Brianna on feelings of inclusion in the workplace

Brianna at City Mission Educational Services

 Whenever you go to a new place, you will feel as though you belong through your interactions with the people around you. Otherwise, you will just see the beauty of a place only through scenery. I have managed to see the beauty here in much more than this, I see it in faces and stories. After having arrived here in South Africa, I eventually got to meet people that made my experience so much more worthwhile. I have to say that I am continuously impressed by my co-workers since they make all of us feel as though we belong.

Besides feeling welcomed in the work environment, our co-workers also make sure that we all hang out outside of work and get to enjoy each other’s company. I am so impressed at their efforts to arrange transportation and literally have a day of being in each other’s presence. They ask us what we would like to do and have a day full of activities and then we end it with a trip to Mzoli’s (which has the most scrumptious meat). As much as I enjoy all the activities that we have planned, I always love when we go to Mzoli’s because I have such a good time.

I have realized that having a work environment that you feel important and apart of makes a huge difference in the way you look at your job. For some people, they dread going into their workplace but maybe they actually like the work but not the environment there in. It’s important to be able to distinguish the two.

Brianna & Geraldine

There are days at work when I feel good and I am accomplishing so much and then there are days when I feel a bit more overwhelmed and its challenging. But, I realize that my co-workers and even my students can easily help me change my mood and this makes me realize how the people in your workplace environment can make a very huge impact on how you look at your job. I really hope that once I go back home and I start sorting out a career path, that I remember to search for that feeling of inclusion again because it’s a feeling that is so powerful and something I never want to lose.