When I was in college I worked at The Home Depot. I was fortunate that my parents were supporting me through college. Luckily I didn’t have to work, but wanted to work. I liked the idea of earning my own money and didn’t think it was right to mooch off my parents.

On my first day working at Home Depot I actually got to spend my shift following around a store manager. I was hired as a cashier, but on that day he needed help with some major projects and since I was new, he asked me to assist. I was his right hand man all throughout my shift. Together we tackled all of the projects on his list.

The most interesting thing that ever happened during my job at Home Depot occurred on that first shift. As we were nearing closing time (after we had worked together for about seven hours), the manager stopped and asked me if I was looking to get promoted?

I was confused by this question. Why in the world after seven hours of work would he ask me if I was trying to get promoted? It’s not like I did anything above and beyond, I just did what I was told.

I responded by saying I was a college student just trying to make extra money . Plus, the goals for my future were pretty clear and as of right now they didn’t include working at Home Depot. I also made sure to let him know I would work hard, regardless of whether or not home improvement was in my future.

Over the next nine months I began to understand why the manager asked me about the promotion. I saw first hand the lack of personal responsibility among most of my colleagues. Fellow employees cut corners, failed to do what they were told and many times wouldn’t even show up for work. What really blew me away was when people wouldn’t show up for work and not even bother to call. Seriously, how hard is it to use the phone?

This experience taught me a couple things. First, I had something in common with some of my coworkers. We both saw our job at Home Depot as something temporary to make money while in school. It also taught me something more valuable, our difference in approaching the job. While I knew my job was temporary, I still worked hard. Their opinion was, because this job was temporary, they didn’t have to work hard.

Several of these lazy employees even were so bold as to complain about their pay, management or even the customers. They wanted more money, but their performance didn’t prove they deserved a dime more than the current pay.

I won a few awards during my brief time working at The Home Depot (see picture) and I can honestly say I never went above and beyond the call of duty. I simply showed up and did what I was told. I didn’t complain. I just did my job with a positive attitude. It was crazy to me that somehow that type of behavior could be rare.

There were many other employees that joined me and were really great employees. They also received recognition because they really took pride in their jobs. They took personal responsibility for their actions. That manager was one of those people. I learned a lot from him. He helped make my time there a real learning experience.

He was a great boss, mostly because he understood something many of my colleagues did not; HE was his most important boss. 

Personal responsibility brings people together because is very rare. It’s much easier for people to complain, perform poorly, blame someone else or be apathetic. I will always appreciate my job at Home Depot because it helped me see the difference between those who take personal responsibility and those who didn’t.

Have you ever had a similar experience?

What did you learn from one of your first working experiences?

Why it is so difficult for people to take personal responsibility?

P.S. The Home Depot from my experience is a great company to work for. I continue to hear great things about their culture. The insight I shared above is more about people and lack of personal responsibility than it is about The Home Depot.