In watching the guest’s narrative interviews there were a number of things that Charlene Bose said that connected to me. From my experiences working in the hospitality industry and particularly in fast food, I have realised the importance of teamwork and developing positive relationships at work. Charlene relates to this idea when she says “...I would say, care for my team. I think that was one thing that I always carried with me across the workplace and across areas of work. And because you’re different personalities, different goals, different values from organisations. I think I have been able to quite successfully is tailor what I am doing to ensure that I’m helping my immediate team the most with what is needed at the time and place and situation of”.
The part that stands out to me is “different personalities, different goals, different values from organisations.”. Through my work experience I have worked with multiple different personality types. I have noticed that the personality traits of employees reflect the atmosphere of the workplace as a whole. When I worked at the Berry Hotel my co-workers all had a warm and comfortable nature to them. These personality traits affected my relationships with people. I felt comfortable leaning on managers for support when a customer complained or needed direction.
Re-evaluating this type of experience in the context of these narrative interviews I can see how my values relate to how I feel at work. I can relate that to the ‘Absent but implicit’ theory, which Kate describes during the interview, “The reason we call this the absent but implicit in the theory that we’re following is that you’re triggered by the absence of something you prefer to be there. So it’s an implicit value”. In my work experience I have noticed I get more done and feel less stressed when I have co-workers that make me feel supported and comfortable.
For example, last Saturday I worked a long shift. It was in weather above 30 degrees and orders up the wall. By mid-day we had run 1kg stock and were down a staff member due to the heat. I got told to leave early from my shift. I wanted the chef to tell me I did a good job getting through the shift. Although I understood how he would have been tired from the shift, the absence of having that reassurance is something that I have noticed through the following week when I finished the same shift. In my mind applying the absent but implicit theory to this situation, the absence of this reassurance affected my motivation and satisfaction at work.
I also reflected on something else that Charlene talked about with different management styles. She discussed the value of a manager who could enable staff to tackle new or difficult things in ways that allowed them to stay true to their values or personalities. I can really relate to that idea in my work roles, particularly when I had the opportunity to challenge myself in an office environment for a media agency in Sydney called OMD.
During this internship, I was given tasks that had a lot more to do with the business side of media which had a lot of content, terminology that I was not used to and I also realised that I had a lot of gaps in my knowledge around the mathematical side of business. But during the internship I noticed how important it was for other employees to have regular conversations not only about their work but their everyday lives outside of work. Through observing my colleagues I noticed that it was important to them to build rapport and respect from their colleagues. In working in this new environment I learnt the value of these conversations as it enhanced a feeling of comfort and support, and helped to develop open and effective communication. This was a strong dynamic in this office and I think it really did help people to feel comfortable to meet new challenges.
Initially, as I was the intern it was hard for me to speak up in the office, I found it hard coming up with questions to ask since I was so overwhelmed with content but as the 4 weeks wore on I observed from other colleagues that when people feel comfortable with each other, they find it easier to share ideas, ask questions, and provide feedback, leading to better problem-solving and decision-making.
In conclusion, I would say that the idea of being true to your own values at work was something that I took away from these narrative interviews. And that the concept of ‘absent but implicit” is a really valuable way to understand and process what is important to you as an individual in a work environment. At the same time it’s really instructive to hear from people with more experience that you really can make it work to bring your own self to the work environment and be successful.
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