The Real Toxic Work Culture

On Instagram, I encountered a funny video of three llamas in a field pretending they don't notice anything extraordinary as a shack burns in the background.  The accompanying caption stated, “When work is falling apart but you and your coworkers don’t get paid enough to care.”  I laughed, but in the comments, lazy, entitled people complained that capitalism, budget, and greed are why employees don't get paid more.  They exclaimed, “[P]ay us the minimum salary [sic] we give the minimum effort!”  One sane person pointed out, “Wonder why they don't get paid more,” to which I replied, “Precisely because they put in the minimum effort.  They don't understand that the business is why they even get paid at all and that if they were good employees and simply asked for a raise, they would actually get one.  The reel is supposed to be a funny joke, and people make the mistake of taking it seriously.”  With so much talk these days about “toxic work environments,” the commenters’ general attitude is the real toxic work culture.  Based on the type of comments the author liked, I think I was mistaken when I said that the post was supposed to be a joke, but the fact remains that the best attitude in life is one that is responsible and hardworking.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DAZfJUZSnkq/?igsh=MzR3cTVxcDUyMWJn

The irony is that they put in the minimum effort because they don’t get paid enough, but they turn around and wonder why they don’t get paid more.  Of course, an employer is less likely to give a lazy or disinterested employee a raise.  What they do not seem to understand, but need to, is that an entry-level job does not earn six figures.  Salary growth is a process.  You work for a company for approximately a year and perform well, then you ask for a raise.  After another year or after a big project in which you performed well, you ask for another raise.  Once you reach the top pay tier, you can, and should, apply for a promotion.  (Apply for a promotion rather than expecting to continue receiving incessant pay raises, as some people make the mistake of doing.  These people then complain that they have been cashiers for 20 years and still don’t make much.)  Success involves time and effort, motivation, and ambition.

The comments reflect how lazy this generation is; it’s the laziest in history!  Today, the average person works less for more, while our ancestors, except our parents and grandparents, worked much more for much less.  Even with the mediocre economy, we are better off than most of humanity in the past.

A much better work mindset is, “I’m going to go out of my way to be a good employee.”  Those are the people who are successful and get rewarded.  They progress and prosper in what they do.  Something doesn’t have to be your obligation for you to go out of your way and do it.  Let me put it this way; if those employees became entrepreneurs and owned their businesses, they would not want to hire the type of employees they are right now.

This week at work, find three things you can do to improve the environment and make someone else’s job easier.  Others will notice and appreciate you a lot for it, and that attitude will open many doors in your life.