Dealing With Roomates

This post will be different from the others. Over the weekend, I had to deal with issues at home. I live in an apartment with two guys and one other girl. As I analyzed my weekend, I realized the concepts of business ethics can stretch in to our personal lives as well. 

I am not a big drinker; I only drink on special occasions. I have lived with my roommates now for two years and we have never had any issues respecting each other. This weekend was different. I came home from work and the apartment was trashed and no one was home. I assumed they had gone to the bar. After work I like to relax and maybe watch t.v. This particular Saturday night I had gotten off work early and was excited to be able to relax at home. The fact that the apartment was trashed made it impossible. 

I expect at least a text or a phone call letting me know what I am walking in to.  A text such as, ” Hey we left the apartment a mess but we will clean it tomorrow”…would have sufficed. But, the apartment is still a mess and it is now Monday. 

When I approached my roommates about it they said they would clean up their mess Sunday, but again the apartment is still gross. Usually I would start the cleaning process myself, but not this time. Sometimes it can be disappointing, but actions like these help identify people. If they respected me, it would have been clean by now. It is important that no matter what aspect of life we apply this to, we respect everyone and think about others than just ourselves, especially in a shared living environment.

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Chain of Command

I love my job. I do not love the company I work for. This makes it hard to go to work some days. Does anyone else experience this where they work? What can we do to change the things about our work place that we do not like? We have more power at work than some may believe. 

What I have learned in the last few months at work is that it is important to use the chain of command to get things done. It is also important to communicate to your co-workers what you are trying to have changed. For example, I went to the general manager of the hotel and made her aware that the front desk agents had too many duties during their shift. More specifically, the hotel wanted the front desk agents to be able to keep the lobby clean and do laundry during their shift. These two duties are nearly impossible when the phone lines are busy with reservations or in house guest requests. It is our job to put the guest first. 

When I went to the general manager, she told me it was not in the budget to hire another person to perform these duties. I made the suggestion of giving more hours to a housekeeper we already had on staff. These duties would be easy for a housekeeper to add in to their daily routine. She denied my suggestion due to the budget. 

A few weeks went by and I was becoming more frustrated at the front desk. I realized I was not providing the best customer service due to having to be in the back while folding laundry and cleaning the lobby every hour. I was not satisfied with my general managers answer so I contacted the Vice President of Operations. I sent him an email with my request and suggestion. Not a week later, the schedule was maneuvered to help the front desk in these areas. 

The general manager was frustrated that I did this, but now she and I are on good terms. I’ve learned that when you see fit, you need to take that extra step to do the right thing for the company. I believe it is characteristics like this that separate leaders from followers. Sometimes, we can not always accept the first answer we are given. 

Watching My Mouth At Work

It can be a daily struggle to always do the right thing. In the business world, it is more than important to lead by example, especially if you are in a management position. Recently at the hotel I work at, I was offered a promotion to be the front desk supervisor. I have had the last few days to think about how I need to act differently around my co-workers. 

I have always felt that I was a good worker, but when I began analyzing my every action at work, I realized I have a lot of room for improvement. At work, I had a bad habit of cussing when guests were not around. I would swear while having conversations in the back with other employees when it was not necessary. I don’t believe that swearing necessarily makes you a bad person, but it is unprofessional. When a manager swears in front of her co-workers I think it sends a bad message. I am now making improvements not to swear around any other employees. I think cutting out this small habit will help my employees take me more seriously and also have a higher level of respect for me.

I want everyone at work to feel as though we are all equal and we deserve the same amount of respect. But, I think it is especially important for supervisors and managers to lead by example so that actions such as swearing can be cut out permanently from the workplace. This is important too so that no mistake would be made in front of a guest. When we spend our money at a business, such as a hotel, we deserve a professional atmosphere.