Cancer at Work

The Crab is one of those signs which I find difficult to write about- not because I don’t get on with Cancerians, as a fellow Water sign I absolutely do- but because of the way Cancer is portrayed in popular media and also the way in which Cancerians see themselves. In many cases, the two concepts do not match at all.

Defining Cancer as the Mother figure can be two dimensional, gender specific and not at all appropriate to a workplace discussion. In most workplaces there is no room for emotional sogginess, and Cancer is, at work, definitely all business.

To help me out here, I consulted a Cancer friend who is both an employee and a Senior Manager at the company she works for. She is also a busy working Mother with possibly more commitments outside the office than she does at home. Her mantra is simple- get it done, get it done right. No nonsense. I suggested that really this isn’t that different to how she has to be at home, and she agreed- there isn’t really time to fluff around.

As an employee she expects to be treated fairly and the deal-breaker for her would be to sacrifice work/home balance without commensurate reward. As a Boss, she treats her employees as family and will do what she can to protect them from whatever is thrown from above. That is, unless they abuse her trust.

Cancer is there to work and to earn money. Not for ego purposes or to show the world how great they are, but to make life secure and ensure that schooling and mortgages and all of lifes essentials are taken care of. Loyalty to the company exists only as long as the company recognises that and pays accordingly. An undervalued and underpaid Cancer employee will not hang around longer than he needs to. Where others may justify that flexibility is important or the title is important or the social aspect is important, Cancer knows that she can’t spend her title at the grocery store.

In return for appropriate compensation, Cancer will work long and hard and do whatever it takes in order to ensure that bonuses and increases come their way. You may not hear them- Cancer rarely blows her own trumpet, but you will feel her influence.  She isn’t a flashy dresser at work, but will always be neat and appropriate.

Appreciate her ability to read a room in a meeting, and listen to her intuition. When the company has failed to appreciate him and he has left and the emails aren’t getting answered and the work isn’t being done as well as what she did it, you will notice her absence keenly. As will your Morning Tea club...Cancer employees tend to be brilliant contributors in that area as well!