World's Best Boss
Last year I was bestowed the iconic "World's Best Boss" mug from The Office for my birthday from one of my nurses, Kaity. In order to fully appreciate the humor behind the gift I must share some of the back story of what was occurring in Kaity's life prior to her gifting me the mug. Kaity had been struggling with a lack of professionalism from her boss at another job for quite some time. Everything came to a head when, in an effort to accommodate the behind-the-scenes logistics and financials, her official job title needed to be changed. Rather than addressing that in a civil, professional, and adult conversation, Kaity's boss told her that she would have to change her job description, or suggested she could just quit.
Giving people a little bit more attention and care than what simple common courtesy demands creates an upward spiral facilitating better relationships and environments for all parties involved.
It boggles the mind that somebody would take that approach when discussing something relatively minor. Ultimately, Kaity chose to take her boss up on the offer of quitting, not because she had any issue with changing her position title, but because she felt being treated in that manner was degrading and unnecessary. The decision was made even easier given that the job was she was doing on the side to lessen the burdens of her team members and because she enjoys working. Fortunately for both Kaity and I, she had another job where she had the privilege of taking care of the world's best boss. I mean that is a win-win! Not only is her boss the world's best, but she gets to help take care of that renowned individual (wink, wink). It really worked out well for me, all jokes and sarcasm aside, as she was able to pick up more shifts here and I thoroughly enjoy her company.
My birthday just so happened to follow the infamous firing, or quitting, take your pick, by a few short weeks. In the interim, whenever I needed Kaity to do anything I told her she could just do it or quit. My snarky jokes were followed with very sincere comments from Kaity claiming that leaving her old boss behind for an entirely different work environment was no hardship. It therefore came as no surprise, and was quite humorous, when I unwrapped that particular mug on my birthday.
While this story is amusing, like so many events in my life, it led me down a path of introspection. I started considering the amazing staff that I have managed to accrue, building around me a wonderful and caring network to support my family and me in meeting my care needs. I know that finding good reliable caregivers is often a difficult task and is something that many people in situations similar to mine struggle with. While finding good people to begin with is not easily accomplished, what I really started thinking about is how one keeps the good ones, once found, around long-term. It is not surprising that it boils down to mantras we are taught as children: treating people with respect and kindness, just as anyone would want to be treated. The environment in which people are working as my nurses is very unconventional, they are in a home where family members live, and everyone is going about their daily lives. It becomes natural to invite my nurses into our home, family, lives, and to treat them as something more than just employees.
I recognize that this degree of intimacy in a working relationship is not possible in all places of work, the relationships I have with my nurses make it very easy to see a simple truth about life and relationships. In any aspect of life, giving people a little bit more attention and care than what simple common courtesy demands creates an upward spiral facilitating better relationships and environments for all parties involved. It does not take much effort, and it exponentially improves the situation for whomever the gesture is made. Why not put forth a small effort to make the world a better place for those around you? The rewards are easily worth it, and at the very least you can earn the privilege of being given a "World's Best Boss" mug instead of having to buy it for yourself like Michael Scott, from The Office!