Reflections on a Job

Hey there, folks. Brendan here again, with something that's been on my mind lately: what is a job? 

That may sound like an easy question to answer, whether with a quip or a dictionary. In the same way, though, that a job is always more than its list of responsibilities, the concept of a job is a lot more than a simple exchange of work for money. 

In my time with Nakee, I have come to appreciate more and more the notion that a job is a relationship. It is a dynamic that you enter with your employer, one that requires a measure of inherent trust and a belief in a mutually beneficial result. That may sound a bit trite, but let me explain.

When I first imagined my internship, the image conjured was of me sitting at a desk, sketches and concepts pinned to the walls, an office festooned with ideas part-way through their genesis. Instead, and to my benefit, I have found myself working much more in fulfillment, helping to package and ship orders, among other things.

I've found that getting my hands dirty has enlightened me more to Nakee's power as a company, a brand and an idea-- and, yes, as a fuel for adventures. I've had the opportunity to see the wheels of small business turn, and I've learned a lot more from it than I would have watching it from afar.

A perk of helping with the shipping process has been a greater appreciation for Nakee's reach. Seeing addresses in faraway states and even abroad has helped me to understand Nakee's appeal to a broad variety of people in all situations. It's easy to say this, of course, but something else entirely to witness. Working with Nakee's brand ambassadors and editing some of their videos from trips and countries I've dreamed of traveling has further expanded that understanding (and made me wish I had more Instagram followers)! 

Like any relationship, a job also requires compromise. Overtime may be the first of these that comes to mind, but there are many more 'quiet' compromises that happen on a shift. Competing tasks are prioritized, for example, and disagreements over the completion of work, particularly something creative, are often resolved by finding that elusive middle ground. 

Part of that essence of compromise is something I've also seen in my bosses. Evan and Steffani are wonderful people, both of them incredibly tenacious and hard-working, but they also lead thriving personal lives outside of their positions as the heads of Nakee. Seeing them find ways to maintain their work-life balance has helped me to appreciate the importance of doing so in my own life, and knowing when and how to best enjoy my time off the clock. 

When I first started here at Nakee, one of the things I was most excited about was learning some of the ins and outs of small business. Though I'm still a bit wet behind the ears here, reflecting on this has helped me appreciate another similarity between jobs and relationships: you'll learn things you never expected to! 

This is something I'm definitely going to keep thinking about, and I would love to hear your own thoughts on it. Thanks for reading; this is Brendan, signing off for now.