An Abnormal HR Message for this Holdiay Season…
Normally during this period of the year, some Human Resources flunky generally writes some feel-good article filled with babbling drivel about full bellies, gratitude, thankfulness, etc. Maybe there are some metaphorical allusions to how holiday decorations are reflections of the heart and the soul, and everything wonderful about the holiday spirit being what the readers’ spirits should aspire to be and all that, and maybe the light from within (or without) being the light of creation or consumerism or something, and all of that being the greatness we choose to be in the world. Or beyond the world. Or something. Yay. They then proceed to wish that everyone have the happiest of holidays, and blah blah blah. Blah blah. Blah blah blah.
It makes me cringe every year because it never plays as being all that genuine. I am not one to publish some sort of mindless puff piece telling everyone how they should be feeling this time of year, especially when I look in the mirror (I don’t always- sometimes, it can be scary) and, while I am certainly grateful to still be on the right side of the grass, it’s been a horrendously tough couple of years. Add to that the grim reality that more people die during the holidays than any other time of year, and I’m certainly not going to play coy with anyone’s emotions.
To put that into perspective, exactly two years ago, we were over seven months into a mess none of us could have predicted at the beginning of that year, staring at an endless, seemingly insurmountable tsunami of hopelessness and fear. Businesses were closing all over the place if they hadn’t already failed. Vector’s business had fallen off precipitously. I had not yet taken the stage here, in fact, I was fighting a losing battle in the healthcare arena just trying to keep doctors and nurses seeing patients when the last thing they wanted to do was exactly that. Whatever your political leanings, even politics hit an all-time-high level of disturbing.
Fast forward two years, and while many of those specific circumstances have changed, that tsunami of hopelessness seems to still be sitting there, slightly off-stage, just waiting like the proverbial other shoe to drop. Occasionally, it tosses a little water on our heads to remind us that it’s still there, like a gleeful bully pelting the back of your head with spit wads in anticipation of recess. Well, I’m tired of getting wet, and I hope you are too. It’s time to pick up a proverbial flamethrower and blast that threatening tsunami into steam!
Fact: Vector has had a record year. That record year can be broken up into record quarters, record months, record string of record months, record weeks within record months, and record days within record weeks, within record months, within record quarters, that are then within the record year. Within all of that, record orders, record projects, and all that building record days. None of this could be possible without you. Yes you- everyone who’s taking the time to read this. If you’re not reading this, raise your hand. Thank you. Not stupid platitude-driven thank you, thank YOU. As in thank you for restoring my faith in humanity in a way that I had chucked out the semi window enroute to Whataburger because if you’re going to just give up, have a Patty Melt on your way to hell thank you.
I do not mean “give up” lightly. What I mean by that is how easy it would have been to just go along with and accept the pervasive feeling that “there’s nothing we can do so why try” that seems to be everywhere right now. It’s the vestiges of the tsunami that haven’t hit (yet). There’s always something we can do, of course. It is testament to that idea that those records were met and surpassed and that The Vector Nation did so despite that feeling being so widespread in the world today. Again, thank you.
How did this occur, despite all odds, despite all indications of the contrary being the most likely outcome? It’s quite simple, and you already know the answer, and I’m probably preaching to the choir to some degree: it’s you. You and you and you and you. All of us. All of us rowing in the same direction through the storm despite the obstacles and the challenges. Not just for a few minutes, but consistently over time. A long time. Keeping the end in mind when the current situation would tell you to do anything but that. Well done.
We do a good job (sometimes) of celebrating that fact. In what I do, I generally hear more of when we don’t, so my radar is naturally attuned to the negative channel. I’m aware of this, I actively work on it, and I fail mostly on days that end in “Y”. What I’m going to ask of you goes against that idea in its entirety. Not a small ask, I realize. The tendency today is to magnify and focus on the negative in the world. What I will ask you to do (the very thing I actively work on almost minute-by-minute) is to take a step back if you find yourself in a negative vein and ask some simple questions: is it really this bad? Is there really nothing I can do? If there’s nothing I can do, do I need to spend time dwelling on it, or can I move on to something I can do something about and spend productive time dealing with that instead?
While it’s not New Year’s yet, I will make some resolutions. In 2023 and beyond, we will do a better job of celebrating these things. We will do a better job recognizing you for doing what you do, both in the moment and over time. We will make a concerted effort to make sure that while we may have a “distributed workforce,” we will make sure that you are not surprised to learn that there are lifelines and support available, that the somewhat naturally occurring feeling of isolation inherent to a distributed workforce isn’t the normal feeling for you or at least that it shouldn’t be.
To bring it back to the “HR Flunky” theme, I ate too much over the Thanksgiving week, so my belly is full (when I know others in the world do not have that luxury), I am eternally grateful for having slid head-long into The Vector Nation at a time in my life that I needed to be surrounded by people like you all are, and I’m thankful for having lived through a record year, record quarter, record string of quarters, record month, record string of months, record week, record string of weeks, record days, record string of days, and record orders and closed deals. I also resolve to figure out how to make that not sound like that just sounded: as “What did you do for me today?” when everyone on the Leadership Team is as thankful and appreciative of all your efforts and successes as I am.
Not sappy, not tongue-in-cheek in the end- and hopefully authentic since it comes from the heart: thank you for a wonderful year so far, let’s close it out, celebrate another year removed from the Tsunami of Terror, and let’s figure out together how we’re going to top this phenomenal year!
And in all seriousness: If you or a member of your immediate family are feeling isolated, depressed, mentally drained, or otherwise in need of support this holiday season or anytime, we have resources available to help. Feel free to reach out to John, or simply login to your Insperity account and click on “Wellbeing” to explore what options are out there. At the end of the day, we’re all in this together, but sometimes we all need a little help beyond knowing that.
