A young woman I know who works in a customer service related field was having a bad day at work. It was super busy with clients, a customer had taken out her frustration on her, and she was behind on meeting her deadlines. She said ‘It doesn’t matter what I do anyway, because I only (work doing) XYZ.’ Clearly this employee’s professional self-esteem was at a low point and she was feeling that what she did for a living doesn’t impact the world in a positive way. She was WRONG! No matter what our job is, or where we work, WE ALL MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD!
Often people get into this occupation because we like to help people. It just makes us feel good. Face it, we all want to have meaning in our life feel we make a difference in the world. In reality, the customer service biz is hard! It can eat away at your self-esteem if you don’t know how to guard against it, and just like what happened to my young friend, it can make us feel that what we do doesn’t count.
People often assume that to make a contribution to the world you need to do something BIG like leading the poor out of poverty, bringing health care to the sick or you know – becoming Mother Theresa. It’s often the little things in our days that affect our quality of life. We as customer service workers can deeply affect the lives of the many people who cross our paths through the choices we make at work each day. Here are some quotes and tips on how to make a difference from smarter minds than mine!
Act as if what you do makes a difference, it does – William James
We can do no great things, only small things with great love – Mother Theresa
Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not. –Dr. Seuss
Consider the people you see every day. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in things I am working on, but the co-worker, family member, pet right next to you are the people you can truly reach and touch. Amy E. Moore.
Be kind to others. In this busy world, people become self-consumed and forget that a little kindness goes a long way – Ana Stuckart
Be more involved, you can’t be a spectator forever – Christina Breeden
It’s the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do a little ~ do what you can – Sydney Smith
Nobody can do everything, but everybody can do something – Unknown
And my personal favorite:
Simply show up. – Just put your heart and soul into it. If you show up physically with the soles of your feet, the heart, mind and soul will have a chance to follow or catch up. You may not want to be there in the beginning, but showing up allows a committed chance every day for the people you love, the people you will meet, and the eventual person you will become. Show up. – Holli Grant