"Bring your whole self to work"
This was a motto bandied about a lot at my old company.
The idea was simple.
Everyone should feel like they can be themselves in the office…
Instead of pretending to be someone else.
Despite the motto, I never brought my whole self to work.
Recently I considered what it would’ve looked like if I had…
And I think the day would’ve gone something like this:
I’d arrive at the office at 11am…
(I’m naturally a
night owl, so I wake up late)
Wearing T-shirt and shorts…
(more “me” than a suit)
Find a quiet corner where I can work by myself…
(I do my best work when I’m not disturbed)
Avoiding meetings and calls…
(for similar reasons)
Have a nap at
2.30pm…
(to keep my energy levels up)
And another nap at 5pm…
(for similar reasons)
And leave the office at 7pm…
(to keep my life
balanced)
This is what bringing my whole self to work would have looked like for me.
Now let’s be honest…
This never would’ve cut the mustard.
There’s no way my company would’ve allowed it.
And even though my description
might sound a little facetious…
There is a serious point here.
I know some people do bring their whole selves to work…
And others don’t.
It’s different strokes for different folks.
And some people who don’t are fine with
this.
Or even see it as a positive.
That’s how I saw it when I first began working.
I liked having a separation between my work personality and my non-work personality.
But as time went by my view started to change.
I felt more
and more like an actor playing the role of an employee.
Rather than being myself.
And the longer it went on, the worse this feeling got.
Perhaps this was a clue the job wasn’t the right one for me.
But here’s the thing…
I don't think it
ever would've been possible to bring my whole self to work…
Even if I wanted to.
I don’t mean wearing shorts...
Or taking naps…
Or avoiding meetings and calls.
What I mean is…
I came to the realisation that the job would never align to my values…
So I could never be my whole self at work.
One of my biggest values is freedom.
I never thought that the 9 to 5 would lead to financial freedom…
Or freedom over how I spent my
time…
Or freedom to choose what I worked on.
And because of the value I place on freedom…
I could never bring my whole self to work.
I was living and working the values of someone else instead.
This was the nub.
With all this being said…
And regardless of whether you bring your whole self to work or not…
I think “bring your whole self to work” can be a useful phrase to ponder.
That’s it for today.
I need to wrap this up and head
out.
Enjoy your Tuesday.
- Tom
p.s. Whenever you're ready, here are the ways you can connect with me