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I suppose I'm a bit of a rarity these days as I am just about through my 40th year of full-time employment with the only company I have ever worked for.

Needless to say, I have seen many co-workers come and go. In that interim I have witnessed the full gamut of how people react toward my employer.

It seems that it's human nature for people to complain about the people they work for. Normally it's complaints about not being paid enough, working conditions, fellow workers, or not being considered for advancement.

When I look at those complaints, I sometimes reflect back to how I have dealt with these same issues over the years.

First of all, when I first entered the work-force as a teen, I really had no tangible goods to speak of. I had never traveled or had a car or gone on a holiday to some far away land.

In the ensuing years with my company I have managed to buy a house, a beautiful car, raise two children, travel the world, and really want for nothing. So I guess I have to ask myself, "how much is enough when it comes to wages?" I guess one just has to put in prospective. Maybe people who complain just want more "things" and will never be happy with what they earn. Personally, I felt I was paid a fair wage for the work I did and am grateful for the opportunity having steady employment gave me.

It seems that no matter what the working conditions of our jobs, there will always be something for someone to complain about. Personally, I work at a job that is cool in the Summer and warm in the Winter. When I think about those outside workers in sub-zero Winter temperatures, I feel that I have little to complain about. In my mind, there really is no "perfect" job out there.

In any job, you will eventually have to deal with people of many different ethnic backgrounds and personalities. Tolerance and patience have always been more important to me than jealousy, unhappiness, and greed. Basically, most people who never can get along with their work-mates are dealing with one of these issues and blame their unhappiness on everyone else.

Taking every thing into account, I think it's easy to see that the same people who complain about most aspects of their jobs are the same ones who will be over-looked when it comes to advancement.

I think the reason I did well in the company is because I always realized that most likely there was really nothing our there that would not come with the same list of problems, and as a result made the most of the situation I was in.

I think too often, people think the grass will be greener on the other side, but in fact, every job will come with it's own set of problems as long as the employee makes no effort to change.

Learn more about this author, Ray Fauteux.
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