The Unknown's Value

Have you ever stopped to think about how others add value to your life? Look around and find someone you do not know well and ask yourself, how does this person add value to my life? Do they impact my work or my personal life? Do they enhance or detract from my goals? What is their true value in my life and should I be recognizing it?

We've all heard the idiom, Stop and Smell the Roses, but how often do you listen? I interpret the saying as meaning we need to slow down, appreciate the world around us and see it for what it is. Not only should we apply this to the world around us, but more importantly we should apply this to the people around us.

A while back I was working late, the office was closed and I was the only one there. Enjoying my quiet time with just the hum of the HVAC system and some music playing on my laptop I hear a familiar ding, the sound of the elevator doors opening. I didn't think much of it. I knew we had night cleaners, so I went about my work and left them to do theirs. The value these cleaners hold is often forgotten. We entrust these people, whether employees or contractors to have unrestricted access to our workspace, often having access to rooms and offices you do not. They have a stewardship responsibility to treat your workplace with same respect and privacy as you would be expected to hold. The known value is, cleaners do one thing - they clean our office.

But what they actually did took me by surprise. You see, in previous jobs our cleaning staff was lazy. I could often leave garbage on the floor intentionally just to see how long it would take for the cleaners to do something about it, nothing big, like a cracker or a piece of broken plastic. Dick move, I know. But we were all young and immature at one point. Things were dirty, and I thought they needed to be fired or replaced by a different team, one who actually did what I expected of them. You see, I was being selfish, childish and judgemental of these people, who like everyone else, was doing the job they were given. So when I saw how the cleaners at this particular office acted I was blown away.

My expectation was the cleaners would vacuum and wash the floor, occasionally (rarely) dust and otherwise be in and out of the space in half an hour or less. As these particular cleaners moved through our office space I noticed the detail they were paying and the things they were doing. You see, through my day I'd leave a mess at work. Intentionally or unintentionally my presence was known. I'd do things like leave a coffee cup on my desk when I left for the day, which I fully intended to use again the next day or put away myself (I swear!), but I never noticed that the next day the coffee cup would be gone. Nor did I notice that my monitor never had fingerprints on it! EVER! We all have coworkers who can't point to things without touching the screen, we all sneeze, and yet my monitor was always clean. I also didn't notice that my work surface was always clean, no water droplet marks, coffee rings or anything else. And yet, all my papers, pens, technology and other tools were always exactly where I left them.

I never noticed the details around me because I had no need to. Much like the laundry fairy in this video.

That all changed that one evening when I saw our cleaners walking around with a box collecting all the dishes our team left behind during the day. As they carefully moved objects on our desks to disinfect and wash them and used monitor cleaner to clean our screens and as they dusted our shelves for us ensuring they didn't knock anything over. These people added tremendous value to our lives but never got recognized for it. They were the unknown people in our lives who add value.

I took the time to email our office manager explaining what I saw, with a heartfelt note to pass along to the cleaners giving thanks for their contribution to my life, to all of our lives! People who live behind the scenes often go unnoticed. Just think of your own life. Look around... Did that burned out light get fixed? If it snowed did your parking lot get cleaned or the sidewalks shovelled? Who stocks the vending machine? Do you know the name of the person at your company who is responsible for ensuring you get paid on time?

Outside of work, stop and think who adds value to your life. If you live in an apartment or condo, what is the name of the person who vacuums or washes the hall in front of your unit? Who makes sure the elevator keeps working? What is the name of the person who brings your mail? People all around us every day add value to our lives but go unnoticed.

At the start of this, I mentioned that people can enhance or detract value from your life and so far I've only talked about those who add value, and that is intentional. Dwelling on people who detract from our lives does nothing to enhance our world. Being angry, lashing out, complaining about those who don't add value to our lives will only make us miserable. Instead of focusing on the bad, let's enhance the good.

I want you to take a moment and look around. Find someone who adds value to your life and find a way to say thank you, to acknowledge what they do. You can do it anonymously by simply leaving a thank you note on their desk, under their door or in their mailbox. You can say thank you in person, heck, you could even give a small gift such as a coffee gift card to show you truly appreciate their contribution to your life.

Leave a comment below and tell us how you acknowledged those unknowns in your life. Let's make the world a better place by showing gratitude for others.