After working a few years in various positions in surveying and engineering companies, I noticed how some people (coworkers) were trained to work. I noticed small things, that I utilized to tweak how I worked and interacted with coworkers. I've learned a few lessons that I can explain, so consider sticking around and reading some of my life experiences. You might find something that you can use yourself or pass along to someone.
YOU CAN TALK, JUST DONT STOP WORKING
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When I was an instrument man for a small surveying firm, I was new, young, and being trained by the party chief that had twenty years of field experience and was quite the outdoorsman. It was very hot outside, and we were way out in the county surveying a large tract of land. I had a good set up and the party chief was about 300 feet ahead of me with a prism pole. The rodman, who was also new on the job, had stayed back for whatever reason and we began a conversation. The party chief stopped working, and started walking the 300 feet back to my set up where the rodman and myself stood. I wondered why doesnt he use the radio, and was confused on why he would walk 300 feet back to me when he just walked 300 out away from the set up location. When he arrived, he grabbed my forearm and got my attention and said "I don't care if you talk on the job, I actually encourage it, however if you talk, I would require that you don't stop working while you talk". That got my attention, and it stuck as a memory to this very day. Now, I see so many people that stop working when they start talking on the job. I think working is a skill, being able to work, while talking, is another skill.
NEVER LET ME SEE YOUR HANDS IN YOUR POCKETS
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I had a similar situation happen when I was in high school and bagging groceries for a summer job. I was hired to "bag groceries", so the first day on the job, I bagged groceries until the customers slowed down enough to where there was no customers currently at the register. So, I figured I was hired to "bag groceries" and there were no groceries to bag at the moment, so I put my hands in my pocket and stood there. My first mistake. The manager come over and said "son you are doing something I dont ever want to see you do" and being so young I asked him "what is that?". He said "your hands need to come out of your pocket and there is always something to do. Grab a broom, sweep the floor, find something to do, never ever put your hands in your pocket". This was another subtle lesson that I have carried along with me throughout my career.
These two experiences have stuck with me for nearly 15 years now. While they are simple experiences and can apply to nearly anyone that has ever worked a job, I think maybe they stuck with me because they were highlighted as general rules of conduct on the job. I imagine many people are trained to work, but how many actually work to train? Meaning, how many people strive to get better and better on the job each day.
