The Job

Sometimes I complain about my job, I guess we all do. But in reality, I measure the atmosphere of where I currently work with other places of employment. Nature's Sunshine Products is unique in the way the employees treat each other... well at least in my department.

I dare say my department deals with each other almost as much out of work as we do at work. I'm with these people more than I'm with my family for the most part. They really are my second family. And we've created an atmosphere of genuinely caring for one another.
Last year one of our coworker's didnt show up for work on a Monday. When she didn't show up on Tuesday when she didn't come and no one could get ahold of her or her grown children on the phone, 2 other colleagues when to her house. Long story short she was very ill and was in the hospital for about 3 days after we found her. Her blood pressure levels had dropped to a point where she was unable to wake herself up. She was about 24 hours from passing away when we found her.
When she was in the hospital we went to her home, did he laundry for her, cleaned her home, took care of her pets, stocked her fridge. Under the circimstances...we had fun doing all of it for her. It brought us closer as friends and collegues. Some of us have gone to the movies, dinner, taken cooking classes together, bailed off for the weekend and so on. It really does make the work atmosphere more bearable AND I gives us each security in knowing we're partner on the job and look out for each other. I've never had that kind of working atmosphere.

I can remember times when we'd be off the clock and still at work chillin 30 minutes after we should have gone home. Such are the calibre of people I work with.

Other departments we enjoy as well and even partner with in company competitions and it makes it a more enjoyable atmosphere. We've gone to each others weddings, Graduation of kids from high school, shared the birth of children and grand children and several other things that secures those ties that bind.

These things make this week even more sorrowful. One of your colleagues went to preparing for his 18 year old son to Graduate high school in 2 weeks to laying him to rest on Tuesday. The basic details: His son was in a car accident due to having a seizure. was taken into the hospital to find out the cause of the seizure. A brain tumor was found and removed, brain hemmoraging, stroke, coma, and then the family pulled the plug that kept him alive after the coma. All of this happened from Friday-Tuesday. That's only a 5 day span. How is it your world can be totally normal one day and so drastically changed the next?
Although most of us in my department couldn't go to the funeral, because the world doesn't stop when people leave it, those of us who were able to go were so deeply touched and relayed all the details of the service to the department. When one of us rejoices, WE ALL REJOICE! when one of us has sorrow WE SHARE THAT SORROW.
To make matters more difficult We are in the middle of one of our conventions this week as well. So we have about 150 distributors in town touring the offices and manufacturing centers. We've been playing tour guides and hosting banquets and formal dinners and socializing at dances and such while fielding questions about the company, mixed in with questions about the the colleague who lost a family member.
About a year and a half ago we lost 2 colleagues within a few days of each other. It was a devistating blow to the company more so because we lost "family members" who some of us hand known for 10-25 years. There was an earie feeling walking the halls, as we came in we would take a head count of who was at work that day and then verify who had time off and panick if someone called in sick. After about a month things got back to normal but it was still hard on us a whole.

I've worked in places where you just go in, do your job, and leave, without any real ties to those around you. I'd much rather work in an atmosphere where I know close ties and emotions run deep.
People in my department have given rides for months when there's been car trouble,
Made meals when others were ill
Gone shopping with and for each other
taken another to 2nd jobs
Car maintenance
home maintenance
gone to sporting events
taken and picked up other kids from school
taken lunch to the hospital when a loved one was in surgery all day
visited the hospital
Forever sending flowers for various reasons
baking birthday cakes
grabbing lunch or breakfast just because
lending money when times were hard
....and the list goes on and on.

I may complain some about my job...
... but I complain about my family too...
And most of the time, this place called work
really is just like home.