Work is a very large part of our lives and it’s important to know how to make the most of it. Do you work just to pay the bills or do you work to contribute to life? Is your goal to make this world a better place and to leave people better than you found them? May be it’s time for you to find more purpose and meaning in your work.

Take the initiative to do what it takes to do your work with excellence. Go get the information, skills and confidence you need.

We don’t want to be lazy or see how much we can get away with on our jobs. You can do just what is required or you can raise the standard. Here are some tips to make you a valuable employee.

 

• Help whoever you can.
• Demonstrate loyalty.
• Do your best work every day. Look, sound and behave professionally.
• Cultivate optimistic solutions. Become a shareholder in success. Present solutions, options and recommendations.
• Never complain at work.

Many jobs have a yearly review of your work performance, but why wait for a year? Take the initiative to go to your boss and ask for feedback. Ask for more challenging assignments. Keep your boss informed on issues and welcome input and advice. Make sure your boss doesn’t have to chase you down. Keep your supervisor informed. Here are some questions you could ask:

 

• “What do you see as my greatest strengths?”
• “Where would you like to see greater effort?”
• “What skills do I need, to be more effective?”
• “Where should I spend more time? Or less time?”
• “How can I become more valuable?”

Understand your boss and respond to him/her in the most appropriate way.

For example if your boss is unorganized; build in reminders, confirm priorities frequently or offer to take something off his/her too-full plate.

If your boss is reactive; help your boss anticipate issues and develop plans to be more prepared.

If your boss is unavailable; find ways to work more independently keep communication flowing from your end with written updates, be prepared to discuss key issues at any given moment and be concise.

If your boss makes bad decision; provide recommendations with supporting factual data, and once you’ve made your stand, respect your boss’s decision even if you disagree with it and move on.

If your boss is incompetent; demonstrate loyalty, do what you can to make your boss look good and never complain to co-workers. Become more of a resource and seek advice from a mentor.

Why don’t you start today by making a fresh commitment to put your best foot forward? Implementing some of these tips are bound to make you more valuable in your work place and help you to contribute more to society.

 

Alice Maryniuk loves her job. Every Tuesday, she goes to work at a large kitchen cabinet company in Abbotsford. She is not a cabinet-maker, a receptionist, a manager, or a foreman, but she does work alongside the employees of every department. She is a chaplain with Marketplace Chaplains, hired by Columbia Kitchen Cabinets to meet the spiritual needs of its 160 employees.

Chaplain Alice Maryniuk and Nikki Biondi (in the black shirt) Columbia Kitchen Cabinets employee

Greeting employees weekly

The hiring of chaplains to provide personal care for employees is a growing trend in the private sector, and the practice is bearing fruit in boosting employee morale, along with a sense of care. Maryniuk makes her rounds like a doctor and greets every employee weekly.

“Not all the topics we discuss are necessarily faith-based,” explained Maryniuk. “Someone might come to work who just had a fight with her husband, or maybe someone needs a listening ear because their teenager has been swearing at them or calling them names.”

If it looks like a discussion is going to need more than five minutes, Maryniuk suggests meeting the employee at lunch or after work, although the employee must take the initiative for the meeting. What they discuss is confidential, and as trust is established, employees open up more to share what’s happening in their lives, what’s affecting or troubling them.

As with any workplace, many of the employees are not Christian. Some don’t believe in God, or follow other faiths, or have drifted away from their Christian walk. “A chaplain can be a pastor for the unchurched,” Maryniuk said. She cares for all people, not just those who have made a decision for Christ. “Managers have reported to me they’re seeing an improvement in their employees because they’re feeling cared for, they’ve got someone to help them to listen to them.”

Benefits to employees

The employees themselves are seeing a positive change in their workplace, and some are seeing victory in their personal lives. Nikki Biondi, a sales rep for Columbia Cabinets, said there is a greater sense of peace at work and increased job satisfaction. “Before our company did this, my life was like a lot of people’s – up and down, and a lot of turbulence,” Biondi shared. “Since I met Alice, a lot of peace has [come] into my life. And even the people who don’t believe [in God], it’s incredible the change in them. The change is all around me.”

“There is nothing small that’s been happening at my workplace since she came,”