{"id":59151,"date":"2019-08-09T09:00:36","date_gmt":"2019-08-09T13:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/?p=59151"},"modified":"2020-09-03T05:53:05","modified_gmt":"2020-09-03T09:53:05","slug":"hospitality-and-politics-have-more-in-common-than-you-might-think","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/community-stories\/employee-spotlight\/hospitality-and-politics-have-more-in-common-than-you-might-think","title":{"rendered":"Hospitality and politics have more in common than you might think"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WeWork\u2019s community team members are the soul of the We community. Heart of We<\/a><\/strong> highlights how their hard work and passion improves the daily lives of WeWork members across the globe.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Community associate Rashmi Paul first learned about respect and hospitality under unusual circumstances. During her tenure as a research associate at the House of Commons in London, the member of Parliament she worked for, Daniel Kawcyznski, came out as bisexual. \u201cIt was a big deal for some of his constituents,\u201d says Paul, 28, \u201cand it was part of my job to respond to the people who were upset by this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kawcyznski was from a conservative district, and he was the first MP in the conservative party to be so open about his sexuality. Paul says that immediately afterward, volumes of communication began coming in from his constituents. \u201cWe would hear people\u2019s outrage when we were out at events, or people would call in to our offices,\u201d says Paul. It was the first time she had ever encountered the challenge of dealing with people who were upset in a work setting. \u201cYou had to be hospitable and respectful, even if you didn\u2019t agree with them,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul says that she learned a lot from Kawcyznski, whom she calls \u201cone of the nicest human beings I\u2019ve ever met.\u201d She would watch awestruck at his ability to listen and respond to people\u2019s concerns. \u201cHe never lost his cool, even in the face of very personal attacks,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul went to London because she loved its diversity and she wanted to study international politics. After six years there, she moved back to India. While she found political life fascinating, Paul did not pursue a political career on her return home because she was born in Kenya, which restricts her ability to run for office. Nevertheless, the lessons Paul learned from Kawcyznski were soon to serve her well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After three years at a number of different jobs, one day she spotted a building covered in a tarp with huge letters that spelled out \u201cDo What You Love.\u201d She applied at WeWork and says that at the end of her first interview she knew that a community role was exactly what she had been looking for. \u201cI knew that this was a place with all different kinds of people\u2014a place where I could use the skills I had learned working in the political world,\u201d says Paul.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And while she\u2019s never faced the kind of situation Kawcynski did as a politician, working for him taught her fundamental lessons about hospitality\u2014especially what it looks like under stressful and difficult conditions. The top five things Paul learned from working in politics are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n