What We Take for Hugh Granted

eing a grizzled veteran of a variety of different workplaces and having the experience of working with many different people may or may not look good on the resume, but somewhere along the way I learned the way something looks isn't always the way something is.

I've held different spots on the organization chart, different rungs on the old corporate ladder from the lowest bean counter to the guy in charge. I've had jobs where I could wear my most comfortable clothes and look overdressed, and others where an Armani suit would fit right in with the other employees.

Each workplace has its own rules, written and unwritten. Each workplace also has its own culture, personality, missions and visions. For those of us who have job hopped and job hopped, the quicker you learn these nuances unique to each job, the quicker you can get down to performing your job tasks in an acceptable manner.

Despite the vast differences, there are a few constants no matter where you end up. Retail to manufacturing, there are some principles that carry on through. Not the least of these is knowing who the end customer of your work is. In other words, you may be grading records, or you may be selling junk bonds, but you're still going to have to serve somebody.

Basically any job can be broken down into the following rules: 1) Get to work on time. 2) Work as hard as you can for the time you are paid for. 3) As best you can get along with the people you work with and for. That's essentially all there is to doing an acceptable job. It's really that simple. You follow those three rules and you will do okay in most places.

It's amazing then, that no matter where you end up you will find somebody that has a hard time following even those basic rules. Add a corollary to number two, that being not only should you work hard, but you should be competent and responsible and it's no wonder that the quality of the American workforce seems to be floundering a bit these days.

Too many places I've been, too many people I've seen, seem to view their work as an eight hour distraction from their personal lives. They put forth the minimum effort required, often distracted and seldom overly productive. The bad news is that this growing contingency of people cause poor workmanship and their attitudes are contagious, affecting the morale of all around them. The good news is that the few left who want to do more than a passable job, who strive to improve their situation and their own personal abilities, have more opportunity than ever to move up if the effort is backed up with just a little bit of ability.

As anyone who has looked for a job recently can attest, the job market ain't exactly prospering these days. Predictions have been made suggesting the days of careers are essentially over. More and more job opportunities will be of the temporary nature. Fewer and fewer people will spend their life working for a company. More and more we will work for ourselves. While this presents opportunities for freedom, independence, and risk taking -doing what you enjoy doing for your work, the safety of certainty and the calm of security will be stripped away replaced by stress and longer and longer work days.

Thus in the future, following the three rules will become more critical if you want to succeed. People that can't get to work on time, that spend their time making personal calls and wasting company time, who have a hard time getting along with different people will be out of luck. The competition for jobs will only increase and those that lack the essentials won't be given the opportunities to prove and correct themselves. What you are will give way to what it looks like you are.