Work Ethic

Work Ethic – Teamwork

Collective effort is stronger than individual (Salas et al. 5). I have had such an experience when I worked with a syringe exchange program in my community a few years ago. This experience stands out to me because I volunteered to work with a syringe exchange program campaign comprising a variety of individuals, but we all had the task of promoting the campaign in our community, especially among homeless people. The objective of the team was to create awareness and educate people about the program and its usefulness in reducing the spread of diseases among drug abusers. My role was to help in the distribution of sterile syringes and other equipment that would make substance use safer.

Effective communication was one of the crucial elements that led to our campaign’s success. All team members had undergone training before the campaign started, and we also worked with medical experts and social workers, among others. We held meetings every day to discuss the challenges we faced, invite questions from team members, and then try to solve problems accordingly. In addition, we would also take note of strategies that were effective and then improve on them for even better results. The team leader was a key part of our success as he, through democratic leadership, ensured that everyone was involved, which prevented groupthink and challenged us to be creative. One challenge that we faced was some conflicts between the medical experts and the social workers on how the campaign should be conducted. However, our leader had good conflict resolution skills and was able to bring both sides to a resolution, which only made the campaign more successful since the strengths of both sides were now fully engaged. The experience emphasized the significance of effective teamwork and good leadership.

Work Ethic – Appearance

In my opinion, appearance is still important today and will most likely remain so in the future. This is especially shown through the impact of first impressions, which are usually based on visual cues. Besides, first impressions have a significant role in social and organizational contexts. Notably, Barrick et al. (2010) show that first impressions play a crucial role in determining hiring and recruiting choices based on how the employers have perceived their potential employees (Swider et al. 346). Similarly, Heslin et al. (2005) conducted a study that showed that the initial perception of an employee will affect how they are evaluated by their employees in regards to performance, which then determines how their career will progress (Swider et al. 346). Lastly, Shah et al. (2014) highlighted how first impressions usually have lasting effects on individuals’ careers, impacting both their professional reputation and opportunities for advancement (Swider et al. 346).

In most industries, professionalism is often first judged by one’s appearance because it reflects respect for the work and the client, as well as discipline, which then helps one gain the trust of the client to do the job effectively. Taking this into account, supposing I was an owner of a business, I would ensure that I implement guidelines that mandate professional appearances to my employees. Notably, these guidelines would also be respectful of different cultures and inclusive of personal expression. There is a difference between strict dress, like sticking to a uniform like in the military, and professional appearance, which simply means dressing appropriately for the setting, being well-groomed, and adhering to company values. While it would be important for my employees to reflect the values and brand of my company, it is also equally important that they feel comfortable and confident in their appearance.

Works Cited

Salas, Eduardo, Denise L. Reyes, and Susan H. McDaniel. “The Science of Teamwork: Progress, Reflections, and the Road Ahead.” American Psychologist 73.4 (2018): 593.

Swider, Brian W., T. Brad Harris, and Qing Gong. “First Impression Effects in Organizational Psychology.” Journal of Applied Psychology 107.3 (2022): 346.

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