Meet Joan. She was one of the few who was able to attend college and pursue a dream of success and stability. Joan is a talented accounting professional who worked for a distributor company far away from her home with seven siblings, and aging parents. She was proud to make money to provide for her family, even though the budget was tight. This was her way of contributing to the family. And at the same time, she shares “It was the first time I cried at night due to homesickness. It was a new feeling to be far away. . .”
Joan left home to provide security to her parents even if that meant she could not be near them. She was filled with doubt at each of the transition points in her life and tired of feeling like she had to keep starting from scratch. When she found a role at Dignity, she was excited about exploring something new but also daunted by now wanting to make any errors. In other jobs, small errors resulted in harsh criticism and public shame. Seeing the culture at Dignity was different, she built up the courage to express her fears to her manager, and was surprised when they encouraged her to do her best and “fail forward.” (one of the Dignity core values, meaning to not fear failing and instead learn from them)
Filled with a sense of confidence, she applied herself to learning the new material. As time passed, she became more familiar with the work and was so thankful she decided to stay. She is now able to care for her family in an environment she is happy in and her knowledge and experience continue to grow.
