Yesterday was my anniversary at Malloy. I have been employed there for 23 years. Today I realized I’ve been employed there more than half my life. That’s a long time. I started thinking about all the things I really like about Malloy and reflecting on how I felt about working there so long.
PROUD – There have been days where I am so proud of my work place. So many things make it a weird and special place (the fact that I get to teach my coworkers yoga, the 200+ pumpkins in shipping for the pumpkin growing contest in the fall, and the way people show support for those who are hurt or sick) that I suppose other work places probably have … in their own way.
FORTUNATE – At lunch today I asked my coworkers what they thought about working so long at Malloy. All but one have been there longer than I have. The consensus was that I should be happy I have a job.
FRUSTRATED – We are a slow moving organization. Unless the issue is directly about making a book or servicing a customer, it goes on the back burner. Change is slow … sometimes glacially slow. Sometimes set-my-hair-on-fire slow.
EMPOWERED – When it comes to red tape, there’s not much. We do not have many layers, not a lot of things need approval and when things do, those who do the ‘approving’ are pretty accommodating. There have been times when I have had an idea to do something, change something, add something and just done it. That’s a rush.
GRATEFUL – I am grateful for a place that has taught me volumes, allowed me to be creative, and a workplace that is stable and secure. Although I’ve worked for one company for 23 years, I haven’t had just one job. I feel grateful for the opportunities I’ve had, to change jobs, learn new things, and stretch and grow.
SUCCESSFUL – Because there have been opportunities to take on many different roles, I have been successful at many of them. One opportunity has lead to another – whether I’ve wanted it or not.
MADDENING – Not every day was rosy. I wrote my resignation letter more than once over the last couple of decades. Times were tough – tough on the organization, me personally, and others in the organization. Days when I felt satisfied certainly outweigh those that brought me to tears – but they were still present.
PROUD – Most of the time I come back to feeling proud of my workplace. A place that makes books … we don’t make widgets, car parts, or mold things out of plastic. We put ink on paper, bind those pages together into something someone learns from or gets pleasure from. Something that is, in the least, a collection of ideas – the result of hard and creative work – and at the most, something that can change a life.