Life Lessons From The Workplace: Ten Things You Learn On The Job

We work to earn a living and hopefully get some personal fulfillment in the process. But a job also offers life lessons and teachable moments that you can take with you to your life outside of the workplace. From your very first job to your twentieth, there are an armful of things that you can only learn through work experience. Here are ten points that you can learn on the job to serve you well in a variety of environments.

Patience

It never fails — a copier will always break down, a fire alarm will always ring, and a line for your daily coffee fix will be at least five people deep. In order to survive work, you must practice patience. When others see your endurance in rough times, you will be seen as mature and will be counted on to handle more responsibility. You do want that promotion, right?

Humility

If your supervisor ever calls you in for a one-on-one meeting and tells you about what a great job you have been doing, don’t pump your fist in the air, shout “Hell yeah!”, and strut out of his/her office. Take great news in stride and reward yourself outside of the office for a job well done. Like patience, humility goes a long way. No one likes a braggart. If you show respect to others, you will gain the same in return.

Persistence

Benjamin Franklin once said, “Energy and persistence conquer all things.” It may not be what you know, but how willing you are to absorb and persist in getting a job done well. Persistence is one of those qualities that cannot be taught, but once learned, is a valuable trait to have.

Strong Work Ethic

A strong work ethic will crown you with an invisible golden halo. Co-workers will envy you and executives will praise you. It promotes goal setting, efficiency, and first-rate quality of work. A strong work ethic also instills discipline in those that practice it.  Within any business, being dedicated to your employer and co-workers enables a healthy work environment. At the very least, you learn to be dedicated to doing a good job and taking personal pride in that (even if you’re ready for a new job someplace else).

Learning to Work Well With Others

Did your parents ever come back from a PTA meeting to tell you that your teacher thinks that you “work well with others”? Well, even if you had forgotten how since elementary school, this is a characteristic that you can pick up during a normal workday. Most places of employment encourage the concept that “teamwork makes the dream work.” Even if you prefer to work independently, always check in with your manager and make sure that you’re doing your part to keep the machine running. If you are CC’d on any emails, always “reply all” so that the same co-workers are kept in the loop with project updates. By working with others, you will learn how to hold your tongue, be diplomatic, and be professional, fast!

Computer Skills

WordPress. Excel. Adobe Acrobat. Even Pinterest. If you are lacking in any computer software skills, you will acquire a lot of knowledge for the sake of keeping your job alone. Today, there is no excuse not to have a beginner’s level awareness of one Microsoft or Mac application. There will be jobs where you will have to learn as you go and others where you will be required to take multiple workshops to test your abilities and collect new ones.

Lingo

If you are lucky enough to score a job in a law firm or public relations company, yet are unaware of some of the language to expect in the board room, you are in a wonderful position to learn all the relevant terms and phrases. You want to be able to understand what others are saying around you. Ask questions and pay attention, especially in meetings. Knowing what a “declaration of trust” or what “defamation” is can be beneficial to your vocabulary after the end of your work day. You’ll also get a lesson for when not to use lingo. Used in the wrong context and instead of sounding like you know what you’re doing, you sound like you’re pretending to know.

Budgeting

If you are learning how to carry more bagged lunches and the more cost-effective ways to getting to work on time, you are successfully on your way to being a budget maven. When you only have a certain amount of income to work with in a weekly or bi-monthly time frame, there is a chance for you to learn how to budget your finances so that you may save your money and time.

Time Management

If you can master time management, which is that tricky combination of efficiency + detail + multi-tasking, you will be leagues ahead of any competition at your job. Time management may be difficult to stick with. However if you do a couple of simple duties throughout the day before work, such as making use of your cell phone’s day planner in the morning or scheduling distractions like social media for a certain period, your time management skills will vastly improve.

How to Talk to Others

Finally, being at work gives one a chance to discover how to talk to others who aren’t your friends or relatives. Some of us are innately gifted at talking with charisma, while others’ palms begin to sweat at the thought of public speaking. Working outside of the home offers the opportunity to socialize, read people’s emotions (or lack thereof), and become a better communicator and networker.