Well, what a bloody week.
I’ve just got to Friday and wonder whether I’ve actually achieved anything, or whether I’ve just spent five days answering emails, dealing with problems, and trying not to launch my computer through the nearest window?
Yep. That was my week.
And it’s got me thinking about just how thankless working life really is.
Most of us turn up, do our jobs, deal with whatever lands on our desks and generally try our best to keep things moving. We solve problems, help people, deal with difficult situations and somehow manage to keep functioning while our brains are screaming, “For the love of God, can we just have one quiet day?”
But how often does anyone actually say thank you?
It sometimes feels like doing a good job is simply expected, while the slightest thing that goes wrong is immediately noticed. You can spend all week doing ten things right, but somehow it’s the eleventh thing that becomes the conversation.
And honestly, sometimes I wonder whether those we work for actually realise how much people do behind the scenes. They see the outcome, but they don’t always see the effort, frustration and sheer mental energy it takes to get there.
We are human beings, not workplace robots.
So yes, this week has been crap. I’m tired, frustrated and have mentally resigned at least seventeen times.
Will I still log in on Monday? Of course I bloody will.
I’ll make my coffee, open my laptop and get on with it.
Because that’s what we do. We turn up. We carry on. We do our jobs.
And occasionally we wonder why saying thank you seems to be such a difficult thing for some people.
Anyway…
Isabelle Cheren 