Year 1, part 6

Welcome to the Year One -blog! A series of posts where I, a fresh graduate, break down prejudices a youngster might have when entering the work-life rat race. My name is Martin, and as a young engineer, I try to write about work stuff that’s relevant for all ages, but with a young person’s perspective. Are the prejudices young people have about work true? Or are we just naive? In an attempt to find out, I will return to certain topics after a while and analyze what I have written.

Martin Ekman

Responsibilities – Yay or Nay?

The main character of a horror movie is walking through an abandoned amusement park in the middle of the night like it’s the best idea ever. Since it’s a horror movie, you know it’s not going to end well. But all you can do is watch and scream “No! Why would you go there, are you stupid?!”

Well, during this summer, I felt like that main character a couple of times. This was when I was working during the summer and almost everyone else was on vacation. It was my responsibility to handle everything related to a certain area of the business while postponing anything major that could be postponed. Why is this like for the main character of the movie, you ask?

Well, responsibilities can be scary, and everyone does not want them. Someone for whom a job is just that, a job, could easily say “Why would you take on that much responsibility? It’s not worth it and you’re never going to be thanked for it!”. And in many companies that could be a good argument.

But you know what? During my first year at Chemigate, my responsibilities have steadily grown. And I knew that agreeing to handle things while everyone else was on vacation could be risky. But I have to say, I LOVED IT! For me, growing responsibilities gives me a feeling that the work I do matters. And the best part? I get to help someone else from the Chemigate family and actually get thanked for it! Everyone, and I mean everyone, is like a big family. You can always find someone who wants to help. And I know that when I sometimes will be the one to need help, I can rest easy, fully knowing my colleagues have my back.

“Responsibilities are given to him on whom trust rests. Responsibility is always a sign of trust.”  – James Cash Penney 

Moral of the story?

Responsibilities can be scary, but sometimes you need to take a leap of faith. No matter what happens, You will learn from it. So, if you want to grow and learn – Take a deep breath and step into the abandoned amusement park when the chance arises. It may be stressful at times, but I promise it’s worth it.

How do you feel about responsibility? Do you have enough or too much?

Thanks for reading!

//Mate

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