MAEM after hours

Joanna - Human Resources and Communication Specialist

A simple calculation shows that a person between the ages of 20 and 65, working forty hours a week on work duties, is just spending more than 10 years of his life on work during that time. One third of the day of the working week is spent performing work duties. Where do we get the strength and motivation to derive, above all, satisfaction and contentment from work? Let's focus on the well-known slogan: ‘Man does not live by work alone’. We invite you to a series of articles in which selected MAEM employees will show us their passions and unique interests. In the upcoming issues of M Magazine we will present MAEM employees who will talk about their work and share their hobbies.

The character of the second article in this series is Joanna, an HR and Communications Specialist. Joanna is responsible for talent hunting, which then builds the team of MAEM employees. She receives all applications sent to us directly or through other recruitment portals. Selected candidates have an opportunity to meet Joanna during a job interview, the best ones - in the kitchen or in the company's corridors. Every year we receive about 1 200 applications, 60 selected candidates have met Joanna for a job interview. Last year 21 successful candidates joined MAEM and became proud employees of the company.

In her free time Joanna devotes herself to horse-riding and makes wreaths from elements found in the forest or on a meadow.

K: Joanna, you have two passions, at first glance they don't have much in common. Am I wrong?

J: Perhaps at first glance, not much indeed, but there will certainly be points in common. What both have in common is the need for contact with nature and tranquility. Both, in the company of horses and in the forest, I regain peace. It happens that while walking on horseback somewhere in the countryside, I get off the horse just because I saw a pinecone out of the corner of my eye, which for sure is the most beautiful in the whole forest and which will later hang on a garland. Then, the horse carries not only me but also pockets of the cap filled to the brim with sticks, pieces of bark or other forest treasures. I am irreformable in this matter...

K: Where did your interest in horse riding and handicrafts come from? Why these activities?

J: ‘The greatest happiness in the world lies on a horse's back,’ - as they say. Horses have been in the family for as long as I can remember. They helped in farm work and were the main means of transportation in a small village near Lublin. I spent my childhood there with my beloved Grandmother and Grandfather. Horses were especially important to Grandfather. And Grandfather to me. Often in our house there were horses which were sick, beaten, in need of help, to which Grandfather could not be indifferent. He bought them back, treated them, took care of them as well as he could. And he loved them very much. He loved them so much, that despite the fact that one of them made him lose the use of his hands by hitting a hoof, he didn't even want to hear that he was going to give one of them back. I remember trips with Grandfather to the field, when he would put a proud three year old on a horse's back, who, holding onto the mane, believed that she was in command of this great ship. And so it began. Horses are expensive ‘fun.’ My parents could not afford for me to go to the stud in the city. I didn't want to go to the stud myself because the ‘city’ horses seemed to me unhappy - in a small area, closed in boxes... Grandfather unexpectedly passed away and the horses had to be given away... I promised myself then that when I will be big and have my own money, I will learn to ride. And that's how it happened. I learned together with six-year-old children. I was 25 at the time... It was fun, but the goal was more important. And it worked. Today, I put my few year old nieces on a horse myself. And the garlands? I'm a cruel hoarder. Some people go mushroom picking in the woods, I bring out a basket of pinecones, small logs and anything else that is ‘sure to come in handy.’ This, thankfully, is my only tendency to collect. I see a second life in everything I find in the woods, on the beach, on mountain paths - such is my immediate recycling mindset. I joke, of course, but actually in my ‘works’ nature plays first fiddle. I concentrate on them then, I compose and this also gives me peace. If at the end it turns out that someone likes it? It is a reason to smile. I like manual work, I have also studied photography, so some additional kind of art. I enjoy nice things, respecting aesthetics - also in the sense of art history.

K: Do you find the analogy of what you do at work to your passions? The rider and his horse form a team whose functioning is based on boundless mutual trust. Doesn't the success of the team here depend on the right fit between its members?

J: Sure. Horses teach respect in interaction. Understanding. And not to hump. You can't move a horse if you don't cooperate with him, if you force him to do something. And in addition - there is no place for forceful pushing.

Because although a rider can have a whip, a horse has many more opportunities to hurt a human. And it is priceless to know that even though he can, he won't do it. And that's what trust is. You have to teach each other - learn to listen, understand and communicate. A horse is not a bicycle that you get on and ride. Some are more comfortable, others less, but the pattern is the same. It won't work here. You have to come to an understanding with this big animal. It has to want to get along with you. Just like in a team - we will not achieve anything, we will not get anywhere, if everyone will go his own way. It is better to work in a group that likes, supports and respects each other. One that talks and listens to each other. This does not have to be an idyllic vision that is impossible to achieve. You just have to see a little more in a person than the fact whether he or she competently fits the project or task.

K: Garlands. It's intertwined parts in an artistic way. Again, we have selection, choice, ensemble...

J: Artistry in its pure form. Starting today, I'm going to start looking at the recruiting process as an even more creative act than I originally thought. As I mentioned, I'm bringing home a lot of elements that I promise to use - now, and certainly 'someday'. And I don't reject them because they're bad. Just sometimes something else fits better at that moment. It's often hard to say why exactly this stick today was lucky enough to find itself on a garland, decorating yet another seasonal ornament this year. It would be unfortunate to compare cones to candidates so I can justify myself by saying that conducting recruitment processes brings me just as much satisfaction. People interest me. I enjoy talking to them, which is why it sometimes happens that job interviews are unlike any other that I, as a candidate, have ever had the opportunity to participate in. I try to make sure that there is no additional stress during them. It makes conversations nicer for both parties. And definitely much more valuable. Not only in terms of content but mainly in terms of fitting into the team. I know what kind of a whole we create. What ‘vibe’ our company has. Always at the end of the day I ask myself if this candidate, although technically he did a great job, will fit in, will he find himself? Will we be able and willing to work with him? And sometimes these are not simple questions, and easy choices, because I often have the pleasure to meet very interesting, unconventional people, which I happen to remember for a long time.

K: Describing in one sentence the creation of garlands - first you have to find the right elements to be able to create something beautiful from them. In my opinion, this is how you create aligned and strong teams in organizations.

J: Exactly right. The whole is not a stand-alone thing. It is only and as far as - the sum of matching elements.

K: I think the question about the intersection of what you do in your personal time and your work time is behind us.

J: I think that even in a fairly extensive edition.

K: It seems to me that the best employees are those who take the skills they learn from their passion and apply them to their professional lives. You are one such person and don't tell me I'm wrong.

J: I think I am, certainly. The question is, is it consciously? It seems to me that if something is important to you, if it is natural, it becomes part of you. And wherever you are at that time - whether at work or in any other environment - you take those qualities with you because they are already simply a part of you. It's definitely worth asking yourself sometimes, have I always been like this? And I can confidently answer that

I have not. Horses have taught me to have more self-control, to control stress, to think about possible consequences - what can happen if... They constantly help me learn from others and respect different points of view. I use all of this in my work.

K: What does success in pursuing your passions mean to you? When do you feel fulfilled in what you do?

J: I don't quite like the word passion. I feel it can be an abuse - at least in my case. Horses are a very important part of my life but they are not the core of it. I still have to wait for that. Just like my cabin in the mountains. Since I live in Cracow, I miss the contact with those with whom I used to spend time on this ‘horse love’. Because for me a horse is a friend. Just like the people I choose to share this time with. That's why I don't ride in studs, I don't treat horses like a sport. When do I feel that everything is in its right place? When I manage to go off-road, aiming for the sunset. When I look at the horses that we let out into the meadow. At their joy. When I can walk unnoticed through a herd of deer that stand quietly, registering only another large cloven-hoofed. When Mom proudly hangs another garland in front of the neighbors and says ‘Asia made such a pretty one’. I know it sounds melancholy but that's what it's all for - for peace and gathering thoughts. K: So it is vain to look for Joanna at equestrian competitions or art competitions?

J: Definitely. It's totally not my world. Funnily enough, I am a photographer. Not just by part of my training, but also by passion. And I hardly ever have pictures of horses or garlands. It's so ‘me’ to me that I don't feel the need to capture it. I have made an exception for you.

K: Thank you for taking the time to tell us about your interests. Good luck in developing them.