Easter is celebrated in many countries around the world.   It is a time of renewal and for strengthening dedication to their spiritual beliefs. Our daily prayers are as much a part of our everyday rituals much like our hobbies. Prayers make part of our religious rituals, while practicing our favorite hobbies, like playing lawn tennis or basketball, make part of our recreational activities. However, as in any endeavor, engaging in an activity over a certain time period makes a practitioner complacent, confident that techniques that brought them success will continue to reap rewards.

It’s easy to forget the initial commitment of an aspiring professional, be it in sports or at a job. Sports and work require a team. In sports, the team behind the player is obvious – coach, trainer, and the like – whereas the worker’s team may not be as apparent – the company, the family, and colleagues.

In a medium-sized company that continues to grow, a congenial atmosphere may come about. The friendly and comfortable office environment could possibly lead to deeper relationships. It may encourage non-professional relationships such as friendships or romantic involvement. It could also encourage a laid back, even sloppy attitude towards work. Negligent attitudes by employees can be seen in the following:

• A manager/supervisor fails to prioritize and delegate task forcing him/her to attend to the task himself/herself. This may result to misappropriation of resources where skills of both manager and team members are re-allocated and manpower underutilized.
• Managers/supervisors are expected to lead by example. A coach who preaches, “Smoking is not allowed during practice!” yet lights up Marlboros every five minutes cannot expect his team to listen, let alone pay attention. When a manager/supervisor is always late, subordinates in the same office will be as tardy. Habitual tardiness breeds another problem because credibility becomes questionable. A boss who is not credible to her team may lose her workers’ respect and trust.
• Policies and procedures are in place for many reasons, one of which is to measure performance. Failure to punctually check in with clients, habitual late return from lunch breaks, neglecting to inform manager/supervisor about changes in employees’ accounts, not keeping them in the loop, etc. are all questionable behaviours that management can use as yardsticks on which employee movement such as promotions, salary increase, and termination can be based.
• A long time client is more sociable towards company employees. Unfortunately, the same client’s deliverables do not get the expected quality and standards from company staff.
• Workers become too comfortable at work.  They feel that they are now on good terms and friends with manager/supervisor who will back them up or be tolerant of errors or unsatisfactory work.  Unsatisfactory work may lead to clients canceling their contract.
• When a company has taken a responsible role by providing an employee care plan for health concerns along with making a company doctor available, workers are expected to take care of themselves in return. It is the responsibility of committed employees to take care of their health knowing that it is better for business and for their career.

Virtual assistance requires focus and attention because company clients are scattered around the globe. Employees must get enough rest, sleep, and not overdo weekend activities. Long trips must be planned, and scheduled properly since exhaustion will result in unprepared and inefficient workers. 

Therefore, it is an absolute necessity for every professional to remain committed to that initial enthusiasm on the first day on the job. It is important to improve from the person of yesterday, to a better one today, and the even great one in the future.

As Easter comes to an end, renew a commitment to progress, in both the spiritual and professional aspects. Without one, the other will not prosper.

Written by Yoli P.

Edited by Jaie. T.