So, after MONTHS and MONTHS of searching for a job, you finally land one. All your hard work and persistence has paid off; you sent out a million resumes, went on more job interviews than you care to admit, considered spending the rest of your life playing the lotto and simply crossing your fingers, but it WORKED!…
…Now, you’ve been at this job for about 2-3 months, and you’re thinking, “Ok…maybe unemployment wasn’t SO bad.”
Sound familiar?
My theory is this; a company’s culture is the deciding factor on whether you want to get up in the morning and go to work. Let’s be honest, unless you get paid to lay in the sun all day or watch television for living, your job is still a job. We may like what we do, but we’d all rather be spending our time with family, friends, or doing things that we WANT to do.
However, if you work for a company who’s culture matches your own, you will get up every morning and not dread going. In fact, I’m willing to bet you will want to go.
Wikipedia defines culture as, “the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization or group.” The more I read that, the more it resonates with me how big of a deal it is to be in a culture setting that you FIT in. Think about it in terms of your own family; if your beliefs are drastically different than other members of your clan, I’m willing to be you don’t spend as much time around them, do you? You’ve probably surrounded yourself with people who *gasp* BELIEVE in similar things that you do. This can range from religion to the type of book club you’re in!
A work atmosphere is no different. If you’re not working for a company who embodies the same beliefs as you do, you won’t be at this company for long. My guess is that you’ll either quit, or you’ll do your job so poorly that they’ll fire you.
I believe this because it’s happened to me before. My first job after graduation was working for a music company. After I was hired, I was sent off to Florida to be trained for a whole week with one of the top managers in the company. I learned so much, believed what he told me about how amazing and fair the company was, and how great it was to work for them. I went back to start my job, excited to get going and make a difference in the company…but that didn’t happen.
While I tried hard at first, I just couldn’t get past the fact that what I was told about this company was completely opposite from what the actual truth was. Now, I will say in all fairness that what may have been true at one store wasn’t at another, and so what my trainer told me may have not been a lie in his eyes. But it was clear to me from the beginning that not all the stores or all the people that worked for them were on the same page. My set of beliefs did not match with what I was experiencing at this company, and completely turned me off all together. I HATED going to work, and the hard worker I had been turned into a slacker who simply didn’t care. All I wanted to do was LEAVE, and the sooner the better. I found another job within two months and never looked back.
Now, after another culture clash in between, I’m finally with a company I truly fit into. Our motto is, “Have fun and celebrate life everyday!” And you know what? It’s NOT just something we say but don’t follow through with. Today we just had our Christmas party, and the all day event (close to it) was fantastic. There was plenty of food, friends, and fun! I looked around the room during our lunch, and thought, “Wow. How did I get so lucky?” Because it’s not just the Christmas party that makes me realize how well I fit with this company. It’s all the other ways we strive to better ourselves everyday. I can truly say I LOVE my job, and it’s because of the people I work with and work for.
My advice? Don’t hold yourself back. If you find yourself hating your job but your not sure why, take a look around you and see if you’re just not fitting in with the culture that company has already set for itself. Your relationship with your company is an important one, so if you’re clashing, it may be time to “break up.”
To see my pictures of the company Christmas party, check out this link! 
Each department had a different Christmas movie to base their theme off of. Recruiting did Christmas Vacation, which explains the “Cousin Eddie” look a like you’ll see lots of! And yes, the can is empty and was a prop! :) http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2375364&id=21706504&l=b28c75746d
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