Every day, people go to work. For me, a thirteen-year-old grade nine student thatโs not the case, but I did have the opportunity to see what work is like first hand on Take Your Kid to Work Day. One day when students get to connect school to the workplace.
On this day I went to work with my cousin who works at a company called Faculty Brewing. I arrived with some questions I had hoped to answer by the end of the day. I wanted to know how work contributes to society and how oneโs personality contributes to their work. The first thing we did was go to a coffee shop. I asked her some questions while she worked.
She told me that her job doesnโt necessarily contribute to society. She explained that a medical job would contribute a lot more to society than a brewery. I think that her job does and doesnโt. It does purely because it is a business and businesses are necessary for society to operate. She also said that it may not specifically contribute to community but it is a part of the arts and culture of the community.
Next I asked her more about personality in the workplace. Question: do you have any passions that helped you with your job? Itโs not necessarily passions, but experiences that helped her. Previous jobs had helped her get better at working with people. She also said that the job she has right now isnโt exactly one sheโs very passionate about. She is on the way to starting her career but her job at the brewery right now is the one that pays the bills.
After we left the coffee shop I had a chance to interview the companyโs Graphic Designer. This was really cool for me because I am personally interested in that career. He works in marketing for many companies. I asked about passions again but received a different answer. He said that he has always been into photography which is what led him to his career. This interview is included in the video below.
At the end of the day I came to the conclusion that when someone has a passion that led them to that career (photography to graphic design for example) they can support the needs of their workplace because theyโre passionate. I also learned that work contributes to society in big and small ways. Sometimes those ways arenโt as visible but everyoneโs job plays an important part. The brewery is a place where community members can learn about the place and are brought together and they are supporting Vancouverโs culture and economy. Finally, as an individual, your identity impacts the workplace around you. Different people add different perspectives and values to a business or job. Values like people or photography skills. I think that this opportunity was a great learning experience to understand the workplace by going beyond the classroom.
See ya Later
-Asha