If there’s one question that should start this little book on big workplace success, let me put it this way: Do you love your work?

Now, that’s kinda heavy, isn’t it? It’s too big for an opening statement I’d like to think though that you really got the question right. So let me repeat the question.

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“Do you love your work?”

Why did I ask? Because everything that you are becoming everyday, everything that you do every moment of your working hours, or probably everything that you think about most of the time has everything to do with your life as a whole.

Simply put, that question, though seemingly easy, is a powerful key to finally put to rest every agony, sorrow, and disappointment you have inside you that make you hate your job (or your boss).

When you get to answer it with either a “yes” or a “no,” my follow up question is: Why are you working?

Seemingly, it’s an easy question, too. When I ran a short survey on Facebook, the answers were obvious and there’s no contention at all. I think the sentiments are all but the same. Summing it up, we all work for either money or fulfillment or a combination of both.

But one fact has ramained in the same way it was thousands of years ago: We all have to work. Even the company owners will have to work. More often than not, they work three or four times harder than their employees. Your bosses will have to work. Students will have to work as students. Parents will have to work as parents.

It seems like everybody will have to move and do something so as long as they live. Is it a punishment by God when a certain Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit? And that we all have to labor as we live?

Well, whether the story is true or not or the answer is a yes or a no, the fact is we are all working and we will have to labor.

That’s why I wrote this book. If we don’t have any other option but to work for a living, how do we take our work? If there’s nothing else that we can do but to work for a living, how do we respond to this reality? If we will never ever escape a “working” life, then where do we position ourselves in the workplace?

Our goal here is to understand the real meaning of what we do so we’ll be able to liberate ourselves from anxiety, pain, and frustrations due to our poor or little understanding of our job or work. Without expanding our thinking, our limited knowledge can only do more harm than good.

That’s why some people get sick. It’s not mainly because of the polluted air or water. It’s also because of our polluted working environment. You can only imagine some people seeing the person they hate every day trying to figure out how the person will be fired from the company. And, what about the corporate politics that has been there for centuries? Take the case of an ugly working relationship between the boss and the employees or a turf among company workers.

The thing is the way we are to deal with every issue will define the way we live our life at work and at home. And whoever told you that you can separate your work life from your personal life must be mistaken.

Everything must have a connection and relation. That’s why a bad hair day that started from home can last for an entire bad hair day at work and vice versa.

It’s not easy to find a work-life balance, if at all there’s such a thing. Honestly, I believe that work is life in itself. That being stated, I don’t think we should ever balance work and life. It just won’t make any sense. Life, for me, can’t be taken away from anything that we do. Life is embedded in every labor, every emotion, and every decision that we make.

Life is what happens.

Accepting several mysteries at work and at home will make your life easier. That’s what this book is also about. In the following pages, we’re going to find the thin line between job and work. I think people should learn the difference between the two so they can make conscious decisions and personal judgment on what they do.

Obviously, we don’t ask: Are you jobbing? Otherwise, you must asking: Are you working occasionally at separate short jobs? That’s how Merriam-Webster dictionary defined “jobbing” as an adjective, which is chiefly British.

So it there a distinct difference between job and work? You’ll find the answer inside.

There are norms and culture and tradition in any workplace. If you’re a newcomer, it takes time to realize that you’re bound to move in a certain way at a certain circumstance especially if you’re in a big company. Obviously, there are structures and rules that you’ll need to follow should you want to keep your job. If you’re a sort of an old employee having worked for 15 years or more since the founding of the company, then you’re part of the gang that developed such tradition.

How do you understand the corporate culture? Is it even necessary for you to realize these norms? How do you capitalize on it? Is it possible to benefit from the existing culture? Who’s making up this “generally accepted” standard?

You’ll find out in Chapter 3: The Norms.

There are undying issues in every organization. No matter how often you send your self to seminars, conferences, conventions, or trainings, it seems like the issues are almost impossible to resolve. There are issues like backstabbing, jealousy, mudslinging, blame game, and a thousand and one more. Are they not simple issues that we can solve using what we’ve learned from our Values Education in primary and secondary school?

With the size and scope we have now, I don’t think it’s sufficient.

Companies spend time and money on training. Is it the answer to solve corporate issues or are they just spending to make their employees wiser to engage in these issues? As an individual, is it hard to do good than to do bad that’s why we do bad things?

Chapters 4 and 5 will cover the issues and solutions so you’ll never have to waste your time and energy in beating up the system. Perhaps, you can draw your own system and game plan that will make the existing system obsolete. In this case, you can be the driver of your own career.

Finally, in the final chapter, I’ll invite you to move up and raise your own bar. Being an employee doesn’t mean being lowly. It doesn’t mean that someone else owns you and you will have to follow everything that you are told to do. If what you do is getting in the way of your personal preference and judgment, you always have a choice to pick another journey.

Being an employee doesn’t mean that you always have a little and your bosses have too much. It doesn’t take your right to happiness. Your being a worker doesn’t restrict you from exercising your free will—you have the freedom to choose and decide for your self and therefore it’s not true when you say, “I have no choice.”

As an employee, you are bound to follow a certain procedure. But it shouldn’t restrain you from growing. I think growth is a very important parcel of happiness. If you’re no longer growing and the environment you’re working into no longer provides a room for development, it’s time to abandon your post.

As an employee, however, you are given every opportunity to make your life better every day. This is true for every one. But not every one recognize this opportunity. That spells the difference between success and failure. Should you want to succeed, you should learn to either recognize an opportunity or create one for your self.

Lastly, I’ve always been a fan of personal development. I believe that the only way to succeed is to beat every opponent in your way. That includes your thinking, your choices, and your actions. That includes beating your own self—every day.

One thing more. I’d like to confess that I’ve always been an employee. And my love for work and commitment to my God-given talent have always employed me to work for another day. For how long? Yes. For as long as I live.

The Author
September 1, 2010
Makati City, Philippines