Be yourself at work

Too many people clock out of being themselves when they clock into work. Your job doesn’t give you an excuse for failing to be yourself, nor does it spare you the negative consequences of practicing this form of dishonesty.

Does your work align with your purpose in life, whether directly through what you do or indirectly through the resources it secures? Do you really make the world a better place through what you do? For example, if you are a school teacher, are children better off in your care than in that of their parents?

Does your work require you to violate your principles? For example, if you are in the military, do you renew your contract even after realizing that the reasons you joined for are not aligned with how the military is used in practice? If you are a doctor, would you dare tell a patient what they need to hear to improve their health, even if it doesn’t include pills or surgery? If you are a lawyer, are you up front with your client about their chances of success, or do you take on unlikely cases just to increase your billable time?

Do you find yourself doing things you might otherwise consider wrong in order to compete with those who do not share your principles? For example, if you are a scientist, do you apply for grant money for politically popular ideas that you know to be unfruitful or untrue?

Employees are hired in good faith under the assumption that they are capable of the job they will perform and that they will consistently apply their best reasonable effort. Do you provide value that matches your pay? Do you waste time at work? Do you shirk responsibility?

How consistently do you apply what you learn at work to the rest of your life? Remember, Jesus castigated the people of his time for exercising wisdom in their work that they did not apply to test their religious beliefs.¹ If you are a visual artist, do you beautify in all things, or merely when you are performing? If you are a scientist, do you apply the same skepticism of conventional wisdom, employ the same degree of critical thought, and open-minded experimentation in all things, or do you just blindly follow the majority in other aspects of your life? If you study something, do you study everything? Do you think deeply about all topics, or just those you are assigned?

Most modern jobs do not respond well to employees who ask why. Seek a job where your employer understands the additional contribution made possible by employees who understand and believe in the company’s purpose, particularly in how it translates to their daily tasks. Be yourself at work by asking questions, bringing up ideas for improvement, and sharing counterarguments with what is suggested by others. Ask for reasons when requests do not make sense to you. If you disagree with what you are asked to do or why you are asked to do it, make your objection known calmly and respectfully. Before opposing anything, ensure that you have adequate reasons that are at least as strong as your feelings about the situation. Share them clearly with a honest openness to rebuttal. If you can’t come to an accord with your employer or coworker, decide whether you have sufficiently cleared your moral obligation by speaking up. If not, seek employment elsewhere.

The average person spends a great portion of their adult life working. Though so many share the experience of work, very few even scratch the surface of the potential value of what it could provide to them. So much advancement in life can come through honestly extracting and applying value from employment. Try it, and you may be surprised.