During this time of the world, there was no internet, and one would search for jobs in the NEWSPAPER of all things! The best jobs were posted on Sunday, and I remember great anticipation of those Sunday postings. There were also employment agencies, and I did actually use one to acquire a job as a typist for another family-run business, this time an Insurance Broker. My office manager at the time was a man the same age as me. He wore seersucker suits (quintessential wear for a Southern Gentleman), had young children, as did I, and laughed at anything and everything. I worked at this company until my second child was born, then chose to stay at home with her during those early years.

Throughout my stay-at-home years, my office manager would reach out to me on occasion to see if I was interested in returning to the workforce. As a stay-at-home mother, having anyone pay you this kind of compliment was a light in the storm of diapers, poop and vomit. As tempted as I was, each time he called, the situation just wasn’t right for my family.

I started seeing commercials with my office manager, who, by this time, had decided to leave the family (in-law) business and practice law. In the early 90s, he started running advertisements on television, sending the entire legal world spinning in different directions. I found myself laughing, with admiration, at the fact that he was putting himself out there in a situation where he would be ridiculed, mocked, and also turn the personal injury field on its proverbial head!

After starting up his own law firm with his wife, he again reached out to me, and finally, the timing was right for me to return to work (Translation: I was broke). My biggest concern, other than knowing nothing about the legal field, was my relationship with my young children. I negotiated with Bill so that I could have the flexibility to be with my children as much as possible during the week and attend school functions as needed, still putting my family first as much as possible while working full-time.

That negotiation was in 1996. In those days, Bill had a full head of hair, as did I. We were both wrinkle-free and still in our thirties. 9/11 hadn’t happened, there was no social media, and we used a DOS-based computer system. We’ve been through deaths, births, divorces, countless hirings/firings, good times, tough times, and most recently, the COVID pandemic. Not counting the four years I was a stay-at-home mom, we’ve been working together for thirty-three years. I often kid that my relationship with my boss has been the longest-lasting relationship of my life.

I was asked to discuss loyalty in the workplace. As you can see by my writing, I’m not the most conventional. I sport vividly red hair (bottle) and tattoos and enjoy patterns that don’t match. But I haven’t always been true to myself. “Back in the day,” I wore button-down shirts, dark colors and had brown Dorothy Hamill hair. As I grew into myself, Bill would laugh and state that he “never knew what he was going to see” when he entered my office. He never asked me to conform, nor did he make me feel judged.

When I went through my divorce, he supported me in words and in action. He expected me to hold up my work responsibilities, but as long as I did so, I had the flexibility to do all that was required with my new circumstances. 

He asked my opinion on all things office-related and oftentimes would take my advice. He sat through countless times when I was angry with something office related (usually something he had done!), never belittling me or making me feel worse than I did. I feel treated with respect and that I am valued as an employee and as a person.

In my years of managing the office, I have always tried to employ Bill’s philosophies with our employees. Many of our employees are younger and have young families. Young kids = sick kids, recitals, sports practices, and award ceremonies. Young relationships = weddings, divorces, breakups. Learning from Bill, I encourage our people to attend these functions, get help when going through tough times, and enjoy the good times. We are employees, but we are people first. 

I do my best to model Bill when someone comes to me with a problem. I listen and try to help them come to a solution or resolution. I would like to think I enable them to move forward, rather than dwell on the current. When mistakes are made, we focus on what can be done to avoid it in the future, rather than spend time moaning that it happened. Even though I’m stuck in my ways (I prefer to handwrite spreadsheets rather than use Excel!), I also listen to new suggestions and will even accept them as good ideas!

We spend a lot of time laughing at this office. One of the clichés I use is that we work hard and play hard (We also keep our crazy inside these four walls…anyone else do that?) Being in the legal profession brings much stress with it, so we find ways to alleviate that stress. We have a snack day each month for birthdays, we have a Spirit Month in November, and we have been known to turn our Stats TV to dog and cat videos on the occasional Friday. We use positive reinforcement as much as possible.

Creating an environment where employees feel valued as people is my number one key to creating loyalty. Respecting their lives outside the office comes back twofold with loyalty to the office. When discussing benefits with potential new hires, I always finish with the fact that we are a family-centered firm, and then we back it up with that commitment.

I’d like to think that Bill and I have loyalty to each other, which, in turn, makes it so much easier for us both. I trust him, because of the things we’ve experienced together, both in work and life. I go the extra mile for him, without a second thought. And I do that because he did that for me first.