I was watching The Simpsons a while ago and a light bulb lit in my little head. In television; managers, bosses, and supervisors are shown as complete idiots or complete slave drivers. This concept hit me harder than a sledge hammer breaking up concrete. It explained so much. I saw a trend. Simpsons, 30 Rock, The Office, and even The Flintstones show the bosses to be idiots or just cruel.

 I have worked in many companies where the employees worked as little as possible. I have heard employees talk bad about their employer and the company. There are people that hate their jobs, hate their boss, and then wonder why life is so difficult. Then it dawned on me. Employees will complain to fellow employees how everything sucks about work; from the office walls to the uncomfortable chairs, but rarely do anything about it. They will commiserate and gossip about how a chimpanzee has more common sense than the management. But what I realized is, THIS IS THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF WHAT EMPLOYEES NEED TO DO TO BE SUCCESSFUL!

 Why do we work? That is the magical question! Do we go to work to hang out with friends? Are we bored and the office seems like a nice place to kick it between weekends? Or do we just need a good computer to keep up with our friends on Facebook?

 I don’t know about you, but I work for one reason and one reason only, MONEY! If I was a millionaire I would be blogging from some island setting making a Corona commercial. If money is the main reason I work, who can help me make more money: fellow employees that in the same boat that I am in (if not worse) or management that has the ability to give me MORE money? Obvious answer is management, supervisor, boss, or CEO.  If that is the case, shouldn’t I be working closer to management, become more valuable, be loyal, help where I can? Or does it make more sense to bad mouth the company and boss with other negative employees? If you think about it, we are all self employed. Think about it. If you want to make more money, you can learn a new skill, become more valuable to your company, and make more money. You can do a great job and get a raise. Or you can do a mediocre job and get laid off.

 Don’t let TV shows depict management as complete idiots (but let’s face it, there are a few out there that make you wonder) and you buy into it. Ask yourself, “What would I do if this company was mine?” Would you hire an employee like you? Do what you can and do it the best you can. Life is short, make money to live life not just to pay bills. Ask me how I can help you increase your value to your company and the market place. If you become more valuable you WILL make more money. TV is great for entertainment, but look at some of the trends. Value your company, work with management, value what you do, do it the best you can, make money, and GO SHOPPING.

 What do you think? Let me know how I can help 🙂