A Brief Smile About my Workplace

I'D LIKE TO SHARE one aspect of my current job that brings me a tiny bit of terror but a larger amount of satisfaction.

A few times thus far, coworkers and managers have asked me to do things — interview a source, extensively rewrite a nonprofessionally written article, update the magazine's website, even edit video — in a manner that, compared to the way my previous company's management would've asked, struck me as far more professional.

I'm not sure I can express how exactly it was different. The closest I can come is to say that I felt like a long-established member of the organization, rather than a dumping ground for tasks that did not interest a higher-up or were seen as more cheaply done by someone in house, regardless of their actual experience with the tasks.

Now, I don't know fully how to do everything they've asked me to do. (The video-editing possibility, which came today, falls more into the "no idea" category.) That's where the slight edge of terror comes in. But I haven't let it stop me. I have requested aid, or assistance in finding it, but I haven't allowed the gulf between my current and future ability to carry out the task paralyze me. And they've provided said aid without any apparent loss of respect. Very encouraging.

A lot of people raise a stink about their jobs, for a wide and subjective range of reasons, and I can tell you, my workplace isn't perfect. In the respect I've just described, however, it exceeds my expectations, and I want this blog to record it, in case those expectations change, or if I simply have a moment of narcissistic solipsism in which a crappy day or week clouds the big picture.