Several months ago I stopped at Publix on my way home from work. Not one of those super Publix stores — just the little one on Monza in the Gables. It had been a long day and I needed a bunch of stuff for dinner. That landed me in the produce section. I noticed one of the employees there — a middle aged guy I’d seen for years and years — making sure the pineapples were standing straight, carefully pulling stray Granny Smith’s out of the Red Delicious bin, getting all the cucumbers facing the same way. To me it seemed like mindless, mundane stuff. But the guy was methodical and steady in his work.
I heard him strike up a conversation with another shopper. She must have asked how he was doing because he shook his head and said he was fine, but work was really stressful. Huh? Rearranging apples stressful??? You’ve gotta be kidding!!
And then I realized he wasn’t kidding at all. He took his job seriously and felt the pressure to get it done right. He taught me a great lesson that day. I dismissed the produce man’s feelings because I thought his job was too easy to stress anyone out. I was wrong. I had no right to judge that way. Nobody does.
We all have our jobs here at EWM. Hopefully, we care about what we do and about doing it well. So whether we answer phones, produce ads, sell homes, manage offices or direct the entire company, the potential for stress is always there. Thinking of stress as our common denominator gives me an added measure of respect and compassion for the individual members of our EWM family. On especially good days, that can lead to kindness, a helpful attitude, and a general sense of well being.
Not bad for a day’s work!
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