HABITS ARE HARD to break, especially those you’ve built into your system over a lifetime. I’ve had more than my own share of bad habits over good, and it was hard first to recognize they were bad, then to finally wean myself from them.
Eating habits, health habits, even relationship habits. Name them, I’ve probably had them. Smoking, junk food, sleeping in (oversleeping), procrastination, I’ve had my love-hate relationship with a lot of these demons, some i’ve survived, others i’m dealing with to this day.
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Work habits though, I saved into a different folder altogether. Heard of the saying it takes two weeks to make a practice a habit, and 90 days to make the same habit part of your lifestyle? Well, somewhere in between logically is around the time you build a habit, and although it’s not yet a lifestyle, it’s very much a part of your character.
Over the years, in the Philippines and New Zealand, I’ve formed a few of those work habits. Good or bad, they’ve defined me. sometimes I’ve tried to get rid of them, sometimes successfully, only to find out they’ve never really left me, just lurking in the shadows and waiting for a lull in my vigilance or weak moment, to come back with a vengeance as though they never left.
I don’t ask for justification or validation, or even to see if any of you share these habits (although knowing would help). It only makes me feel a little lighter knowing I’ve unloaded myself and maybe someday finally get rid of said habits:
Calling the boss “boss”, “sir” or “mam” – as a general rule Kiwis don’t like to be called “boss”, and it’s not part of their culture to be called sir or mam, unless it’s the military. On the other hand, it’s quite common in the Philippines to do all that, across industries and generations. the result is I’ve annoyed quite a few supervisors and managers cause of what I thought was showing a sign of respect and deference to authority. I’m trying still to not do it, but i don’t always succeed.
Relying on gossip, backstabbing and negative talk as legitimate source of info around the workplace. This is so common i sometimes don’t even think of it as uniquely Pinoy or my own experience, but no matter what, it still makes me feel guilty. there are underlying reasons why we tune in to what many describe as idle talk, lazy gossip or criticism of others without offering advice for improvement.
Human nature, the desire to bring down anyone who wants to “rock the boat”, and otherwise anything that’s negative, which is the default setting of many people at work, including, unfortunately, ourselves. I’ve lived with this as long as I’ve been working, and it takes a constant conversation with myself to do the right thing, which is to remain positive at all times. Again, it’s not uniquely a Pinoy thing, but it’s very much part of us, and part of me.
allowing emotions to dictate how we work with others. i keep having to relearn this lesson, and like groundhog day it returns to me again and again: you don’t need to like a person to work with him (although it helps), as long as you’re both professionals and know your respective roles in the workplace,
the main reason I have a hard time remembering and internalizing this rule is my tendency to emotionalize my work attitude, and I don’t know if it’s a Filipino trait. I have to get along with my potential shift partner ( it’s usually just me and another person in my shift), we can’t have strong disagreements on anything if I’m to have a smooth working relationship with him, and although I’m easy to work with, if there’s something i don’t like about the other guy, sooner or later it will affect our effectiveness together.
I sincerely believe most Kiwis are no t like me, and are not bothered by the things I described above. Maybe its just me, maybe its just a Pinoy thing, but time and again i’ve noticed that in this aspect at least, im different.
I could be wrong though. Are you like me or unlike me Precious Reader? And have you left these habits back home?
Thanks for reading, mabuhay!
