During the time that I spent manning a shift that I hated for longer than I wanted, I fell into a rut and began focusing more on the perceived negatives than the actual positives. I was growingly more and more unhappy with how I was spending my time, not only at work because of the amount of time that I had to just dick around on the internet, but also displeased with my time outside of work. During that time as I said in “Catch-Up,” an 8-hour work day was easily turned into much longer than that, and the rest of the time I was tired. I was a grump. As I’ve said before, and continually tell myself, I can’t be upset while I’m here and I need to focus on the positive; always, no exceptions. Four months ago all I wanted was to be exactly where I am today, doing exactly what I’m doing. It’s crazy to me that it’s possible to get exactly what you want, and still be unsatisfied. In the free time that I have to wandering aimlessly through cyber space, I was catching up on some celebrity gossip, and in the wake of the pending Jay-Z & Kanye collabo “Watch the Thrown,” there were rumors of a falling out between the two. Long story short, Jay-Z stopped by Hot 97 and addressed it saying:
"Yes, we get on each other's nerves, but that's part of pushing each other. We push each other. The people who have a problem with Kanye or myself are the people that are complacent in life."So, I began thinking about the notion of complacency. I’d become discontent with what I was doing work-wise, but I wasn’t striving to become complacent. In other words, I was bored at work and wanted to be doing more challenging work, but at the same time, I don’t ever want to be in a position where I become too comfortable and overly assured in the work that I’m doing. I don’t think it’s okay to ever become too content; it’s like a fine line. Set a goal, reach it, become content with the results, and then set another—always striving for more. I think if you set a goal and consider the work done once it’s reached, you’re likely to become content and those are the kind of people (in my opinion) that Jay-Z was referring to; people that reach a goal and then are done. He and Kanye West are two of the best at what they do, yet they continue to challenge themselves to be better and do greater. I want to have the same drive, especially professionally. And oddly enough, I’m not alone in that desire.
Also in my spare time at work I like to read psychology articles and journals. It’s my inner nerd that comes out to play. Anywho, lately I really get my rocks off reading about studies done on Millennials—people born between 1979 & 1994. Note that the years vary slightly depending on the source, but it’s just like Generation X or Baby Boomers, and as Millennials are beginning to enter and take over the work force, more and more research is being done and I love it. Granted the results are typically generalizations applied to a group ranging in age <15 yrs, race, sex, religion, etc. But I think I really like it because I feel like it’s loosely describing me—like a horoscope. Some interesting things I read in “New Generation, Great Expectations: A Field Study of the Millennial Generation” are below:
"Millennials have low tolerance for less-than challenging work, and often perform poorly in high-volume and non-stimulating work."
“The Millennials also considered people and work-related attributes to be important in their job choice. The emphasis on people supports the contention that Millennials are interested in more than just the job, and emphasizing the social aspect of work. This may also suggest that Millennials may be more loyal to their colleagues and supervisors than to their organizations (Lancaster and Stillman 2002). For example, a manager may leave a firm and very shortly after, others may join the manager, because they [Millennials] will say, ‘‘It’s my team that I am working with’’ (cf. Pooley 2006). Myers (2007) suggested that the secret to successfully managing the Millennials may lie in using the same strategies their parents used to raise them. This may mean providing them with lots of support, coddling, and giving them a sense of belonging, but without turning the workplace into a ‘‘daycare.’’ Another suggestion is to give the Millennials responsibilities fairly quickly, allowing them the flexibility to do the job their own way, but to expect results and show them how their contributions fit.”
More than almost anything, I hate having my time wasted and that’s how I feel like I’ve spent a lot of time clocked in. However, in trying to see the silver lining, my sports intern counterpart Kevin told me that other interns throughout the company that work for tv shows often are just in charge of crowd control, and monitoring lines, and getting people to their seats and stuff. At least I’m doing practical work, and it’s actually helped my video editing skills, plus I’ve become fairly proficient with news programs. I had a pow wow with my manager a few days ago and we talked about my feelings about my internship as whole. And I was honest with her, as far as my likes and dislikes and things I’d do differently if I had to do again. But she praised me and my work performance, telling me that I was just as good as any Production Assistant she’d hired, and she said that I ended up doing so much of that work because they were able to just let me go on my own and work because I caught on quickly. Sounds good, I just know, as I told her, that starting as a production assistant at the network isn’t the route I’d chose to take to get my foot in the door. And luckily, having a fulltime job lined up back in Columbia, that won’t be the route I need to take.
But some good advice I got this summer was something to the effect of “sometimes you need to do something that you don’t like, to realize that it’s not for you.” I can check that off my list. BUT, I’m still grateful for the experience.
**But that study I read was realllly good, so go read it: http://proquest.umi.com.proxy.mul.missouri.edu/pqdlink?Ver=1&Exp=08-02-2016&FMT=7&DID=2033951221&RQT=309 (if that link works)
No comments:
Post a Comment