My husband had to be rushed to the hospital this evening (he\u2019s having severe stomach pain) so my daughter Ashley agreed to cover tonight\u2019s blog post for me. Not gonna sugar coat it, it\u2019s been a rough night…but I\u2019m grateful for the doctors and nursing who are working hard to figure out what\u2019s wrong. Here\u2019s Ashley\u2019s blog:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t Leave Work Until Five<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u200bIn 2019 I learned a very valuable lesson about the payoff that comes when you have a good work ethic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I had just started a new job and saw that everyday employees and managers would leave before 5pm when the workday was over. Some would leave early to \u201cbeat traffic\u201d, others would leave to \u201cget home to their kids\u201d, and frankly others just left because everyone else was doing it. We all signed up for the 8 to 5 salary, and we all got the 8 to 5 salary whether we stayed until 5 or not. So did it REALLY matter to stay until the day was over when everyone else was leaving? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes. Staying until 5pm on the dot made all the differencefor me. I made a decision early on that I wanted to be known for being reliable and having integrity in the workplace. This meant showing up at 8am and staying until 5pm. Though it seems like a small (and probably no-brainer) decision, it provided me with opportunities that the other employees and managers didn\u2019t get. Now to be clear again, everyone walked away with the same paycheck. But what others didn\u2019t get was valuable conversations with leadership that lead me to new insights, knowledge, and opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s pretty well-known that the hardest workers are usually the CEO, founders, leaders, or owners of a business. They built the company because they love the grind and find fulfillment in solving problems. Turns out they are usually also the ones who stay last, shut the lights off, and lock the doors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since it had become the company norm to leave early, I would start to find myself left in the office with just the leaders, and conversation would always strike up. They\u2019d ask questions, I\u2019d ask questions, and I\u2019d always walk away with a new nugget of inspiration or information. Fulfillment came in a different form than money. It came in waves of knowledge, encouragement, and motivation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I can\u2019t recall all the conversations I had with leadership or insights I gained by the time I left the organization, but I do recall walking out every night after 5 feeling like those extra 15minutes that I could have been beating traffic were better spent exactly where I was and committed to be. I was the one who walked out every night with a greater reward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-Today\u2019s post written by Ashley Anderson Hill (daughter of Amy Rees Anderson)<\/p>\n\n\n\n