It was Friday, the end of your first week at this amazing new job. Your friend had told you about this company – a research and development facility where employees were allowed the creative freedom to develop any great idea that came to them. Each day before work, the employees were invited to a 5:00 a.m. breakfast with the Boss. Delicious quiches and pastries were served, as well as gourmet coffee. But it was optional, and you are not a morning person! You opted for starting work at 9:00 and catching the three extra hours of Z’s.
When you walked in on that first day, you saw that the office was bustling with activity. Others seemed joyfully engaged in their projects. You felt a little lost because no one assigned you any tasks. You looked around. On Monday, you cleaned the break room – it really needed it. Another day, you organized desks and took out the overflowing trash cans. You cleaned off all of the whiteboards, restocked the printer paper and toner, put new rolls of toilet paper in the bathrooms, and generally tidied up the place. It was tedious, but you wanted to show your new Boss that you were willing to work hard.
At the end of the Friday workday, the boss gathered everyone for a standing meeting. This, you discovered, was where all the employees stood in the circle. Each person had one minute to summarize what they had worked on over the week. The first woman to report was three spaces to your right.
“Our team is working on a wastewater management system for remote areas in developing nations – in other words, we’re reinventing the toilet.” She chuckled. Others laughed and congratulated her on her team’s progress.
The next guy, dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, explained that his team was in the midst of a campaign to crowdsource state-of-the-art computers for students who had no access to technology. This had put them at a disadvantage in their studies. Everyone agreed that this was a desperate need in impoverished communities.
Attention now turned to the guy standing next to you. You wondered to yourself, “How come I wasn’t given an exciting project to work on? I was stuck cleaning up after everyone else – it was boring.” You glanced at the guy to your right and were astonished to see that he was about 15 or 16 years old.
“Our team made nutritious and tasty sack lunches each morning. Then we distributed them to people who are currently unhoused. We fed about 4,000 to 5,000 people each day.
“”What?!” you shout in your head. “That’s impossible!”
Now it was your turn to report. “Well, um, I’m new, and I’m not on any team, yet, so I cleaned, organized, and restocked the office… ” You glanced sheepishly at the Boss.
“It certainly needed it. Thank you. Maybe next week, you can come to our 5:00 a.m. breakfast gatherings. I’d love to see you there. We break bread together, enjoy each other’s company, and hatch our plans for the day during the meal – sort of a brainstorming session, you might say.” He fixed his eyes on me. His personal invitation was so sincere and compelling.
You understood now why everyone else joyfully labored at their jobs during the week. They knew their projects had the Boss’s Stamp of Approval and Full Support because they had spent time before work in Intimate Companionship with the Boss.
As the rest of the people reported one by one, you resolved to start coming to the breakfasts. Now, you were eager for Monday to come, so you could start your new job afresh and work with others and your Boss on exciting projects! Trading sleep for all of the Joy you sensed in your coworkers suddenly seemed like a Great Deal : )
Amen ; ) ❤️
Words and Pictures for the Heart 