Consultants have a different work-life from standard employees. Whereas standard employees may see each other every day for years (in person pre-pandemic and Zoom post-pandemic), consultants are usually short-timers. We may be at a client for a few months or even a year two, but eventually, the contract ends and it's time to move on to another assignment.
I have been working for the same client where I got my start as a consultant. There are two other consultants on the team, Karen and Bill, who were also part of that same project seven years ago. You never know when you will end up working with colleagues again. At my second gig, I'm working with a fellow consultant named Mike who has worked with me at every I've had over these last seven years. He's as close to a traditional co-worker as I'm likely to have. Bill, Karen, and Mike all knew each other and were working at our company before I joined.
Karen had been traveling back and forth every day from her house to her brother's house where her ailing mother was staying. She's in her 80's and her health was slowly deteriorating. Her health worsened over the last 48 hours, and Karen notified me this morning that her mom passed.
I notified the team that Karen would be out due to a death in the family and several people replied just to me and asked if it was her mom, which I confirmed. Bill sprang into action and got Karen's address and immediately arranged to have a floral arrangement sent. Everyone needs a Bill on their team. We all pitched in via Paypal or Venmo. Karen reached out this afternoon and told me to thank the team for the flowers and card.
So, yes we're consultants, but we're also coworkers and we care about each other. After all, I spend more time with them than anyone else at the moment.
I have been working for the same client where I got my start as a consultant. There are two other consultants on the team, Karen and Bill, who were also part of that same project seven years ago. You never know when you will end up working with colleagues again. At my second gig, I'm working with a fellow consultant named Mike who has worked with me at every I've had over these last seven years. He's as close to a traditional co-worker as I'm likely to have. Bill, Karen, and Mike all knew each other and were working at our company before I joined.
Karen had been traveling back and forth every day from her house to her brother's house where her ailing mother was staying. She's in her 80's and her health was slowly deteriorating. Her health worsened over the last 48 hours, and Karen notified me this morning that her mom passed.
I notified the team that Karen would be out due to a death in the family and several people replied just to me and asked if it was her mom, which I confirmed. Bill sprang into action and got Karen's address and immediately arranged to have a floral arrangement sent. Everyone needs a Bill on their team. We all pitched in via Paypal or Venmo. Karen reached out this afternoon and told me to thank the team for the flowers and card.
So, yes we're consultants, but we're also coworkers and we care about each other. After all, I spend more time with them than anyone else at the moment.
