I did an interview yesterday with an old friend from a previous job. After asking her the standard HR questions that I asked everyone who interviewed for that position, I began talking to her about the changes she would face if she quit her current job and came to work at Value Added Packaging. I wasn’t trying to discourage her from accepting a position with us, but I wanted her to be aware that her life would become more stressful, so the advantages of this position had to outweigh those stressors.
Currently, she is in a similar situation as I was two years ago. She works from home, which offers many comforts and a lot of cost savings. She is one of the few lucky Americans at this time that doesn’t have to worry too much about the price of fuel. She’s also one of the few lucky parents able to earn a living and still pick her kids up from school every day. A flexible schedule and no commute are factors that weigh heavily in employment decisions. My sister quit her job at a doctor’s office after only a couple of months and went back to waiting tables because she was dependent on the flexibility that the restaurant industry offered.
So, while I’m talking to my old friend about commuting, childcare and working Monday through Friday without the option to work at night in exchange for taking a morning off, I started feeling a little nostalgic about the ease of my old working situation. However, that nostalgia was much like the nostalgia one feels for a baby who just turned ten; you remember all of the cuddling and none of the crying. The changes in work environment led to a conversation about the benefits of working for a company that cares about its people, and that made me remember how lucky I am to work here.
Once I began talking to her about the culture of Value Added Packaging, all of the reasons for leaving my old job came back to me. They were the same reasons this woman had accepted an interview and was considering leaving that company herself. I now work for a company that continuously plans team gatherings that involve family, charitable organizations, customers and vendors. My ideas, and the ideas of all the other team members, are heard. Not only heard, but encouraged. And I’m constantly learning new things and gaining new experiences. That’s the most important thing to me because if I’m not learning, I’m bored. No matter the flexibility or comfort a position can offer you, some people just need more. They need to feel like their work matters and they need to feel appreciated. People want to work in a place that makes them happy.
Value Added Packaging has given me the job satisfaction I was searching for two years ago, and my friend recognized this as a benefit worth considering. A job that fosters growth and learning, a fun work environment and owners that truly value the people that work for their company eat mundane data entry (even in the comfort of your home) for breakfast.
-Sara Hubertz