Do you ever feel that all your hard work isn’t really appreciated? That your boss doesn’t even notice the effort you put into your job? This article takes a fun, festive view of how the elves must be feeling at Christmas time - and more seriously, offers us a video to show what to do if we feel our efforts are being ignored.
Around about this time of year the elves are feeling stressed. They are up to their rather large ears in letters to Santa, wrapping paper and ribbon, as well as hundreds of thousands of toys, electronic gizmos and games, along with delivery sacks and labels. One elf, who we’ll call Freddie, takes his duties very seriously indeed and wants the children who receive the presents he’s prepared to be thrilled. It’s his job to wrap the presents, sort and bag them before putting them in the correct delivery sleigh. He labours day and night, wrapping presents. His presents look fantastic. Each one has a perfectly tied bow and tidily wrapped corners. Even the awkward-to-wrap irregular shaped parcels look immaculate. The colour of the bows matches the paper and you can hardly see where the sticky tape has been applied. In fact, they are the most exquisitely wrapped parcels you have ever seen. Freddie works tirelessly, taking pride in his work and rejoicing in the results of his labour.
Meanwhile, Father Christmas is busy having a meeting with his Logistics and Procurement Managers discussing last night’s incorrect toy deliveries and their plans for last minute purchases following the discovery of an overlooked sack full of children’s letters. He hasn’t time to think about how the elves are doing out in the present wrapping warehouse.
Finally, the time comes for Father Christmas to climb into his sleigh to make his first deliveries - but some of the sacks of presents are missing. He’s not pleased to discover that Freddie’s sacks are late arriving in the loading bay and far from being pleased with the wonderful-looking parcels, he rebukes Freddie for making him late for his delivery rounds. ‘What will the children think if they wake up to find their parcels aren’t in their stockings?’ he asks, annoyed.
The problem about your boss not noticing what you are doing is that you don’t really know whether what you are doing is what he or she wants. Yes, a good manager will know what you’re working on and will have been clear about what is required. And he or she will give you feedback, so you know how you’re doing. But if they don’t say anything, you don’t know. Are they letting you get on with it because they are pleased with your work and have omitted to say anything to you? Or are they aware of what you’re doing and haven’t plucked up the courage to ‘have a word with you’ about why they aren’t delighted with your work? Or have they simply not noticed?
The answer is to take responsibility for getting your work noticed. If you’re doing a great job, you’ll be prompting your manager to say so. If you aren’t doing what he or she needs you to do, now’s your opportunity to get them to be specific about what’s required. That way you can modify what you’re doing to make certain you are working on what’s important.
There’s no point spending time producing perfectly wrapped presents which arrive late, if appearance is secondary to punctuality. In just five minutes, the video ‘What To Say When Your Boss Doesn’t Notice Your Work’ gives you realistic and practical ideas for understanding why it may appear your efforts go unremarked - and what to do about it.
See the video here. Call 01638 723590 or email video@scottbradbury.co.uk to find out more.
About WATCH & GO® videos
WATCH & GO® videos show people how to perform better at work by illustrating practical phrases and key behaviours in just a few minutes. There are around 60 titles, each dealing with a different management topic or ‘tricky’ situation. Learners simply ‘watch’ and ‘go’ to manage everyday situations at work. www.watchandgovideos.co.uk @WatchGoVideos video@scottbradbury.co.uk +44 (0)1638 723590