Good attitude at work

“Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ. —Colossians 3:23-24

Today I work in an environment where I feel free, comfortable, encouraged, capable, interested and expected. In my previous jobs I cannot say I felt these things. At my last Job there was so much tension with/and unrealistic expectations and the job before that one, I worked so hard and got very little pay. I know that those jobs prepared me for the job I have today, they helped mold the woman that I am today.

When I look back I remember that I may have complained now and then but I always had a good attitude towards my work and I know I gave it a good effort. Sometimes it may not have been my best work, effort or assertiveness but I did put in an effort. I always kept an open mind, took very little personally and made sure I was learning. I took criticism as constructively as possible and used that to help me improve and grow. 

Today I still make mistakes, I am still learning, still growing and still improving. If I had the above bible verse back when I struggled with my jobs I think it would have been easier. I thank God for where I am today and the path that I am on to become the woman he wants me to be tomorrow. Working for and with other people is never easy but having a good attitude towards your work and your environments helps a lot.

The Nigerian Work Ethic

My new job has got me working with a lot expats from different parts of the world. This has now exposed me to how different people work, coming from a purely Nigerian institution my attention has been drawn to this obvious fact.

Not only do the expats complain a lot about the Nigerian's approach to work, the constant excuses for the lack of productivity and the skimming for cut backs at every opportunity. But the general energy to work is very different.

I initially made excuses for some of my Nigerian colleagues but I had to stop because I ran the risk of appearing stupid and I didn't want my boss to think I thought such cases were okay. We now refer to these cases as "the Nigerian factor".

I have since observed that there may be two sides; (applies to most international companies with expats)  the Nigerian side where people want to earn a salary usually a good one and not do the work required, then they still find ways they can make extra money on the side usually illegally though their company. Then the expat side, they usually want to work but have challenges with "the Nigerian factor". I guess it is part of the cultural experience they signed up for.

I heard a funny story of how an expat adopted "the Nigerian factor" and got his fat ass fired lol. So I ask how come most Nigerians get away with it. I guess some of them are lucky while some others aren't. But how did we Nigerians get to a point where our work ethic is so poor? Where we ever a country with people who took pride in our work? It is clear that so many of us are corrupt up to the point where we don't separate right from wrong and we don't know what practices are acceptable in regards to our work outputs. 

There is a reason America is the super country it is today and I think that the average American has a work ethic where they take pride in the job they have no matter how menial. Yes they have all the basic social structures but has developed because the work ethic of their workforce.

A better Nigerian work force will help Nigeria tremendously…… that’s just my take on it.