Sunday, December 19, 2010

Workers and feigners

Work is a natural part of life. It is a necessity actually. It takes place every day, day in and day out. Things must get done. But have you ever noticed who is really working? There are the ones who talk about working, some who seem so busy they must be working, some who actually work and another group that simply gets the job done.

As a long time manager and tasked with the job of getting people to accomplish things, I am very familiar with the workers and the fakers. Most are easy to spot but some may take a little more time to ferret out. The talkers are so busy talking about how to get things done and what should be done and in what order, most of the task is accomplished except the final acts by the time they join in the fray. This gets them out of most of the work and they help with the remnants which actually makes is seem as they did something.

The next group are those who work so hard at avoiding work they would actually do less if they simply joined the party and did the work. Every one knows them and every family has them. They are always at the family functions and seem to disappear when anything needs to happen. They must step outside to do something or run an errand just when the dishes need washed, dried, floor swept or anything else that accompanies a multi-family event. (Golly, Wally, did I just slide from work-place to family? How did that happen?)

The next group are those who simply get in the way. They try to help but always seem to be doing the wrong thing at the wrong time. When they get involved things get thrown into chaos and the work slows to a snails pace. They are generally not very organized and you can see it in most everything they do. It's best to give them other tasks to do which have nothing to do with the main event. As is the case, this should also be done in work situations.

Finally, there are those who simply get the job done. They have a sense of organization, protocol and timing and just know when to do things and in the proper order. Every work place needs these people as does every family at a family event. They are the first to arrive and the last to leave. They aren't waving goodbye when the last few items need finished. They are the ones who sweep the floor and turn out the lights, even though it wasn't their event to do in the first place.

Here's to the workers and the getter-doners; Merry Christmas and thanks for the party.

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