LIFE’S NOT FAIR

By:  F. Kong

Work! Just the sheer mention of it sends negative thoughts into your brain, because a lot of people view it as an interruption of the weekend, an evil necessity, or as an unappreciated means to earn a living.

But if you’ve been reading this column for some time now, you would have understood that work is a noble undertaking. It is a means by which we can use our creative juices and be productive at the same time.

Then again, there will always be people who tend to look at the negative side of work. You might even find that you share some of these perceptions about work.

One worker complains that life in the office is never fair. He sees that different situations are simply a matter of interpretation. He says: “When I take a long time, I am slow. But when my boss takes a long time, he is thorough. When I don’t do my work, I am lazy, but when my boss doesn’t do it, he is too busy. When I do something without being told, I am trying to be smart; but when my boss does the same, that is initiative. When I please my boss, I’m trying to win his favor; but when my boss pleases his boss, he’s cooperating. When I do good, my boss never remembers–when I do wrong, he never forgets. And so everything is just a matter of interpretation.”

Hmmmm–there seems to be some truth in there. I do have to admit that there are really instances when things like these happen in the workplace. It’s tragic, and it shouldn’t be so in the first place. But can you really say that life is fair?

Come to think about it, the world is never fair because we could not be fair to others too. We just need to remember that we have to make that decision to be the best that we can be, and that our actions and behavior in life should not be dictated upon by somebody else’s weakness or personality.

Life is never easy,
especially in the workplace.
The secret is in
not taking things too seriously.

Another material I came across talks about identifying THAT particular moment when you know your job’s on the line. This came from an article on the LaughWeb site:

You know it’s your last day at work when…

…You hand a bank teller an envelope, and when she asks, “What’s this?”, you realize you just dropped the company’s deposit in a mailbox.

…A woman comes into the store, you turn to the other salesman and say, “I waited on the last fat ugly old lady. This one’s your turn”. Your boss was standing behind you. And the woman you were describing happens to be his wife.

…Finding out that your boss is at lunch, you sneak in his office, look at some confidential information on his computer, and you spill coffee on the keyboard. It shorts out.

…You take a “sick” day. The next morning the boss asks you, “So, how was the Enchanted Kingdom yesterday?”

…You wake up with a big hangover. You have a black eye and bruised knuckles. Your clothes are all in a mess. You’re in jail and last night was the company Christmas party.

Life is never easy, especially in the workplace, but the secret is in taking things not too seriously. God has called us to that place where we can be productive, using the God-given talents within us. It’s a place where we can reach out to others, and perhaps make their day a little brighter and a little bit more meaningful.

Life’s not fair, but we all can be unfairly kind and unfairly sensitive to the needs of those who are around us. Reach out with God’s love and make their day a little brighter.