Written by Jessica Thompson
Relationships are paramount to the human experience. Most of us recognize our relationships with our spouse, parents, kids, and friends. Do you ever include your professional relationships in that list? More importantly, are you grateful for those relationships? For the purposes of this blog, I define a professional relationship as one with an individual that you collaborate with on a regular basis (one could extend this to clients and other far reaching members of their network, but we will keep a short leash on it here). These are the people you spend 40+ hours a week with. That’s 160+ per month and 1,500+ per year. Given that there are only 8,424 hours in a year, THAT’S A HUGE CHUNK OF YOUR TIME!
Many of us simply assume that these professional relationships mean nothing in our overall lives, but these people can affect how we feel and how we interact with others. Think about it. Someone at work is having a bad day, has a bad attitude, or is a little lazy, leaving you to pick up the slack. You’re hurt/angry/frustrated by the way they have treated you. Then, you probably go home and do one of two things: 1) You vent to your loved ones about what happened, and maybe you even raise your voice -or- 2) You hold that vent session in and, instead, walk around stewing and emitting negative energy that your family feels coming off you. Now that one person has unknowingly affected your whole family! Crazy, right?
Since my time at Corus360/RES-Q™ Services, I have been the happiest I have ever been in my professional life. I love what I do, and I love the people I work with. My team values our professional relationships, and I am truly grateful to be here. I hope that everyone will take the time to understand how they affect others and work to change their energy to promote compassion when needed. Understanding that we are all connected, whether we like it or not, and that we have the ability to alter someone’s day, week, or even their life is imperative to creating a happy and healthy work environment. Remember, these are the people that we spend a huge chunk of our lives with. Smile often, laugh a little more, take the things you can’t control with a grain of salt, and don’t forget to be GRATEFUL.