Daniel Sampayo

I remember in school, teachers repeatedly bombarded us with the statement, “whether you listen to me or not, pass or fail, I will still get paid every month.” 

I could tell something was missing – the passion to teach. There is a difference between your job and your work. Myles Munroe said, “Your job gives you finances, and your work gives you fulfilment.” In other words, your job is a skill and your work is your gift.

We pursue different careers to become professionals in certain fields. 

Back then, people chose careers because they had a passion for them. But today we choose careers just to pay our bills – the passion is no more in us. We have such an unfriendly work environment in different sectors across the country. 

While the unfriendly work environment is rife in Namibia, in Rundu this fashion is on steroids! 

Employees at Rundu home affairs, state hospitals, clinics, police stations, schools, shops and banks seem not to care about the people who need services. 

The town’s employees would rather scroll their mobile phones a hundred times instead of serving people. 

They go on lunch before 13h00 and come back after more than an hour. 

When we go for enquiries, we are faced with frustrated, unwelcome faces and spoken to rudely and unusually. 

There is also favouritism. Employees have become so judgmental by helping people based on appearances.  What is shocking is that even the newly recruited young and energetic people are also doing the same thing.  They have just begun working and they tend to be bored and dissatisfied with their professions. I always thought as young people, we are supposed to have endless passion for our work and have robust energy to serve people. Sadly, it’s far from it.  We have joined the status quo of being ignorant and uncaring towards the people we are supposed to serve, in the first place. 

This type of work environment prevents people to approach offices to ask for the correct information, which results in people being misinformed. 

This environment is crippling our society and the country at large. We all experience stress, we all go through tough times, we all have bills to pay and the economy is intensely hurting us all. 

Guess what, hard times will never stop coming and challenges will keep coming. The worst thing we can all do is inflict it on other innocent people. If you have a problem, solve it! 

Understand that your job is not chiefly meant to pay your bills. But also for us to have the passion for our work and serve people so that our society can thrive! 

We should see work as a means of making ourselves better, not just earning money. Jackie Robinson once said, “A life is not significant except for its impact on other lives.” 

How are you conducting yourself at your workplace?

The late Dr Abraham Iyambo advocated the drive for free primary education. He made a profound impact towards other lives. He left a legacy many generations will remember. What impact are you making on other lives as a nurse, officer, teacher, accountant, educator, manager, instructor, etc?

Every employee in any field needs to have passion and do their job. There should be no shortcuts! 

Do your job to deliver, not count how many days are left before your next payday. Stop taking success for granted. 

When going through tough times, be strong and believe that it’s temporary and resist imposing it on others.  Put pride and rudeness aside and do your job well at your workplace, according to your working hours. 

Prioritise your work over anything else and avoid going on lunch early. Similarly, avoid coming from lunch late.  And most importantly, smile more at your workplace, even if you are faking it. Everyone feels free and welcomed when they see teeth.  In closing, Let’s clean our work environments and share our work as a passion by serving others.  And begin to view our jobs as a means of making us better, rather than as a means to pay the bills.

University or college staff are there to give you professional advice that you may need about programmes, disciplines, combinations of subjects and the resources you may need in your studies.  

Above all, do not be a victim of peer pressure, as this is likely to disrupt your studies and ruin your life. Finally, remember that even the greatest were beginners.