The lyrics of an Oak Ridge Boys song about one's career say:
I'm caught up in the push and shove
The daily grind, burning time, spinning wheels;
I wonder what I'm doing here Day to day, year to year, standing still.
The song goes on to say, "Did I make a difference in somebody's life? What hurts did I heal? What wrongs did I right?"
A buddy told me, "Things are just different in the workplace now, so I'm quitting and going down the road. It's hard to deal with management these days." He was right. Every day at work is a new challenge. But isn't that great? Why would a person want to keep the status quo? Aren't new ideas, new life, new colleagues and new technology great? To some they're not. Some people feel change is bad. They resist and want to keep things as they were, but that's not the way the world works.
A project manager once told me he did not think modern technology had a place in construction. I asked, "What? Do you still think we should be lifting with a pulley and gin pole? Should we not use innovative scheduling tools? Should we use mules for pulling loads? Should we use picks and shovels instead of excavators?" He should probably curl up by the fire in a cave with rocks and sticks as his tools. I'm sure he just wasn't thinking it through.
'Drag-up' coat
As a recruiter for an engineering and construction company, I found it strange employees would change jobs so often. One employee left because a competitor was paying 25 cents more per hour. He had what he called a "drag-up" coat. It was an overcoat with pockets inside and out. His tools of the trade, including a calculator, hand instruments and pens, were easily placed in the pockets. When he got another offer for employment, he just stuffed the pockets with his desk tools, put on his coat and "dragged-up." As it turned out , that was pretty common in the industry. For me, it was not acceptable. There is little future in moving around without gaining some usable skills along the way. In the case of constructors, skills are learned on the job. Without sticking around for different experiences, one could spend many years in an industry without gaining much experience.
Incomplete and inaccurate work
Contractors are often left helpless because employees resign, leaving incomplete work and files. One recent issue concerned quality control documents on a project site where the quality control (QC) manager led everyone to believe things were OK and customer requirements were being met. The guy had been hired by an out-of-state contractor and was never vetted for the experience his resume claimed. It was too late. By the time his employer and their customer discovered quality was in the tank, the guy had moved on. Many construction items had to be reworked. Rework is a killer for safety professionals. Performing redundant work gets people injured. The QC manager left his remarkable legacy: He did not know what he was doing and cost the project many hours of rework with far greater potential for injury.
Did I make a difference?
Before you resign, retire, move down the road or change jobs, look in the mirror and ask yourself, "Did I make a difference?"
Like the Oak Ridge Boys sang, "There's a lonely old man down the street, and I should be ashamed I've never been to see him; I don't even know his name. There are kids without their supper in my own neighborhood. Will I look back someday and say that I did all I could? When my race is run, when my song is sung, will I have to wonder, did I make a difference?"
It's a question I often think about. What is my contribution to the industry where I spent many years? You may want to ask yourself these questions, too. Am I making a difference today? Did I prevent injuries? Did I save and change lives? Did my work during my career help anyone or make a difference to my friends, co-workers, children and grandchildren?
If you and I did not make a difference, we won't have a leg(acy) to stand on.
For more information, contact HASC Customer Relations at (281) 476-9900, Ext. 310 or visit www.hasc.com.
