“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
One of the most prolific quotes of our time, from one of our greatest leaders, is worth remembering not just in our personal lives, but also our professional lives.
Are you helping people within your network? Do you ever go out of your way to help improve the lives of others, or to make their lives easier?
To help evaluate this, use your current workplace as an example…
If you see a co-worker in need of assistance, will you go out of your way to ask if they need any help? Or do you simply “let it slide” in hopes that someone else will pick up the slack, or that they will figure out whatever it is on their own.
Helping or not helping? What makes you feel good, and what makes others feel good? And just as importantly, what helps to foster a feeling of community within the world around you?
Helping Others in the Workplace
No matter how fast-paced the modern workplace has become, showing that you genuinely care about the people around you is important not just on a personal level, but also in establishing a positive image in your career.
Helping others will also help you to grow and solidify your network.
This doesn’t mean that helping others is all about making yourself look good. Instead, it is important to acknowledge that helping others can have a significant impact in your daily life whether you realise it or not.
When you help someone in your workplace, even in a small way such as quickly proofreading their document, or helping with a printer jam, it shows that you are a willing part of a network of people who are there to help each other. It shows that you are willing to go out of your way to make others’ lives easier whenever you can, and most of all it shows a sense of camaraderie and teamwork which is recognised by your colleagues and superiors.
Such an action demonstrates that you are a team player. It shows your peers and your manager that you are not a run-of-the-mill employee who is just there for the paycheque. Rather, it shows that you are an individual who supports your co-workers, your workplace, and that you actually care about the people you interact with.
