job became boring. We spend too much of our lives at work to be bored….or not care. So I always looked for new challenges. It was nice that they often came with more pay or a nicer office, but that wasn’t the motivation.
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Yes, I would rather have interesting work than just a flashy title. I’ve had so many different jobs already and have learned so much from each.
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Heather, I think if you value yourself, it doesn’t matter what your job is. But so many people rate themselves on the “value scale” and define themselves by the job that they have. I will say getting paid a higher salary is nice BUT not at the expense of relationships or family! Being a VIP comes at an expense to your personal life.
Each person brings value to the table in a company! not everyone can be the boss and not everyone can be the receptionist, There is opportunity for everyone to enjoy their jobs, strive to be the best and be content with yourself.
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I agree. I would never look down on someone for their occupation. Well, unless their occupation was something terrible, like human trafficker or something.
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I enjoy the job I have. I’ve been in the job for over 10 years and have no aspirations to “aim higher”… though sometimes I feel guilty about that, like for some reason maybe I owe it to the company to strive to be management some day. But nope, management is sooooo not for me, no thank you. At the same time I appreciate that a healthy workplace does need some people who constantly aim for the next level. But as I see it, not everyone has to want to be President of the Universe. It takes all types of people and skills to keep the world — and the office — going!
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I agree! I might try out a management role someday but it’s really not an aspiration of mine. If it happens and it works, then that’s cool. If not, I’ll be happy either way.
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p.s. Your post title — I love that song! Thanks for the enjoyable ear bug 🙂
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