Warm, welcoming work culture

Sorry, WP Friends

I’ve been feeling guilty of late because, for the past two weeks, I’ve been struggling to find the time to comment on all of my WP friends’ blogs. Two weeks ago was when I began my new job at The Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI).

Like many Israelis, I have more than one job. In addition to my new full-time career as a grant writer for JAFI, I also do administrative and communications work for two small NGOs, both of which I used to work at in full-time capacities. Thankfully, I have very good (even loving) relationships with my former employers and coworkers, and it’s nice to remain connected to them; but, of course, those extra responsibilities make my schedule a bit tighter.

Anyway, that’s life. I wish I had more time, but I don’t.

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Sharing a bit of sunshine

At the risk of jinxing myself (but not really, as you’ll read below), I’d like to share a bit of sunshine with you guys, as our poetry and writing community has become a very important part of my life; and I want to keep in touch with all of you to the extent possible.

So, here goes: The work culture at the Financial Resource Development (FRD) department of JAFI is incredibly warm and welcoming. It’s almost surreally wonderful.

Of course, I have only been here for two weeks; and, of course, I know myself well enough at the ripe age of 42 to know that I have a tendency to naively assume the best of people… So, for the first week or so at this new job, I was very careful to remind myself that I was probably just seeing everything through rose colored glasses, as I was simply excited to be starting a new job.

Nevertheless, day by day over the past two weeks, my coworkers’ niceness has been becoming increasingly difficult for me to doubt. See, my orientation as a new employee involves meeting with all of my FRD team members individually to learn about their roles and responsibilities. This is a lovely opportunity to develop relationships with the people I’ll be working with, as well as for them to give me advice and guidance.

And… to a person, the people I’ve met here have explicitly expressed how much they enjoy working on our team and how much they like all of our other coworkers. In fact, the head of the FRD team literally told me that “it is our policy to only hire nice people.” Seriously, guys.

So, faced with several dozen coworkers who not only seem kind but are actually comfortable expressing their affection and appreciation for one another to newbie employees (like me), it’s become very difficult for me to doubt my first impression. Yes, I definitely have a tendency to see everything in a positive light, even when this isn’t warranted, but, amazingly, that does not seem to be the case here at my new job.

As one of my new coworkers put it, “I feel like I’ve hit the jackpot with this job.”