A Love Letter To Employers Everywhere

Dear Employers Everywhere:

First off, we want you to know that we love you. Why? Because you have become leaders creating products or services people want. But most of all we love you for creating jobs.  

Let me remind you what a job means to us employees. It’s an opportunity for us to learn skills, to interact with customers and coworkers so that we can improve our abilities and opportunities. A job also means that we can have a home we are willing to leave knowing that our loved ones will be safe, warm and fed. If you were to ask anybody and get down to the root of it all, this is our reason for doing anything. Our inherent human desire is to first survive and then to thrive. A job offers us the potential to do both. 

I’d like to remind you, however, that your inherent human desire and that of your business is to also survive and thrive. Our goals are the same and you should remember that we understand this. If the job is a good one, our personal growth and greater value will contribute to your success. In short, we will thrive together. If the job is not a good experience, however, then we will eventually take our increased skill sets and apply them elsewhere, perhaps even with a competitor. 

I think it deserves being said that a job really is an equal exchange of value for value. I provide you with work that will ultimately bring you income in exchange for income I can take home to support my family. Work occupies at least a third of our lives. It’s as significant and as personal as sleep, eating and spending time with our spouses and children. Work is and ought to be regarded as an intimate relationship because, at its core, we are helping each other survive and thrive. This is the basis of our ancestors living together in communities. We are safer and more productive when we work together.

Problems will arise. Challenges are certain. 20% growth year over year is a fairy tale. Everyone knows this and still we seem to refuse to acknowledge it. We are all pursuing the American Dream, but like it or not, we need to understand that setbacks and failures are a part of that dream. Pointing fingers and offloading employees is generally not the solution. This is the time when we need to lean into each other, to work as a team to solve the problem. We’ve heard the same story a thousand times, an employee wants to contribute his or her skills and experience to improve the business. But, they were hired to just do their jobs, not to get creative. So, the employee loses their fire and starts watching the clock. Frankly, employees who have lost a job could be poor employees, but they could also have had poor employers. There are always two sides to every story, but the ones in power get the stage to tell theirs.

 The quickest way to destroy a community, a marriage or a family, is the idea that “I don’t need you,” or “you are replaceable.” Despite the movies that suggest that we should be the lone, all-capable hero, this mindset has been proven wrong over and over. We are better when we work together. Would you invest in a marriage where one partner felt he or she really didn’t need the other, that they could do better elsewhere? What happens when that idea comes to work either from us or from you? What happens to the team then? More importantly, will your business thrive? Will it survive?  

Loyalty used to be the norm. Sticking together through the thick and the thin was standard. Many of us knew that if we can remain loyal to each other despite facing the trenches of life, we will most likely enjoy a tighter bond once we emerge to the good times. Somewhere along the line, we forgot this. Now employees are much more likely to jump ship and employers have grown accustomed to getting rid of employees without much effort to connect. Many of you feel that employees should trip over themselves with gratitude that you have given them a chance to solve your problems. We are grateful, but in the reality of a mutual exchange of equal value, we lose gratitude when you create problems for us as well. So instead of engaging in a pissing match that results with lost jobs and lost revenue, how about we reestablish loyalty, communication and understand jobs for the personal, intimate relationships that they are?

Here’s what I propose: Since we are joined at the professional hip, let’s acknowledge that we both want to survive and thrive. You help us and we’ll help you. But understand that our goals will be different from yours. We did not start the business you did for a reason. But, if you help us achieve our goals, even support them, we will, in turn, help you achieve your goals. The more we learn and the more talented we become, the more value we will bring to you. For example, if we were to join the gig economy to indulge and monetize a hobby or passion, do not feel threatened. We are merely diversifying our skillsets and dipping our toes in the pool of entrepreneurship. We are pursuing a mindset and sense of ownership that you wish we had in the first place. If we have established a good and intimate working relationship, chances are we will bring those skill sets to work with us. This will only add to your bottom line helping both of us thrive. 

So, remember this, we love you. You’ve given us an opportunity. You’ve given us the ability for our families to survive. In return, we will try to solve your problems. But, where you have taken the leadership position of starting a business, we are taking the leadership position of engaging in a personal relationship. You have our loyalty from the outset. We will do what you ask. We will think of ways to contribute to your success. Be a part of this relationship with us. Return the loyalty, love, and respect we deserve. We are working toward our mutual benefit.