People Behaving Badly

Today I had to deal with a very rude woman on the phone. Representatives of her company are usually either very rude or detached and indifferent. Their service, if you can call it that, is almost always shoddy, and I can hardly wait till I don’t need them anymore! Have you ever had to deal with people like that? Or worse still (cringe!), have you ever behaved this way to a client or customer?

When people bark down the phone instead of treating customers with respect it reveals a lot about their situation. Those who are habitually rude to customers most likely:

(1) Do not enjoy their jobs. If they did, the sun would shine through their cloudy work day and angry customers would be calmed by them, not the other way round!

(2) Do not have a very healthy self-image. People who have self-respect tend to show respect to others. Conversely, those who feel bad about themselves have a hard time feeling good about others.

(3) Have a poor coping strategy or none at all. Granted, you may be having a hard day or dealing with difficult customers, but this is no excuse to be rude. The customer is still king. The rule is, don’t take things personally, and don’t let customers bear the brunt of your personal problems. Work out a coping strategy, and smile while you’re at it!

So, are you in a job you hate?

Is your self-esteem low?

Are you in need of a strong coping strategy to help you deal with life’s ups and downs?

Is all this stealing your joy?

If you answered Yes to any of these questions, your situation could be affecting your health, relationships, job performance and a whole lot more. The good news is that you can do something to turn things around. In the next few weeks I’ll be handling these issues here on this blog so please check back if you’d like more information. In the meantime, you can gauge your “Job Joy” by taking the Job Joy Quiz™. Scroll down to the next article, but please smile first!

The Job Joy Quiz™.

Score yourself on a scale of 1 – 5 where

1 = not true at all, never,

2 = not often, just sometimes,

3 = not sure, don’t know,

4 = quite often true, and

5 = all the time, exactly! How did you know!

Here's the quiz, rate each statement:

(a) You dread coming to work every day, not just on Mondays.

(b) Lunch break and closing are the high points of your day.

(c) You’ve been there and done all there is with your job and have no more expectations for this role.

(d) You feel used by your company. They work you to the bone and don’t keep their promises.

(e) You’re only in this job because you couldn’t find anything else.

(f) You have this recurring dream where you fire your boss and take his/her job.

(g) You leave projects till the last minute, do as little as you can get away with and have a problem with punctuality.

(h) You spend most of your work day chatting with colleagues, playing computer games, checking personal email or taking personal calls. Actual work is such a bore.

(i) You’re constantly scanning the job vacancies columns and surfing job search sites.

(j) You’re always in need of a pick-me-up, like a coffee or energy drink.


Moment of truth! Total your scores. How much Job Joy do you have?

10 – 30 You’re having a whale of a time. Way to go! You do more than expected and your boss knows s/he can count on you. You’ve got plenty of Job Joy. Good for you!

31 – 40 You’re on middle ground, loving your job some days and loathing it on others. Think deep to find out what may be causing the see-saw. Do you need an attitude change, a career move or a complete re-invention? You could do with more joy in your job!

41 – 50 Need I say it? You wish every day were a Bank holiday. You absolutely resent your job. The loathing is draining you emotionally, and it’s weighing you down in other areas of your life. You need to assess your situation and begin charting your next steps. You have little or no Job Joy and it’s time for drastic action.

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Oma’s coaching program More Job Joy™ is designed to help you assess your strengths, values and motivations to enable you find the work you love. For more information and More Job Joy™ contact Oma at turnaroundresources@gmail.com

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