If tomorrow I no longer worked here
Chapter 15 of Work Identity: what remains after someone leaves is not only the result, but the influence, standards and ways of working that continue through others.
If tomorrow I no longer worked here
Sometimes… I still ask myself.
If tomorrow I no longer worked here…
What would remain?
Would it be the old files
- Files stored in a folder.
- Old email threads.
- Reports no one opens anymore.
Or the way people continue to work
Or…
Would it be the way people continue to work because of something I once started?
Some people leave, but their way of working remains
- Some people leave, but the way they listen remains.
- Some people are no longer in the same company, but the way they solve problems is still remembered.
Perhaps…
That is what truly remains.
Results eventually become the past
We often think the value of work lies in the result.
But over time, even results become the past.
What remains is influence
What remains is influence.
- A good habit passed on.
- A standard that many people continue to uphold.
- A way of working that makes an entire team work more easily.
Your name may be absent, but the value remains
No one may write your name beside those things.
But that does not make them any less valuable.
Every piece of work answers a question
Perhaps…
Every piece of work is answering a question:
After I leave, is the world around me a little better?
You have left a part of yourself
If the answer is yes…
Perhaps you have left behind more than a piece of work. You have left behind a part of yourself.