Attitudes Toward Work and Personal Life - Essay Example

? Attitudes Toward Work and Personal Life al Affiliation Attitudes Toward Work and Personal Life Introduction One is convinced that an individual’s outlook in life results from an interplay of internal and external factors that influenced the stages of growth and development. Some people could exude a predominantly optimistic perspective; while others could regard life as a pessimistic realm. As Oosting (2009) has averred, each individual encounters significant challenges in managing personal and professional life; as such, relevant facets that contribute and assist in effective development of strategies that provide direction and guidance must be taken into consideration. The theoretical knowledge and value system gained through different stages of growth would assist in explicitly setting our personal and professional goals and provide the needed strategies towards their fulfillment. The current discourse provides one with the opportunity to examine one’s values and priorities; as well as the value system that apparently leads to manifested attitudes toward work and personal life. The following questions would hereby be responded to, as needed: 1. Do I look forward to being at work every morning? Most mornings? An examination of one’s work actually reveals that one does not look forward to being at work every morning; nor in most mornings, at that. This could be a clear indication that one does not find fulfillment in the endeavor being pursued. With this kind of attitude, there is a potential impact on productivity at work. As such, this could be contrarious to Oosting’s assertion in his discourse on “Productivity In Your Work” which emphasizes that one needs to focus on being productive in work since “that must be your goal, every day, all year, and every year. Anything less is letting down God, your family and your employer” (n.d., par. 8). If one is genuinely enthusiastic at one’s responsibilities, productivity and performance are noted to be higher. Whereas, if one does not look forward to working, it means that there is low job productivity, satisfaction, and morale. 2. When I think of work, what is the most positive thing that comes to mind? The most positive thing that comes to mind when I think of work is the compensation or monetary reward that work accords. This is consistent with the theory proposed by Frederick Taylor who stated that “workers were motivated primarily by money, so he also developed the idea that workers should be paid based on whether they reached production targets” (Magloff, 2013, par. 3). 3. When I think of work, what is the most negative thing that comes to mind? The most negative thing that comes to mind when I think of work is being treated unfairly. I strongly feel that my colleagues do not care about me. It was revealed by Wright (1990) that “most of our difficulties in life occur because of other people…Most people would really want to get along with those around them” (p. 9). By perceiving indifference, prejudice, lack of support and care, I feel isolated and lonely. 4. Are my attitudes likely to change during the next twelve to twenty-four months? If so, why is that? My attitudes could possibly change during the next twelve to twenty-four months, if I take this course into consideration and pray about it. I could still be at that point in life where one’s personal and professional goals are not clearly and accurately established; since these are not in conjunction with God’s purpose for me in life. As asserted by Douglass (1978), “instead of seeking God's specific direction for these and other courses of action, many people tend to proceed through life without much prayer or thought and, therefore, without God's integrating purpose” (p. 1). Thus, with the assistance of the lessons learned and still to be imbibed in the course, one could be guided to discern God’s purpose for me and to assist in changing my attitudes, value system, priorities, and personal, as well as professional goals. 5. Do I like myself? No, people are mean and irritate me. Sometimes, their behavior questions what they see in me – why they react this way; as such, rather than being positive and optimistic about myself, I tend to assume a defensive stance and manifest a negative reaction and behavior towards others. What evidence is there to support my answer? I believe that I was not made for this world. I do unto others as I would have them do unto me, but I seldom get treated this way. I do not repay insult with insult, or evil with evil; but the world does this exactly. As such, I begun to feel isolated and acknowledged that I could live independently without regard to what other people think about me. 6. Am I fun to be around? If not all the time, when am I fun to be around and which is not the case? Yes, but sometimes I tend to be quiet when dealing with strong personalities that like to be mean and those who want to persistently be the center of attention. This could simply mean that I get to be irritated and sometimes intimidated by people who are loud and who are domineering. As such, I allow them to be noticed and do not exert any extraordinary effort to showcase my talents, skills, knowledge and abilities. 7. How do I affect other people? I witness by example, unless they ask for my opinion. I rarely make a difference in others’ lives – this is what I currently believe in. However, a closer reflection of the question and the situation seems to admonish the lyrics in the song entitled “No Man is an Island”: where it was contended that: No man is an island, No man stands alone, Each man's joy is joy to me, Each man's grief is my own” (Baez, 2012). These words indicate that by being reclusive, I might not be aware that my attitude and behavior are actually affecting other people. They might perceive me as a snob or someone who does not want to be disturbed; that even if they would like to approach me, they are afraid and apprehensive that I might turn them away and be embarrassed in the process. 8. Do I have a lot of friends? If not, why is that? No, I do not have a lot of friends because it’s hard to find people who are genuinely nice and enjoy hanging out sober. I strongly believe that I feel I have some apprehensions to make the first move in approaching people since I am afraid that I would encounter similar behavior of my colleagues at work. Thus, I find it difficult to maintain an open perspective and establish trust in locating friends who could be trusted and are deeply concerned of adhering to ethical, moral, and legal standards in life. What would I need to do to change that? I am now convinced that I need to reach out to others more often. There is a similar need to assume a more optimistic and positive stance, by not being judgmental and reclusive. I believe the ethics of reciprocity prevails: if I do good and kindness unto others; then, others would likewise react similarly to me. 9. What things in my life provide the greatest satisfaction? The things in my life that provide the greatest satisfaction are my faith and school. I still believe that God has a purpose in life for me; which I am still trying desperately to find out. Likewise, school activities provide me with the needed respite to learn more and be in the company of people who I have grown to be familiar with. As such, these provide me with the greatest satisfaction because when I am in this learning environment, I am most at ease. Likewise, I strongly believe that through gaining advanced knowledge, my skills, talents and abilities would grow and develop and could assist in changing my attitudes about work and about some of my colleagues who are indifferent and cold. 10. What things in my life provide the most dissatisfaction or unhappiness? The things that provide the most dissatisfaction are work and mean people who like to insult me and treat me indifferently. It is within my working environment that I feel most anxious, depressed, and unhappy. I am convinced that there are factors at work that could be changed; but are beyond my control. For instance, for these mean people and colleagues at work, there could be a positive strategy that could be done by supervisors in monitoring the performance of these workers. Managers and supervisors must be able to discern, govern, and administer the behavior of all workers and do something positive to change this work environment. I am sure that the low morale, job satisfaction, and productivity exemplified by people like me should have been a concern for them. As such, appropriate motivational programs and incentives; as well as a system of sanctions and penalties, must be designed to encourage marginal workers to improve and develop on their performance; as well as identify people who are mean, rude, and assuming a mal-aligned and mal-adjusted behavior that impacts on the productivity of others. 11. To what extent are my work and personal written goals significant? I strongly believe that personal goals are of extreme importance because it keeps me focused and gives me the guidance to push myself towards attaining these goals. Without clearly identifying personal goals (or professional goals, for that matter), I would just get sidetracked with things in life that do not really matter or are not significantly important in the scheme of things. Simply put, although I am in a situation where I could be dissatisfied with my current job, I acknowledged that this is not permanent. By improving on my education, as well as by pursuing endeavors that would enable me to develop skills, talents, and abilities, I could pursue future employment which I would consider as rewarding, productive, satisfying, and that which would give me happiness and fulfillment in the long run.? References Baez, J. (2012). No Man Is an Island Lyrics - Joan Baez. Retrieved April 24, 2013, from Sing365: http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/No-Man-Is-an-Island-lyrics-Joan-Baez/5ADCD449CF2A36F948256C9C0022DBAA Douglass, S. (1978). Managing Yourself. Campus Crusade for Christ International. Magloff, L. (2013). Herzberg & Taylor's Theories of Motivation. Retrieved April 24, 2013, from Chron: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/herzberg-taylors-theories-motivation-704.html Oosting, K. (2009). The Christian's Guide to Effective Personal Management. Wipf & Stock Publishers. Wright, H. (1990). How to Get Along With Almost Anyone. Waco, TX: Word Publishing. Read More