A Millennial's 6th Working Anniversary Celebration (Part 1 of 2)

I AM A MILLENNIAL.

Goldman Sachs defined Millenials as those who were born between 1980-2000. Gallup, on the other hand, mentioned that Millenials are individuals born between 1980-1996. Whether I use Gallup or Goldman Sachs's definition, I'm a millenial.

I couldn't speak for everyone around the globe, but at least in the Philippines, millennials have the reputation for job-hopping. My batchmates would hop from one job into another noting that their job sucks or that they deserve better.

Guess, I am a deviant in my batch 😂! This year, as I celebrate my 6th working anniversary at the same company, I'll be sharing with you a summary of the most indispensable lessons I learned in my six-year working journey!

In this first part, I'll talk about the first three vital lessons and some practical tips that helped me feel contented, happy, and motivated to work even after six (6) freaking years!

Let's dive right in!

Lesson 1: Salary is not everything (well at least, for me)

As a fresh grad from one of the leading educational institutions in the country, I was told I shouldn’t accept a job that offers anything below fifteen thousand pesos as monthly compensation. Back then, the nerd fresh grad in me knew nothing about how the corporate world works, so I believed them, and interview after interview, I would confidently say that my service is worth not less than fifteen thousand. Fortunately, I found a job that pays me a little over what people expected a UP fresh grad should earn. I was happy. I feel contented. I felt that I was paid for what I should be paid based on society’s standards.

A couple of months later, I heard friends have decided to resign from their current jobs. And in the months that followed, many of them have been hopping from one work to the other. What surprised me was the fact that they’re paid way beyond what we’re expected to earn.

When asked why job hop, they told me “It’s the working environment” “There’s too much unhealthy competition” “I don’t feel supported”

Right there and then, it hit me that salary alone couldn’t always keep the best employee nor it can’t always spark contentment and joy.

Before even considering compensation as your basis for your dream job, don’t forget to ask yourselves:

“Will your working environment help you succeed in other endeavors outside work?”
“Will it empower you to grow on your own terms?”
“Will it honor and value your unique personality and traits?”
“Will your job allow you to bring and make use of your personal stamp in the things that you’re expected to deliver?”
“How are mistakes treated? Are they welcome or are they being feared?”
“Is there a safe space to express yourself without the fear of rejection?”

I honestly didn't consider all these questions when I looked for my first job, but I was blessed to have found one that supported me and my personal endeavors — a job that honed my character, a job that trusted my skills and knowledge, a job that allowed me to make mistakes so I can spread my wings and learn how to soar up high.

Perhaps it’s about time to rethink what truly matters in choosing your next job.

Lesson 2: Avoid micromanaging. It’s disgusting.

To leaders managing a team, this one’s for you.

Micromanaging per se isn’t a bad thing. Just like anything else, it has its good and bad sides. We couldn’t discount that some days really require it. And perhaps, it’s the best option available on the shelf.

But imagine this. One day you (as a leader) just decided to micromanage and do everything on your own without telling your team you’re starting to do so. You kept everyone else out of the picture. Then suddenly everybody realizes that they’re being stripped off the tasks they should be doing. Now it feels like you took away the things they thought they’ve been doing just fine all these years. And they’re left with nothing but questions like “What did I do wrong?” or “So what am I to do now?”

Aside from it is irritating (It is very irritating sometimes 😤), micromanaging hinders the growth that everyone deserves.

Remember that as a leader, you are not the only one who deserves to grow, the people you’re managing deserve to grow too. And if you don’t agree with this, stop being a leader if you’re just going to hinder people’s growth.

It’s important to acknowledge what micromanaging does to people. And here are some of my inputs:

Micromanaging takes away people’s safe space to grow on their own terms. It robs people’s precious opportunity to learn from their mistakes. Leaders who inadvertently micromanage their team might get the feeling of accomplishment when they’ve done things faster and way better than what the entire team could ever accomplish. But leaders shouldn’t do things just because they’re afraid that the team will fall short of what’s expected. Failure is a necessary part of anyone’s growth. The faster we fail, the better.

It also demoralizes people. I know this morale thing might not be your top priority. It might never make it on your priority list. Ever. You can ditch this just to get that efficiency you’re so eager to perfect. But work isn’t always about efficiency. It isn’t merely about how well tasks are done or if they’re done on time.

Leadership is sometimes about taking a step or two back and giving a space where people can nourish themselves. Gone are the days when managing a workforce is not so different from managing a puppet show.

In the end, you aren’t in this race alone; it’s a team doing tons after tons of tasks. So if you want to be a great leader, aim for growth and bring your team with you!

Lesson 3: Why work hard when you can work smart instead?

I used to firmly believe that in order to excel in whatever career path I’d take after college, I’ll have to work hard. We live in a world, or at least in my country, where working hard means working longer than usual, staying in the office past the 8-hr mark.

We praise people who spend weekends in the office because they work hard. We commend someone who spends holidays in the office because they work hard. We applaud someone who looks like a zombie when they come to work because they stayed late last night (even when they’re already home) to finish what’s supposed to be done the following day because they work hard.

Companies adore employees who haven’t availed themselves of any of those vacation leaves and service incentive leaves because they work hard.

Time spent in the office became the only part of the you’re-doing-great-at-work equation.

But, I tell you don’t believe them when they say you need to give all your precious and limited time to work, work and work alone.

A few years later, I realized I can go home at exactly six (6) PM without feeling like I’ve done less than anyone who chose to stay longer in the office. I’ve learned to accept that my contribution to the company isn’t solely about time spent facing my monitor.

It’s okay. I fell on this trap, too. And here’s a little tip from someone who learned to get away with it. Below is a quick look at how I’ve worked smart in the past few months:

Know your boundaries.

• With all the duties and responsibilities being thrown in the pit by just anyone in the office, do you know if you’re the right person to pick it up and work on it? If not, then don’t dare touch it, go to the next step instead.

Create a daily routine.

• Create a daily routine and as much as possible stick to it. Knowing and understanding what you have to deliver every single day gives you a better idea of how to organize your day, your week, and your month without burning yourself out. You only have to focus on those that you have and can deliver. A to-do list for ALL your deliverables will save you so much time. For projects, Gantt Charts (even the simplest one) will always pull you back on track.

Don’t patronize doing overtimes.

• When it’s time to work, work. When it’s time to leave the office, leave (Your family is waiting for you, darling! ❤️). Let’s be honest here. We don’t allot office hours for work alone, we get lost in the middle. Don’t we? We deal with the “others” (Lazada, Zalora, Shoppee, Food Panda, Grabfood, Facebook, IG, Twitter, Tiktok, etc.) and unfortunately we make use of overtime to finish what we could’ve finished if only we stayed focus during office hours. We couldn’t totally eliminate this, but we can minimize it. You just have to start somewhere, say acknowledging the fact that you get lost in the middle of the day out of sleepiness and boredom. Then, assess how you can adjust and be truly productive.

Repetition might sound boring, but it can be your bestfriend.

• With repetition, you become more efficient. It’s only natural to do tasks faster as time passes by. My boss once told me “How do you measure you’re getting better at your task? You shorten the time you spend completing them” So make use of repetitive tasks to your advantage.

Foster a strong relationship with the people you’re working with.

• Tasks are always easier when you work with people you’re in harmony with. Avoid cold wars; they will unconsciously absorb your energy.

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That's it!😊 You've read everything I can share in this first part of my 6th working anniversary celebration post. I'll be sharing the other half in my next post. If you find this article interesting, better stay tuned for the next lessons I'll be discussing.

Please note that I am not a professional in terms of Leadership and all the other things I've mentioned in this post. These are all based on my own experiences.

Drop your insights in the comment section, I'd love to hear them! ❤️

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