Don't Worry, Be Happy
PHOTO BY BILL GEMMELL
Eva Yavine:
Close to home.
What do we like about ourjobs?
It isn't always the money.
JENNIFER JOY SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
yen though the high-stress cor-
porate lifestyle with which the
1980s were identified still exists
for many Jewish businesspeople
in the metro Detroit community,
it seems more and more are
choosing careers that have less
to do with money and corporate
status than improving the lives
of others and making themselves
happy.
People appear to be concen-
trating more on what makes
them personally satisfied. They
aren't tolerating jobs which they
dread on a daily basis, but rather
determining what works best for
them and pursuing those oppor-
tunities.
Personal job environments are
more impoliant than ever, espe-
cially when workers consider how
much time they spend on the job.
Working for several different
companies in the course of a ca-
reer is becoming more common-
place as people look to make
themselves more content with
their surroundings.
"I think there's been a lot more
pressure to change," says former
state Sen. Jack Faxon, who is
now the full-time headmaster of
the Beverly Hills International
School.
"In my younger days, people
used to think of staying with an
employer," Mr. Faxon said.
"There was a certain loyalty fac-
tor that was integrated into the
work situation.
"Today, with the kind of eco-
nomic swings we experience, peo-
ple have come to be less
dependent upon the reliability of
the employer as the paternal fig-
ure in their lives, and have been
more willing to pursue career
choices that involve them mak-
ing many changes as they pro-
ceed through the professional
ladder."
After serving more than 30
years as a legislator, Mr. Faxon
decided to retire from politics last
year after struggling to make
changes as a Democrat in the mi-
nority. He is now spending more
time at the school which he start-
ed in 1968.
"It's the better part of
my life, the saner part of
my life, the friendlier place
to work," he says, adding
that his experience as a
legislator was frustrating.
"Children are wonderful.
They are very sponta-
neous, honest, expressive
and they are appreciative.
They are not wily or
treacherous. They make
you feel good about what
you are doing."
What Mr. Faxon says
makes people happy in
their work is a feeling of
value, and the approval
and support of others in-
volved in the process. Be-
ing able to have an effect
on people and create pos-
itive changes seems to be
an essential ingredient in
the development of a sat-
isfying job.
"People need to know they are
doing something and it's
helping the lives of others," he
says. "At school, I'm much more
able to affect things and I enjoy
the positive feedback of the chil-
dren.
"If you are in charge and make
decisions, they stick. Not like in
Lansing, where you can have the
right ideas but are never listened
to."
Nathaniel Warshay previously
worked as a public-relations rep;
resentative for the Jewish Fed-
eration of Metropolitan Detroit.
B
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
ureaucracy is
what drives
people crazy"
— Lyle Wolberg
A few years ago, he decided he
wanted to go someplace where he
saw he made a difference in the
lives of others.
Mr. Warshay is now the di-
rector of resource development
with the Travelers Aid Society of
Detroit, a 72-year-old social ser-
vice agency that helps travelers
at Metro Airport and homeless
people in downtown Detroit.
Mr. Warshay does community
relations, networks with other
agencies and government, writes
grant proposals and engages in
other fund-raising efforts.
"I feel I make a difference in
the lives of some of the neediest
people," he says. "I decided I
wanted to have a more direct im-
pact on people. At the Federation,
I had an impact on people we
were helping, but it was not as
direct. It was time to grow. I had
been there for four years and it
was time to move on."
Mike Weil, a tax manager at
Cooper's & Lybrand, a Detroit ac-
counting firm, recently served as
the chairman of a task force for
his company that focused on
work-environment issues.
What the group found was
that people like feeling valued.
Appreciation goes a long way, he
says.
"If you want to improve the
work environment, the No. 1 way
of doing so is coming up with a
way to improve the respect and
appreciation of employees," he
says.
In addition, Mr. Weil says peo-
ple like having control of what
they do, having responsibility,
and being challenged.
As for his job, which involves
tax planning and consulting with
individuals and businesses, Mr.
Weil says he likes the flexibility
of his schedule and helping his
clients.
"The way we are set up, I'm
very autonomous," he says. "I
don't have any one particular per-
son I have to answer to here."
He's challenged by his job. It's
not just moving numbers around,
but continually engaging in prob-
lem-solving exercises.
Eva Yavine is an optometrist
for First Optometry in West
Bloomfield. She gets the greatest
satisfaction from helping clients
find a solution to their problems.
As her boss constantly reiter-
ates, "If you love your job, you
don't have to work a day in your
life,"' she says.
"When you see someone in the
chair, they are coming to you
with a problem. No matter how
big that problem is, you want to
connect with the patient, to solve
his or her problem. That's a great
satisfaction right there," Ms.
Yavine says. "When the person
leaves the office smiling and tells
a husband or wife or parent that
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