The Unseen Worker: An Analogy

I sit here, reflecting on what to write about, and I come to the realization that Steemit feels like entering an entry level job position. Think about when you started a job somewhere. You may have the know how to do said job, but you don’t have any experience within the company, nor have you had the time to build up any repertoire or trust with your employer or coworkers, so your efforts go largely ignored. You may connect with another co worker or two, who are also flying under the radar, but you see how hard one another work, and support and appreciate one another for it.

You probably put in extra hours. You want to show your employer that you are competent; that you can contribute to the company, and that you want to be a longstanding employee. You have the value to be both these things, yet your significant contributions, extra hours, and quality execution continues to go unnoticed, except for in the small network of other underappreciated employers. While it feels good to have folks who are aware of the effort you put in, they have no impact on your salary, and therefore are insignificant in the progression of your career.

Now you are at a place where its all starting to exhaust you, physically as well as mentally. You’ve stayed late when everyone else goes home, and are back on the grind the next morning, well before others are dragging their feet through the door. Your diet has started to consistent strictly of coffee. You justify it by saying coffee is made with water, so at least you are drinking plenty of water too. Despite these long hours, you are hardly making enough to pay your bills. At first it was ok; you had a bit of savings that you could roll off of until the big guy noticed you and started to pay you what you are worth. And you negotiated with the utility companies to buy yourself a little more time. If you can just get the raise, everything will be ok! But that grace period you gave yourself is coming to an end instead of your income rising, only your debt and the accompanying stress has.

And then, in the blink of an eye, the boss decides to hire a family friend. They’ve known each other all their lives, so naturally he has an infinity to the guy. He comes in, dolled up in a fancy suit. He’s showy, and unrelatable. You and your coworkers watch as he is the first one out each day, and the last one to show up in the morning. He submits subpar work; unimpressive and uninspired. He drives off in his bmw, and talks about his meals at various restaurants, in which one meal could cover a week of groceries, and your electric bill that’s coming alarmingly close to being shut off.

One Friday, you happen to be in the mail room picking up your pay stubs at the same time. He opens his and examines it with a grin, while you cringe at the significant portion taken out to cover taxes. The boss yells his name, and he looks up, still grinning. He absentmindedly sets down his stub and the torn envelope, as he rushes over to the boss, giving him high fives.
You glance around. There’s no one else there. You know you shouldn’t, but curiosity gets the best of you. Glancing around one last time, you lift the envelope a bit to peer at the stub below it. You are blown away! This guy, with his half-assed, rushed work, is making four times what you are making!! One of his paychecks would change your life, let alone what he makes in a month.

You go home, and wrestle with the emotions all weekend. Monday comes, and you call in sick for the first time. What’s the point, you question? You have always stuck to the mantra that good things come to those that deserve it, but this has really dulled your spark. What more could you possibly give? You have poured your heart and soul and time into this, seemingly to no avail.

So now, both the hard worker, and the Steemit writer are at a crossroads. In one direction lay the path many take to forward their career. They realize this place where they laid so much hope and sweat in, will only take them so far. They choose to take the successes they have had in this position thus far, and present them to a new employer, where they can start above the plateau they were stuck at with their previous company. They have learned so much, and it will forever influence them, but they have come to realize, this is not the place for them. In the other direction lay the determined and faithful route. The faith that one day, the big break will come. After all, you love many aspects of this place. You love the friendship and mutual support that has grown in your group. You all may be small fish in a big sea, but there is comfort in knowing you are not alone. Rather then focusing on where you’re NOT going, you choose to be proud you are doing your best. One day you may be recognized for it, but if not, you can at least continue on, producing quality work YOU are proud of. But lets face it, you can’t really pay your bills with self appreciation.

Sometimes, upon choosing the first path, your employer is suddenly enlightenment to all of your efforts. As the threat of losing you is presented to him, he is forced to analyze your contributions. He realizes that you improve the company, and that the company NEEDS your kind of dedication and quality if it wants to be the honorable and innovative company it set out to be. In this case, you often get what you were after. You have a bit of an after taste in your mouth, but at least you have garnered some attention, praise, and even got yourself a small raise.

The more I explored this analogy in writing this, the more similarities I saw. Now, it is my hope, that as so many Steemians reach this crossroads, that Steemit takes the path of the employer, realizing what it has in its undervalued writers. I hope they choose to encourage and promote them, rather then let them go, where they will probably be given the appreciation they deserve. Because that’s the thing. We may have to change paths if the one we walk isn’t serving us, but somewhere, someone WILL see that undervalued employee or writer for what they are. And they will flourish in that environment that motivates them. They will be happy, they will be loyal, they will gain the monetary recognition they deserve, and the company who believed in them will profit and grow.

When I was a manager, I analyzed my own experiences with previous bosses, and decided that prevention was the best course of action. If I encouraged my employees, like one waters a seedling, they would WANT to do the best they could. They wouldn’t feel undervalued, and we would thus never have to play the threaten to leave game. And it worked. My employees were always there if I needed something, I didn’t have to worry about their work ethic, I gave them raises when they deserved it, not when they grew frustrated and insisted on it, and I respected them. I made sure to SEE them, and their efforts. This is my final hope for Steemit. There are some great projects under way that seem to share this view point, but aside from those, I suggest we really think about where we want to see Steemit, and act accordingly. Do we want to see someone who is a fantastic contributor grow frustrated, discouraged, and decide this isn’t the place for them? We will see their name in lights somewhere else and think, if only they were still part of this community. Or do we want to water the seedlings, so they blossom here, they feel appreciated and fairly compensated, and they stay loyal, growing themselves as well as Steemit in the process?