A Sincere Work Ethic: Working Beyond Unfairness

Nursing school takes a lot out of you. It questions your beliefs, your mindset, and your self-identity. It challenges your inner being and heart attitude. It pushes you to be the best version of yourself, bringing both joy and frustration all within a 7-hour shift.

Nursing is the way God has chosen to push me to my limits, challenge my authenticity, and keep me grounded. Today, I share an important lesson that I’ve been revisiting frequently as a student nurse: The importance of a good work ethic

I don’t think a good work ethic is something that can be fully taught. It’s the outpouring of one’s background – the character, beliefs and principles resulting from past experiences. These things are what drives one’s actions. One way to look at it is seeing the heart as an iceberg. The Iceberg Heart illustrates the depth of an individual’s heart which has an internal and an external component. The internal component consists of principles, values and beliefs and the external component represents our actions. Our internal values and principles uphold our external actions.

Illustration: The Iceberg Heart, by Nikisha Balan

Over the last two years, I’ve found myself working with various types of people, but two groups have stood out to me.

The first group of people are those that do their job sincerely. People in this group do not complain about whose job it should be and just get the job done, no matter what is required from them. They work as a team with the mindset that says ‘I’m here to serve and learn’. Ultimately, they work out of a deep passion for the job.

The second group of people are those with the opposite attitude. These people may be good at their job, but would rather be elsewhere. They are typically not passionate and only at work because they need the money. People in this group tend to work individualistically. They are calculative and are not considered team players, making the working environment hostile.

I would consider myself in the first group of people and do everything I can in a 7-hour shift. However, I really struggled to work alongside the second group of people, who would take advantage of me and mistreat me. It was hard to maintain my passion and fight the temptation to fall into the individualistic mindset.

Very quickly, God spoke to me with some simple verses and taught me two things.

1. It’s better to be taken advantage of while being sincere, soft-hearted and blameless, than to be promoted while being cynical at heart, hard-hearted, and selfish.

2. God sees and knows all things. He sees your work and He sees the way that you are treated. We can take heart for He will look after you wherever He has called you to be. All you need to do is be obedient and have the right heart attitude. Always keep that in mind, and it’ll take you far, not only with your relationship with people but also in your intimacy with God.

In a nutshell, I’ve come to learn that a chunk of one’s work ethic comes from intimacy with God. The love of Christ should compel us to shift the focus away from ourselves and onto caring for others. The more secure you are in the love of God, the more of Christ you’re going to reflect, which is, ultimately, what we’re called to do. As a nursing student, I find myself constantly being tested in this area. God is reminding me daily, in every situation possible, to always be genuinely good to people, no matter the circumstances or recognition, paying extra attention to what is in my heart.

So, what group of people do you fit in? Are you aware of the cultural background driving your actions, and do they need some attention? Maybe it’s time for a heart attitude ‘check-up’.