A Point of Clarification

Many folks have shared criticism about my “Disgruntled Employee” entry last week (during my negative campaign, which I have since stricken). They may have been words written in anger at the moment, but it doesn’t change the fact that I was hurt. And that’s human emotion, so I won’t apologize for it.

But I do want to clarify a few points. There are good people at my company – most of them, in fact, are good people. My boss is a good person – I believe that. But he has a company to run. He lives in hotels and out of suitcases most of the time. Business is rough these days, and he’s getting kicked for it. He’s crabby. Yet I’ve seen the good side of this man. I know it is there.

The other higher-ups are good people, too. They are all family men – I think they would understand why I was hurt. But I can’t really tell them about it. It’s mixing personal and professional topics – and that is dangerous ground.

I was talking with someone about this recently. He said that so many companies believe that personal and professional can’t mix – that you can’t be friends with people and then come to work and be able to maintain a strictly professional relationship with them.

Yet as humans, we allow ourselves to get close to people. Relationships form and whether you expect it or not, you find yourself “friends” with colleagues. And I think that’s ok. It’s natural. It’s human nature. And it’s also human nature to feel hurt when you get stepped on. It doesn’t mean I have less respect for any of my colleagues and their roles here – they do a fine job in their professional roles and running the company.

I think that all of us (me included) just sometimes forget that even though we are “workers” at work to make money, we’re also still human. And sometimes we forget that. Allowing ourselves to care for others - and "care" can be defined many different ways - is NOT a bad thing. Trust your heart - it won't lead you astray.