I once heard some advice that has stayed with me: In interacting with people, always assume they are dealing with 50% more than what they’ve told you.
People like Malani are everywhere: Meekly, they go about doing good, never complaining, never seeking to shine the spotlight on themselves. Even in the face of great tribulation, they’d rather give help than receive it.
Though this dynamic is admirable and impressive, it is imperative that these individuals are given the recognition and support that suits them, even if they don’t ask for it.
In Malani’s case, she is becoming of a large celebration, having accomplished much despite being dealt much.
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Malani came to England Logistics in January 2013 as a payroll supervisor. After expanding her knowledge by leaning into her talents in HR, her title was changed in July 2020 to the supervisor of payroll and HR administrator.
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EL: Can you tell me about your current position or responsibilities and then walk me through your progression at England Logistics (EL)?
Malani: My current position is the supervisor of payroll and HR administrator. I started out just as payroll. They put me down just as a payroll clerk at first through a temp agency, and then it slowly progressed with all the different responsibilities that I’ve helped our leadership out with.
I came across a whole lot of stuff that was not set up properly that first month I was here, and before the end of that first month, they were already telling me they were gonna keep me on.
And so, once my three months through the temp agency were done, I became a permanent employee.
EL: Wow. That’s a big project to take on yourself, especially where you had to educate yourself and everything too!
Malani: Well, I worked with ADP in previous jobs and so I had plenty of knowledge. The rest is history.
EL: Did you feel like it was a good cultural fit for you as you were considering that? Or what were some of your feelings at the time?
Malani: I was excited to have a permanent job. About six-eight months down the road, I really settled into how much this is a family-oriented company. I realized how much I was really liking this job, and how much I felt like it was for me. I knew this is where I wanted to be.
EL: We’re super fortunate to have you and it’s fun to hear how it started. You’ve brought a lot of passion to this position. Everybody knows Malani. You’re always so helpful. But outside of work, what are some of your passions? What do you like to do?
Malani: Family and my cats.
EL: Those are two life’s greatest joys right there.
Malani: Oh yeah. Well, a lot of people come in and they see I’ve got all these little figurines in my office of cats. Instead of having a sand garden, I have a cat box on my desk that’s got little kitties in it sunbathing. I also have a lot of plants and I grow catnip for all my cats. So, I don’t have to go to the store and buy catnip at all.
EL: Do you make it yourself?
Malani: Yeah, I dry it out and grind it up and everything. I’ve been doing that for the last three years. This year I have all last year’s harvest and won’t have to use it on my cats at all. So, I’m going to start selling it and make cat toys that can also be bought with it so that they can soak ’em. I’ll put the cat toy in a jar with a little bit of the cat nip and just let it kind of permeate all that cat nip into the toy. And then the cats just really love it.
EL: That’s so cool, I’ve not heard of someone doing that before! Though serving cats with homemade catnip is noble, what is your proudest accomplishment?
Malani: I would say probably surviving the last two years. We’ve had so much thrown at us in the last two years not counting Covid, that being able to stay where I’m at and having my family come together and not losing anything with everything we’ve had to deal with. That has been my biggest accomplishment.
Short story for you. My father-in-law passed away, my husband lost his job, had a heart attack and my stepdaughter got married all in six months. For us to survive and make it through that and be right there next to my husband for him so that he can heal and get better and back home, in addition to supporting my daughter with her marriage… being able to look back on that and go, “I made it. We’re still together. We’re still here. We still have everything that we had prior to it.” …I think that’s my biggest accomplishment: succeeding through hard times.
EL: I’m sorry that you’ve had to experience such intense adversity. I admire your perspective that there is somewhat of an accomplishment in maintaining something that’s already special even in the face of a lot of difficulties. We take some of those things for granted.
Segueing now to the more professional element of your life, tell me a little bit about a professionally defining experience for you.
Malani: Finishing college. I went back to college almost eight years after graduation of high school and got my associate’s degree in accounting. From there, I got into payroll and have really enjoyed payroll.
I wanted to see that progress and grow. I wanted to do something with numbers, but where did I want to go? Did I want to go to the accounts payable side of it or the receivable side, or did I want to be a bookkeeper? I think my biggest accomplishment was identifying payroll’s my passion.
EL: That’s the very definition of a defining experience! So awesome you’ve stayed with that passion.
As somebody that’s going through all you are right now and trying to maintain work, family, etc., that can all be difficult. So, what has been your ‘why’ or your drive for continuing through these things?
Malani: I would say it’s my family.
I want to be there for them. I want to support them. I want to give them what is needed, not necessarily what I may not have had, but what is needed to keep my family happy and together. I feel that if you don’t support your family, then you aren’t accomplishing much.
When I look at my family, my home, and my pets, I know that’s why I do what I do. That’s why I take the stress of everything that’s going on and place it on my shoulders… so that they don’t have to.
EL: That’s beautiful. So perhaps a companion question to the previous: When are you happiest then? When do you feel most fulfilled in life?
Malani: When I sit back, and I look at what my family’s doing and what have they accomplished. My husband has succeeded in healing from a heart attack and progressing with his improvements, all because I’ve supported him and told him, you can do it.
Same with my daughter. She came out as bisexual and I supported her. I am very proud of her. And I think that’s where I’m the happiest: seeing where my family takes themselves.
EL: I appreciate your answer in the context of our culture. We’re taught to try and accomplish as much as we can to make as much as we can of ourselves. Even though that can be a fine mentality, we miss out on so many of life’s best moments when we just help others and see them thrive.
You’ve given us a great look into who you are. Is there something that most people don’t know about you?
Malani: I would say that people probably don’t know that I come from a big family, but I like having a smaller family. A lot of people don’t realize that my last name means bowler, but my maiden name was actually Bowler! So, I’ve been a bowler all my life, not just since I got married.
EL: Wow, you kind of can’t escape it. It seems like fate!
Malani: And I do love bowling. In fact, I’ve been in a bowling league and it was so much fun to convince people that Bowler really was my last name. I would have to pull out my ID and say, “Yeah. See? My last name is Bowler.”
I remember growing up and we’d go driving past the bowling alleys in the summer and they’d have the big signs up, “Bowlers welcome, come in and have some free bowling!” and my dad would have the window down and yell for the frauds to get out of there.
EL: What are the odds of something like that happening? But that was an excellent, excellent example. So aside from hitting the lanes, conclusively, where do you go from here? What do you want your future to look like?
Malani: I just want to stay content. I want to provide what I need, when I need it, and not have to struggle. I would love to retire from EL, but I want to keep my job going if I can here because I love it. After all, if you’re not happy in your job, you’re not happy at work, or at home either because they tie together as part of life.
I feel that staying here and completing as much employment as I can will be a big benefit in making that future endeavor of being happy once I retire.
EL: I think there’s a lot of wisdom in your desires. A lot of us desire contentment but understanding that our ideal future is possible if we invest all we can in the right now is critical.
And you, Malani, make the right now better for the rest of us.
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We’re on the search for more senior account managers. If this interview resonated with you, apply at this link: https://www.englandlogistics.com/search-all-available-jobs/