33. Always Remember That We’re A Family.

Our relationships go deeper than simply being associates at work. We genuinely care for and about each other. Whether it’s a kind word during a tough stretch, a friendly smile each morning, or a helping hand in stressful times, show your compassion.

Cindy's Message:

 A partial definition of the word “family “2 or more people who share the same goals and values and have long term commitments to one another”.

When I first came to Famous in January 2017 after 24 years with another company, I felt like I was leaving part of my family. From a personal standpoint, leaving that work “family” was one of the most difficult decisions I’ve ever made. How would I forge such close relationships again?

After being with Famous for only a little over a year, I already know some of the children’s names, some husband’s and wife’s names. I know the dog and cat lovers, who makes the best pumpkin cheesecake on Earth, whose laugh can make everyone around them laugh, who loves to ski, to hunt, who suffers with migraines (and sympathizes when I have one), who lives in my same city (and whose “son” looks remarkably like Brian Blaushild). I’ve received from Jay thoughtful things in my mail-box, I’ve witnessed the awesome generosity of Famous associates at Christmas and recently welcomed a “family” member from my old job. The point is, most of these things are not really job related but personal details that are normally shared between family members.

Since starting with Famous, I’ve worked in between the Purchasing and Marketing departments, and within the Multi-family group. Each one of these departments resembles a family. They support each other, and they laugh with each other. They sometimes bicker like siblings, but it’s because they all care and have the same goals and values. Their complementary personalities work so well together when it comes to performing in their roles for our customers.

We spend more time in a day with our co-workers than our own families. And because of that we are living out our personal lives in front of our co-workers.  Monday through Friday every week, we see some of the same people and we cannot help but come to care about them as we share so much time together.

We may not always be one big, happy family (it is still work after all), but there is much comfort in knowing that the associates you work with share the same values and goals, and therefore can be considered “family”.