Is Your Workplace Proactive or Reactive?

Reactive:

1 : of, relating to, or marked by reaction or reactance
2 a : readily responsive to a stimulus b : occurring as a result of stress or emotional upset <reactive depression>

Proactive:

1 [¹pro-] : relating to, caused by, or being interference between previous learning and the recall or performance of later learning <proactive inhibition of memory>
2 [²pro- + reactive] : acting in anticipation of future problems, needs, or changes

I've been thinking about this in my workplace lately. I've had the revelation that much of my induced stress is related to the fact that my job is largely reactive. In my workplace we are encouraged to respond to requests for assistance and repairs. We are essentially on a treadmill where every day is another pile of problems, and no matter how much extra time you put in there's still another wave that threatens to sweep you away the next day.

I've had my doctor...nay, two doctors...tell me I need to reduce my stress levels. My blood sugar levels (I'm a diabetic...you knew that, though, after following my bariatric surgery progress, right?) seems to fluctuate, in part, in reaction to stress at work.

There's little in the way of a consistent methodology of measuring progress. You may have read this entry on how important that can be in the workplace.

Essentially the work environment is entirely dependent on putting out fires and there's no sign of those fires stopping. Ever. This makes it a reactive environment where we are always reacting to the next problem.

In a proactive environment we invest in the future. We would spend time trying to make things fireproof instead of putting out the fires after the fact. It could mean more training, making things easier for people to use (or for us to fix after the problems become apparent), and/or generally trying to head off issues before they become issues. It means investing time in intangible things like training the employees (including myself) and things that don't necessarily make quantifiable returns on a balance sheet, but improve morale and quality of life.

I work in a semi-professional position. In truth it is professional, but it is regarded as something less, and while it gives me less respect I suppose I do benefit in that I get taxed less for it (yes, we get taxed for having a job. They call it an occupation tax. I have another less family friendly name for it.) But I bet that just about any job can have steps taken to be more proactive than reactive.

This is just a thought that's been bouncing around my head lately. Maybe it's a personal preference; do you work better in a proactive or reactive environment? Which better describes your work environment? And does it affect how you feel about your job?