I am a great admirer of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and one of his quotes has intrigued me more than any other words.
Love your job but do not love your company because you may not know when your company stops loving you.
I have heard many people use this quote for venting their anger and frustration on their current or previous employers and most if not all of us believe that the organization only cares about its own goals and profit and has no love for the individuals. But have we ever tried to understand why it is so and is there a way to make the company love you in return?
If you think that you have truly loved your company and given your 110% but did not get the same in return then look deeper to check if this wasn’t a one sided affair. The relationship between an employee and employer like any other relationship is all about understanding and communication. At the time of taking up a job offer, the questions we ask are: What package am I being offered? What facilities will I be provided? What will my growth plan be? In short we want to know what we will be getting in return for our services. This is perfectly acceptable as personal growth is very important but at the same time it is important to ask: Does my personal growth synchronize with the company’s growth? If the answer is not ‘Yes’ then you cannot expect the relationship to flourish in the long run.
Job candidates are advised to read and research about the company before an interview. This is not just to be able to answer questions and get selected but to also find out if you are a good fit for the organization and vice versa. In our desperation to secure a job and then to keep it, we fail to grasp an understanding of the company’s vision and values and jump into a commitment with a hope to know each other and ‘fall in love’ later. Although practical initially, if procrastinated for too long, this approach can lead to mistrust and resentment as you cannot trust and respect your employer till you understand their objectives and without knowing the objectives, you will not be able to fully contribute leading to the employer’s disappointment and frustration.
A good employer and HR personnel would spot this conflict quickly and discuss with the employee regarding the company’s growth plan in general and with respect to the individual. However, in larger organizations, it is difficult to track behavior of each employee and some officials are apprehensive of discussing management strategies with ordinary employees. Mr. Vineet Nayar former CEO of HCL Technologies ,my ideal and author of Employees First, Customer Second calls this attitude obsolete. At HCLT, Using Transparency to Build Trust he made all information regarding the company’s growth, good or bad, accessible to the employees to build trust between management and employees which led to phenomenal employee initiated growth. As a result HCLT’s revenue per employee is amongst the highest in the Indian IT industry today.
But even if your management is not so proactive and transparent about policy matters, discussing your concerns with the HR or your seniors/managers is considered a healthy practice and appreciated across the board. With understanding of each other’s motives and actions and communicating our concerns and addressing the differences, the employer and employee can form a lasting mutually beneficial bond working together for a common goal of growth.
Despite this if you still think that your employer undermines your work and does not love you or your work, I will recommend that you switch immediately and find another place where you feel wanted. Because in the words of Dr Kalam himself:
Those who cannot work with their hearts achieve but a hollow, half-hearted success that breeds bitterness all around.
Let me know in the comments below your thoughts, i would be happy to discuss! All the best.
