Member-only story
The workplace is where the human spark goes to die
This is a wake-up call
I’d just gotten off a meeting with a fresh intern who’d been in the company for a couple of weeks.
Clearly bright. With eyes shining in excitement at working on cool projects. Ideas brimming, voice crackling with anticipation.
Her excitement was almost contagious. Almost.
I’d been in that company for 2.5 years at that point. Not that long by certain people’s standards. Maybe too long according to others’.
And I saw myself in her. For a brief moment, my mind flashed back to when I’d started in the company. Except that that wasn’t my first job. I wasn’t a fresh-faced intern when I started. In fact, I already had 12+ years of work experience under my belt when I decided to join.
And I joined the company full of anticipation too. Of all the cool things I’d be able to do with my colleagues. All the impact I was going to be contributing towards.
It’s funny how the initial excitement and anticipation is always the same, no matter if you’re a fresh intern about to start your career, or an old dog who’s already seen and been through a lot.
That longing to contribute in a meaningful way : to bring fresh ideas to the table ; to take a concept, flesh it out and have it…
