I AM A MILLENNIAL.
Goldman Sachs defined Millenials as those who were born between 1980-2000. Gallup, on the other hand, mentioned that Millenials are individuals born between 1980-1996. Whether I use Gallup or Goldman Sachs's definition, I'm a millenial.
I couldn't speak for everyone around the globe, but at least in the Philippines, millennials have the reputation for job-hopping. My batchmates would hop from one job into another noting that their job sucks or that they deserve better.
Guess, I am a deviant in my batch đ! This year, as I celebrate my 6th working anniversary at the same company, I'll be sharing with you a summary of the most indispensable lessons I learned in my six-year working journey!
In this first part, I'll talk about the first three vital lessons and some practical tips that helped me feel contented, happy, and motivated to work even after six (6) freaking years!
Let's dive right in!
Lesson 1: Salary is not everything (well at least, for me)
As a fresh grad from one of the leading educational institutions in the country, I was told I shouldnât accept a job that offers anything below fifteen thousand pesos as monthly compensation. Back then, the nerd fresh grad in me knew nothing about how the corporate world works, so I believed them, and interview after interview, I would confidently say that my service is worth not less than fifteen thousand. Fortunately, I found a job that pays me a little over what people expected a UP fresh grad should earn. I was happy. I feel contented. I felt that I was paid for what I should be paid based on societyâs standards.
A couple of months later, I heard friends have decided to resign from their current jobs. And in the months that followed, many of them have been hopping from one work to the other. What surprised me was the fact that theyâre paid way beyond what weâre expected to earn.
When asked why job hop, they told me âItâs the working environmentâ âThereâs too much unhealthy competitionâ âI donât feel supportedâ
Right there and then, it hit me that salary alone couldnât always keep the best employee nor it canât always spark contentment and joy.
Before even considering compensation as your basis for your dream job, donât forget to ask yourselves:
âWill your working environment help you succeed in other endeavors outside work?â
âWill it empower you to grow on your own terms?â
âWill it honor and value your unique personality and traits?â
âWill your job allow you to bring and make use of your personal stamp in the things that youâre expected to deliver?â
âHow are mistakes treated? Are they welcome or are they being feared?â
âIs there a safe space to express yourself without the fear of rejection?â
I honestly didn't consider all these questions when I looked for my first job, but I was blessed to have found one that supported me and my personal endeavors â a job that honed my character, a job that trusted my skills and knowledge, a job that allowed me to make mistakes so I can spread my wings and learn how to soar up high.
Perhaps itâs about time to rethink what truly matters in choosing your next job.
Lesson 2: Avoid micromanaging. Itâs disgusting.
To leaders managing a team, this oneâs for you.
Micromanaging per se isnât a bad thing. Just like anything else, it has its good and bad sides. We couldnât discount that some days really require it. And perhaps, itâs the best option available on the shelf.
But imagine this. One day you (as a leader) just decided to micromanage and do everything on your own without telling your team youâre starting to do so. You kept everyone else out of the picture. Then suddenly everybody realizes that theyâre being stripped off the tasks they should be doing. Now it feels like you took away the things they thought theyâve been doing just fine all these years. And theyâre left with nothing but questions like âWhat did I do wrong?â or âSo what am I to do now?â
Aside from it is irritating (It is very irritating sometimes đ¤), micromanaging hinders the growth that everyone deserves.
Remember that as a leader, you are not the only one who deserves to grow, the people youâre managing deserve to grow too. And if you donât agree with this, stop being a leader if youâre just going to hinder peopleâs growth.
Itâs important to acknowledge what micromanaging does to people. And here are some of my inputs:
Micromanaging takes away peopleâs safe space to grow on their own terms. It robs peopleâs precious opportunity to learn from their mistakes. Leaders who inadvertently micromanage their team might get the feeling of accomplishment when theyâve done things faster and way better than what the entire team could ever accomplish. But leaders shouldnât do things just because theyâre afraid that the team will fall short of whatâs expected. Failure is a necessary part of anyoneâs growth. The faster we fail, the better.
It also demoralizes people. I know this morale thing might not be your top priority. It might never make it on your priority list. Ever. You can ditch this just to get that efficiency youâre so eager to perfect. But work isnât always about efficiency. It isnât merely about how well tasks are done or if theyâre done on time.
Leadership is sometimes about taking a step or two back and giving a space where people can nourish themselves. Gone are the days when managing a workforce is not so different from managing a puppet show.
In the end, you arenât in this race alone; itâs a team doing tons after tons of tasks. So if you want to be a great leader, aim for growth and bring your team with you!
Lesson 3: Why work hard when you can work smart instead?
I used to firmly believe that in order to excel in whatever career path Iâd take after college, Iâll have to work hard. We live in a world, or at least in my country, where working hard means working longer than usual, staying in the office past the 8-hr mark.
We praise people who spend weekends in the office because they work hard. We commend someone who spends holidays in the office because they work hard. We applaud someone who looks like a zombie when they come to work because they stayed late last night (even when theyâre already home) to finish whatâs supposed to be done the following day because they work hard.
Companies adore employees who havenât availed themselves of any of those vacation leaves and service incentive leaves because they work hard.
Time spent in the office became the only part of the youâre-doing-great-at-work equation.
But, I tell you donât believe them when they say you need to give all your precious and limited time to work, work and work alone.
A few years later, I realized I can go home at exactly six (6) PM without feeling like Iâve done less than anyone who chose to stay longer in the office. Iâve learned to accept that my contribution to the company isnât solely about time spent facing my monitor.
Itâs okay. I fell on this trap, too. And hereâs a little tip from someone who learned to get away with it. Below is a quick look at how Iâve worked smart in the past few months:
Know your boundaries.
- With all the duties and responsibilities being thrown in the pit by just anyone in the office, do you know if youâre the right person to pick it up and work on it? If not, then donât dare touch it, go to the next step instead.
Create a daily routine.
- Create a daily routine and as much as possible stick to it. Knowing and understanding what you have to deliver every single day gives you a better idea of how to organize your day, your week, and your month without burning yourself out. You only have to focus on those that you have and can deliver. A to-do list for ALL your deliverables will save you so much time. For projects, Gantt Charts (even the simplest one) will always pull you back on track.
Donât patronize doing overtimes.
- When itâs time to work, work. When itâs time to leave the office, leave (Your family is waiting for you, darling! â¤ď¸). Letâs be honest here. We donât allot office hours for work alone, we get lost in the middle. Donât we? We deal with the âothersâ (Lazada, Zalora, Shoppee, Food Panda, Grabfood, Facebook, IG, Twitter, Tiktok, etc.) and unfortunately we make use of overtime to finish what we couldâve finished if only we stayed focus during office hours. We couldnât totally eliminate this, but we can minimize it. You just have to start somewhere, say acknowledging the fact that you get lost in the middle of the day out of sleepiness and boredom. Then, assess how you can adjust and be truly productive.
Repetition might sound boring, but it can be your bestfriend.
- With repetition, you become more efficient. Itâs only natural to do tasks faster as time passes by. My boss once told me âHow do you measure youâre getting better at your task? You shorten the time you spend completing themâ So make use of repetitive tasks to your advantage.
Foster a strong relationship with the people youâre working with.
- Tasks are always easier when you work with people youâre in harmony with. Avoid cold wars; they will unconsciously absorb your energy.
That's it!đ You've read everything I can share in this first part of my 6th working anniversary celebration post. I'll be sharing the other half in my next post. If you find this article interesting, better stay tuned for the next lessons I'll be discussing.
Please note that I am not a professional in terms of Leadership and all the other things I've mentioned in this post. These are all based on my own experiences.
Drop your insights in the comment section, I'd love to hear them! â¤ď¸
Living life intentionally every single day, she believes that thereâs no limit to oneâs potentials. Right now, sheâs on the loose for the pursuit of endless holistic self-growth and development. She wants to light the way for others. She believes thereâs no better way to leave a legacy than to pay it forward.
Her ultimate goal in life is to reach the state of enlightenment where thereâs nothing but peace, love, happiness, and contentment - nothing more, nothing less.
If you are captivated by what this girl just wrote here, an upvote is pretty appreciated. Follow her as she tells her stories full of positivities. The next story might be for you! â¤ď¸