General

There’s no I in.  Teams are essential, not just in team sports but even in real life. Chemistry is one of the most significant factors in a team.  Anyone who has played team sports can relate it from playing as a team member and to applying it in the workplace.   Teams can be anywhere: in the workplace, schools and in the community.  In order to be successful, all members of the team should be hard working, unselfish and committed.

As a production staff in a cheese factory, I have experienced working within a team. My crew and I run a line which consists of three machines: the cheese cutter, the multivac and the espera labeler. We always have to be in sync to run it simultaneously. Sometimes it feels like playing a team sport. One thing that I don’t like about it is that some of my workmates slack off and do not care about the job. Being one of the key persons, I have been given more responsibilities by my supervisor which I think is not fair because the workplace does not reward the hard workers or its good employees.

Sometimes people can selfishly claim that they can only do simple tasks when they are really capable.  When the team is unselfish, they help each other to learn to do the tasks.  The senior staff show unselfishness by guiding others, perform tasks outside of their job description, and are mentors to others.  Management expects us to be unselfish by working some extra hours.

Commitment.   Sometimes when we work hard as a team we don’t feel like we are rewarded because we get physically tired.  Management doesn’t always reward us appropriately for what we do.  People need to be compensated properly and valued. If we talk to each other and our supervisor, we might come together and show commitment to our job.  

Overall, I am not convinced that I am part of a good team at one of my current jobs.  However I have recently become part of a positive team at my new job.  People are motivated and are being treated well. We are part of a union, making me feel valuable. I get the feeling that I can build my career there.    I see people working hard there, staying at their jobs for many years . This shows commitment.  I have seen a good team now and a bad team. 

If all team members become hard working, unselfish and committed, the team will move forward and reach their goal. It will also balance the work load in the process. A team should always compare themselves to rowers of a dragon boat. When rowers get in sync and share the work load it makes the boat move faster.