“Will I like it here?”
“Is this going to be a good year?”
“Will I like the person in charge?”
“I wonder what the people sitting around me are like?”
“Where will I put my stuff?”
“Where are the bathrooms?”
“Is lunch any good here?”
“I hope work will be interesting.”
“Did I wear the right clothes? I wonder what others are wearing?”
“How early is too early to show up? How late is too late?”
“How long will it take to get there?”
“I don’t want to be here.”
“Will I make any friends?”
“Should I have styled my hair different? My hair never looks right.”
“Which door am I supposed to go in?”
“Wonder what I should do first when I get there?”
“Is anyone else new here today?”
“Hope I don’t do anything that makes me look stupid.”
“Should I have brought anything else?”
“My stomach hurts.”
“I hope they like me.”
First day of school at 8 years old or first day of work at 56, it’s all the same. Insecurities, doubt, and “what if…?” questions loom large. I wonder what the answers will be.
fool (with a plan) 
No matter how far along, how experienced, how “up the organization” you have risen, for your entire organization to remember what a bundle of awkwardness and anxiety are in play on the first day at work can be will be the first step in making sure they have it “better than you did” when you started ! Elevating the elements of human kindness and empathy are also the first steps in reducing turnover !
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Thanks for your comment – it’s a great reminder that it’s so easy to forget the anxiety new people are experiencing. Even dream jobs come with a moment of buyer’s remorse and wondering if it was the right decision. And people talk – to the world. That first day or two will have a huge impact on what they say, how they say it, and who they say it to.
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