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FEATURE STORY

Are You My Mother?

By Scott Diercks, Director Rail Grinding

“Are You My Mother?” is a famous children’s story about a hatchling bird
trying to find his mother after he fell out of his nest when his mother left
her eggs alone to find food. As the hatchling lacks the ability to fly, he
walks to find his mother, and in his search, he asks several animals, an old
car, and even a steam shovel if they are his mother - which he realizes cer-
tainly nothing he encountered could be his mother. At the end of the sto-
ry the hatchling and mother are reunited, and much to their delight, the
bird recounts his adventures he had looking for her.
I’m sure some of you may be scratching your head saying, what the heck is
Scott going on about now? Well, in the simplest of terms, all of us have a
past journey that has led us to Loram. Often a newly hired employee will
share their career journey with co-workers, no different than the hatchling
did with his mother. The key question all of us should ask ourselves is,
what can we do to make Loram the final chapter of a new hire’s career
story?
The first step to ensure we retain talent is working with the new hire indi-
vidually to manage the stress of starting a new job. It is well documented
that some of life’s most stressful events include a job change, separation
from loved ones, and moving into a new home. Many joining Loram expe-
rience all three of these stressful events on the first day of work. As such, it is normal for a new employee to
feel nervous and have some insecurities. Everyone experiences stress, but many don’t know how to manage
it. When major life stressors come up, it’s important to handle them properly. Some recommendations to
manage the stress a new hire encounters include:

1. STAY ACTIVE
• Your body is primed to act, so go ahead and get physically moving.
• Contract your muscles, release, and shake it out. March in place, stretching, or wring a towel – 30
to 60 seconds will reboot your body and return you to physical stability.

2. BREATHE
• Hit the pause button and tune into yourself.
• Think: “I am here; it is what it is.” It’s about acceptance, not control.

3. CHOSE TO FEEL GOOD
• Take at least 30 seconds to just feel good. It will release the same endorphins you get when you
exercise just by thinking positive.
• Think about what you’re grateful for, tap or sing along to a song, take a break and be creative.

For those employees that have some tenure I would ask you to reflect on your first few days at Loram. I’m
sure most of you can vividly remember those who went out of their way to make you feel welcome and moti-
vate you to excel in your new roles. As with any organization, there is no doubt some of you had an unfavora-

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