What to (and not to) Focus on to Understand your Value in the Office
Understanding your value at work is often something that we only related to monetary value. Today I want to look at the best ways to, and not to, understand the value you bring.
One of the ways that we tend to see the value we bring (again, removing money) is by the amount of work we do; this can be broken down in a few different ways. Firstly, you can look at that in the sense of the time we spend on work. Perhaps that is linked back to long working hours or not taking PTO.
There is a misconception that the more hours you work (per day and/or not taking PTO), the more valuable you are. This gives us the feeling that we are essential to the work being done, and the work being done is important.
Queue feeling valued.
And somehow, this has translated into, "I must work more hours to be valued at work."
The second way you can look at this is our inability to say "no" to additional work/projects. While this can relate to the number of hours worked, it also backs up the idea of the value you are bringing. Whether you feel valued because you know that others don't or that people trust you to take on the extra work, feeling bubbling is feeling valued in the office.
But here is the thing, I know that you can feel valued without sacrificing your time and by simply doing your job well. Here are the ways I like to focus on the value I am bringing to the office -
Producing quality work, consistently
Having positive working relationships with those around me
Being a positive example in the office
These are a little different from what you might expect, yet they are so simple.
By producing quality work, you will be known and valued for your quality output. And, what I see more often than not is that people are focusing too much on the number of hours they are working and quantity of what they are producing, that they can't focus on the quality.
Having a positive working relationship with your co-workers is something that is typically sacrificed when you are working long hours. It's no one's fault, but the lack of downtime does not help our brains or personal skills.
Being a positive example in the office is one that I think is a game-changer. I believe this is because it changes the type of value you are providing the organization and peers. By showing up as the person you truly know you are, investing in your work/life balance, you will be the person showing others that they can do this too. They can say no to extra work being asked of them, healthily, they can leave the office when their day should end.
So, can you imagine instead of getting frustrated by working long hours, not having time off, and always taking on the extra work, you could feel confident in how you show up every day. These three things can truly be the start to seeing yourself entirely differently in the office and change how those around you see your value in the office.