Knowing what you are worth

 

So, you are a resource. It is miserable, yes? Well, what can be done about it? You cannot change the way a company sees you, changing that perspective is going to cost more than replacing you with a less pretentious resource. No, you need to accept that you have a certain value to your employer. Try to be very pragmatic on this. How much to do you contribute to their end goals? What would really take to replace you? Knowing precisely what your value is to the people you work for will help you navigate your work life with less frustration, you will have more realistic expectations.

            The other thing to know is what you are actually worth. There is a lot of you that your company simply has no need of. I have a decade of experience in ministry, and advanced theological training. Some of the experience translates to the retail world I currently work it, but some of the experience and nearly all of the training has no direct application to my work assignments. However, all of that training and experience is very valuable to churches, and to organizations that work alongside churches. I have experience writing and researching, I do not write or research much at work these days; but those skills are still worth something. So, my actual value is greater than my value to company I work for now. You almost certainly in the same boat.

            We also have value to our families, and extended communities outside work. They need us for more than our skills and abilities, they need our whole person. That is to say in this relationship our value extends beyond anything our employers could find relevant. Humanly speaking the fullest estimation of our true worth is going to come in and through our closet relationships.

            Knowing what we are worth beyond our current job helps us to navigate life. It helps us balance work and life. It helps us find the work that will be most rewarding. It helps us maintain mental wellness in the ridiculous stresses of overdriven, overwrought, overreaching world of modern business. We do need to remember that the company is only interested in part of us, we do not want to get a big head and make demands that make no business sense: that is not going to help anyone.

            We are all going to have seasons where we work in fields where we are not really worth much. Sometimes you have to do what it takes to put food on the table. That does mean we are worth less. In a lot of ways, it shows we are worth more.

            I guess that is the last thing we must keep in mind knowing our own value is one thing, but showing it to others is what makes money. There are a lot of very valuable people slipping though cracks because they cannot make themselves seen or heard. We are swimming in a very big ocean these days, competing against a global talent pool. It was a lot easier to get noticed when you only had to go up against the people in your area.

            How do you stand out in this ocean? I do not have that answer. I am looking for one.