Professionalism versus Friendship

Personal intro:

There are these moments when you face a sheer unsolvable conflict in life. This conflict can be of a personal nature or be a dispute at the workplace. A lack of sleep might be a side effect. A lack of orientation and perspective become an enduring feeling.

But then at some point the resolution happens! You talked with your colleague, reached a settlement or made the decisive decision. The sheer unsolvable problem abruptly turns into nothing. Why did you even bother with the problem in the first place?

Recently, I had such an experience. I was not able to point the finger to the cause of a problem and this caused me to be stressed.

The actual content:

I was unsure wether I fit into a company. Somehow I did feel a lack of understanding and acceptance by my peers. Found myself having arguments which I usually avoid. Ongoing discussions about irrelevant stuff went along.

Then I made the decision to quit the job. Facing all consequences. Once done that my perspective on the situation broadened. I was able to discuss it more distinctively. Got a lot of insight from friends.

It seems there are these adherent factors to a workplace, which you cannot simply change by yourself or through imminent acting. One of those factors is the company culture. Everybody talks about it, but nobody is able utilize or grasp it entirely.

Unhappiness at the workplace caused my self-confidence to drop. “Do I have the skill?” was the question I started to ask more often. I felt like I was missing something out.

A dissatisfying experience could have been avoided if the employee considered wether I the employe fit the culture and no the skill.

“Are you looking for people that seek friendship or professionalism at the workplace?” would be a simple but decisive question.

The point is:

Still not sure what this post is about? Me neither.

I wanna inspire you to ask the question what you consider to be more important at your workplace: friendship or professionalism?

This question has constantly burdened me, but I never had the chance to ask it.

If you consider friendship to be more important you most likely seek these traits:

• flat hierarchy
• personal relations
• short term occupation
• leisure time
• work life balance
• private and work mix
• happy atmosphere

If you consider professionalism to be more important you might appeal to:

• distinction between private and work
• no close relations
• career
• promotion
• over hours
• strong hierarchies
• managed responsibilities
• long term occupation

Of course you don’t have to opt for the one or the other. But consider these factors in your daily routine.