The Help Desk

To realize optimum benefit, at work or in life, look to what will benefit the person next to you.

In terms of work, this would mean really engaging in the company and the people who work there as opposed to the pay cheque and benefits package you receive.

What’s the problem with that if they are getting their work done, you ask? 

Answer this - why do we find it easier to engage with the company than the people? And, if you think that is not the case, think about this - How many times, on the news or in our own community, you've heard people say “he/she was so quiet, kept to themselves” after a tragedy?   

People are social creatures.  Social interaction isn’t just a ‘like to have’, it’s a ‘must have’! And being social creatures we also have the need not just to belong to a given group, but to feel we belong there.  We need to know we have value, beyond the valuation placed on us by our employer. 

Even those people, who are solitary workers, find comfort in social interaction – I know, I’m one of them.  People like me, work in a solitary environment as that is the best way to get what’s going on in our head, out!  But, when work is done, when the pressure is off, I look to those around me for stimulation and even creativity, through interaction.

Now, before you start trying to draw the 'wall flower' into the coffee klatch, you might want to attempt a one on one interaction.  Plopping someone, who keeps to themselves, into the middle of a noisy and boisterous situation can have the opposite effect, often causing them to feel further isolated.

When Deepak Chopra and Reverend Ed Bacon set up a desk in the middle of New York with a sign, ‘The Help Desk’ on it, they knew what they were doing. Yes, it is a tv show and there would be traffic to it for just that reason alone and maybe some sat down as a 'lark', but, in the end, there was a point they are making.  People need to interact, they need to be heard, they need to know they count for something on a personal level.  Imagine the treasures they (Chopra and Bacon) were able to find.  I say treasures because we allow people to lock themselves away and we find it too much work to dig them out.  

We are eager to connect with others; we need to connect with others.  Even if it starts right here on this blog, send me a comment, ask a question and tell me and others how you made a difference.

Do what matters!