Is Your Workplace Your Home?

Last night, we invited my old fraternity brother, Jay, and his wife, Tommi, over for dinner. Jay and Tommi both work for Disney here in Orlando and it was so cool to hear all their talex of the behind-the-scenes actions that make the magic in the Magic Kingdom.

But the thing that impressed me most was their passion for their work. That passion is generated by the Disney culture that both of them love so much.

As a perfect example, Tommi told the story of the first time her parents came to visit she and Jay. Neither of her parents had ever been to Florida before, much less to anything Disney related. Tommi wanted to show them what she does, why she moved clear across the country and she really wanted them to see why her job is so great.

So, as she was playing tour guide for her parents through the park, she stopped them next to an attraction, asked them to wait and walked across a crowded waiting area. After winding through the people, Tommi picked up a discarded soda cup, walked to a nearby trash can, threw it away and returned to her parents. Keep in mind Tommi was on her off day and doesn’t even work in the park, but rather, an office job in a nearby complex.

Her dad asked, “Why did you just do that?” Tommi didn’t hesitate with an answer: “This is my home and I want to take care of it.”

She explained further how the culture of Disney encourages putting one’s best foot forward, creating an environment where people love to be, having as few distractions as possible ffrom the “magic” of Disney, etc. And when a company can create that culture in an employee’s off time? That’s a very cool thing!

Most people have jobs that, when they’re on their off day, they’d never want to go to for fun. Jay and Tommi are fortunate to have jobs they love AND that they even seem to enjoy so much that they work when they’re not working. I’m pretty fortunate in this realm, too…and I know how rare jobs like these are.

Whether your role as an employee has this culture built into you or not, adopting just a little bit of the Disney philosophy may help to make your time on the job more enjoyable.