As most of you know, I work in Corporate America. Before I “made it”(!), I worked as a “temp” through a temporary agency.

When I look at a project or task, I first ask myself a few questions: How soon does this task need to be done? What resources do I possess or have available to me in order to do the task? How quickly can this task be completed? What are the hardest and easiest parts of the task (I like to tackle the hard parts first, then reward myself by doing the easiest parts [delayed gratification])?

My stepfather raised me with a few parts of his work ethic. First, he always quoted Apostle Paul’s words in Second Thessalonians 3:10 (ESV): “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.” I learned that I should use my God-given talents and learned skills to do homework or anything I put my mind to, to the best of my ability.

In the business world (i.e. Corporate America), it seems that things are viewed differently. Using your God-given talents and learned skills are not as appreciated as you would think. While I am not endorsing boasting or congratulatory remarks, I was under the impression that such abilities would be appreciated. I was sorely mistaken.

During my “temp” days, I went through a lot of one-day jobs. I would arrive at a job site, listen carefully to the instructions to do a particular task, then proceed through my pre-work thought process (“How soon does this task need to be done? What resources do I possess or have available to me in order to do the task? How quickly can this task be completed? What are the hardest and easiest parts of the task?”)

Two of my God-given talents and learned skills are quick reading and typing by touch (in my early days, 58 wpm), as well as knowing my way around a computer through short cuts. However, my talents and skills always got me into trouble because I would complete the tasks in almost half the time, which would be followed by my asking for additional work to do. And, I would be sent home since the task was completed. Sadly, this happened on several occasions.

While working on a more manual (and less computer-related) job site as a temp, I had the opportunity to work with a few other temps. As I did, I observed their work ethic (or should I say, LACK of work ethic!). Knowing that they were being paid by the hour, they would work. Very. Slowly. To them, the longer it took to complete a task, the more money they would make.

As I said at the beginning, I work full-time in Corporate America and have done so for the last ten years. Initially, I was tasked to data entry and LOVED IT! I got to work hard and enjoyed Friday nights which required late nights. After 3-4 years, while taking over someone’s responsibility of distributing invoices during their week-long vacation, it was discovered that I was doing a better job (thanks to those talents and skills!), and, long story short, he was fired and I was coerced (!) to replace him. Years later, I was tasked to perform a co-worker’s responsibilities while they were out on sick leave. This particular co-worker is unfamiliar with both MS Word and MS Excel and had been performing their task piecemeal. Through the help of a friend who is more skilled in Excel, I was able to write a simple program which would insert mailing addresses, certain phrases and numerical amounts in certain fields within a letter, then print them en masse, in almost a third of the time!

Sadly, due to the use of my talents and skills and the time efficiency which resulted, my superiors have concluded that I should be able to do more work/tasks. And, while this is true theoretically, it doesn’t allow for mechanical breakdowns (printers) and technical issues (necessitating Information Technology intervention) and numerous testing required afterwards!

So, what lessons should I take away from my work experiences? Should I have taken on the same work ethic as my fellow temporaries and hidden my skills and talents?

I wish more people “got” me. I “gotta get ‘gotten’ “!