10 Tips for Being a Better Office Professional
April 18th, 2007
From time to time I’m going to use this space to put down some things that just happen to be in my head. While they may not be related to SportsNode per se, this is my party and I’ll cry if I want to.
Todays random topic is Professionalism in the Workplace. I’m not in a position where I can quit my day job and work on SportsNode full time. So I work in an office.
In said office I sometimes see some things that inspired this post (regardless of how “common sense” some of these items are). Some of these rules (presented in an unordered list) have been broken by new folks for which this happens to be their first job and they just don’t know any better. Some however are perpetrated by people that should really know better…
1. Do not discuss your salary/wage with your coworkers.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people do this. There is essentially zero good that can come out of this. One way or another somebody’s feelings are going to be hurt. It can cause a lot of strife between people and it’s even a terminable offense in most workplaces.
The only people that you could share your salary with are the following:
- Spouse or signifigant other if you live together or otherwise share a budget.
- Parents (with the understanding that it is strictly confidential, no telling their golf buddies, AA group or Joey your 4th cousin twice removed.)
- Your accountant.
- That’s it.
2. Perception is reality.
No matter how unfair it is, no matter how illogical it can be, it is the absolute 100% truth. People don’t have time in the workplace to ferret out the whole story. If you’re seen as a slacker, you’re a slacker. If you’re seen as a hothead, you’re a hothead.
Work hard to cultivate the perception you think you should have and protect it once it is achieved. That means you may have to work harder/faster/better than the other guy or gal if you’ve already been branded.
Along the same lines, be careful who you hang out with at work. It’s very easy to be pigeonholed with a group if you frequently go on breaks with, lunch with or otherwise hangout with people who act less that professionally (or proficiently) in the workplace.
3. Be honest with your coworkers, but not too honest.
If this job is just a stepping stone towards bigger and better things, don’t share that with the 20 year lifer that you just met at the office. I was guilty of this at my first professional job. I think back on that and realize what a jerk I must have sounded like.
Hopes and dreams are great, but try to keep conversations with your coworkers light, at least in the early going before you really know them.
4. Choose your battles wisely.
No you will not quit if they switch from Arrowhead bottled water to Sparkletts. Get a grip.
Some battles are worth fighting, others are small potatoes. Think of it this way. Every day that you work and do an acceptable job you earn a certain number of points. As you spend more time at the job you accrue these points until you can cash them in for several purposes.
One of those purposes is in the eternal battle to impose your will on others. Whether it’s a raise or more donuts on Friday. If you’re constantly spending your points you’re going to find yourself fresh out when something REALLY important comes along like… say… layoffs.
You always want to have a cache of points to turn in when you need them.
5. Nobody likes a whiner.
This goes hand in hand with choosing your battles. If you are constantly whining about things then you will actually lose points without getting anything for them besides irritated coworkers. If your chair is uncomfortable, go swipe one from somewhere else, or politely ask the office manager about maybe getting a new one.
If you can’t get whatever ails you resolved quickly and in a polite non-whiny manner, try to learn to live with it or fix it yourself.
6. Don’t get shitfaced at the company party
Wooo open bar! Hold on there partner. While it’s ok to have a cocktail or two while you’re at a company function, don’t get obliterated.
I’ve seen more than my share of otherwise normal folks completely crash and burn due to their allowing their cup to runneth over.
Take it easy, have fun, but remember that come Monday morning, yes they will remember if you act like an idiot while plastered. Minus points.
7. Get it in writing.
Email is one of the single greatest inventions ever in corporate accountability.
If there is ever a doubt in your mind about what you’ve been tasked to do, get it in writing. Sometimes people make judgement calls on the fly when they’re pressed for time. More often than not, when they are proven to have made the incorrect call, they will turn to you and ask you why you did that (idiot!). So having their instructions in black and white will save your ass a hundred times over the course of your career.
Get it in writing. Plus points if you catch the office bully with his pants down using this technique.
8. This isn’t high school or college A) debating.
Academic debates about random crap are fantastic fun in a scholastic setting. Nobody wants to debate arbitrary minutiae in the office, especially your boss.
9. This isn’t high school or college B) over the top.
While it may have been fun to be the over the top bombastic “willing to do anything to get a rise out of someone” kind of person back in school, this does NOT fly in the workplace.
Yes, it was jolly good fun to tease people and make people uncomfortable back in the day, but not any more when your livelihood hangs in the balance. This goes for discussing politics and religion as well. It’s just not a good idea.
10. Smile, today’s the first day of the rest of your career!
A positive attitude can have a great affect on your interpersonal relations at work and your career in general. Bosses and coworkers are a lot more forgiving if you can take a beating and still keep a bit of cheer about yourself.
Remember, it’s just work, don’t take it too seriously.
Jack
SportsNode.com
April 19th, 2007 at 8:17 pm
OMG, Your so great. This is a true Office for dummys guide !
Great job!
I will Translate it to french (Yeah thats what I am) and give it to some pre-select friend of mines.
I work in a office for 10 years now. I learn the hard way. So many young people get out of the University and dont understand the “secret rules” in a office.
Thanks a lot
April 19th, 2007 at 8:18 pm
Great tips. Come in handy
April 19th, 2007 at 8:31 pm
RIght on.
April 19th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
It really depends on where you work. I’m with a small software consulting company and we have fun. We are also very personal. I mean, my coworkers knew about my recent break-up day after it happened…
April 19th, 2007 at 8:53 pm
point #1 is crap. management likes to use money to keep its workforce divided. they don’t like employees to talk about compensation because that’s when all their crap comes out, and that’s when employees start to get discontented (Which is a good thing).
April 19th, 2007 at 8:54 pm
Essentially this is a good baseline if you’re the new guy in the office. After the first few days/weeks/months you can start playing it more by ear of course
April 19th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
agree with Mr/Ms Johnson. #1 is what management want you to do. If no one discusses salary then you won’t know if you’re being screwed.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:04 pm
I’m sorry but I disagree with point 1. There is a reason companies make it a sackable offence and that is because they do not want workers to realise what they are worth by gauging themselves against like employed individuals. I think it is fine to discuss your wage with fellow employees but in a tactful manner, don’t got around gloating that you are on a great wage and belittling people who may not have negotiated as well as you. But if someone asks for reasons of trying to gauge market worth for a certain role or job then be curtious and humble in answering and giving them a little piece of knowledge.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:10 pm
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April 19th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
There are plenty of websites available that will tell you what you should be making without running the risk of alienating either your coworkers or management.
Having said that, I understand what you guys are saying even if I don’t entirely agree with it.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:17 pm
I couldn’t get past number 1. Total crap. I’m lucky enought to work for a company that has been sued enough to be forced into haveing legal compliance meetings every year in which part of it we are told that it is not only ok and legal to talk about your salary with you co workers but it is illegal to befired for doing discussing this. So I call bull and if you’ve been fired for this call a lawyer. If you plan to fire some one for this. Think again.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:22 pm
I agree with Jack. Good advice to begin with.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:24 pm
Hey Michael, it’s very similar to ‘non-compete’ forms that many companies force their new hires to sign. In several states that are 100% unenforceable but not a lot of people know that.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:25 pm
“I think back on that and realize what a jerk I must have sounded like.”
But making top 10 lists telling people how to behave doesn’t make you sound like a jerk? I’m pretty sure most people in the office won’t make this mistake - telling me that most people would be able to make a better top 10 list.
Sorry for being blunt, I know it’s just a blog, you aren’t making money on this page, you are just writing what you think but the internet goes both ways so I’m doing the same - just saying what I think
April 19th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
This is absolutely correct. Good work.
April 19th, 2007 at 9:35 pm
Hi John, I was 19 years old and largely clueless. I’d like to think that I’ve grown a bit since then
April 19th, 2007 at 11:00 pm
Does office professional mean people who work in large cubicle style corporations that consider them easily replaceable employees? I’ve largely done the opposite of most of this list and my rate has only gone higher and higher since I left college. Work is a major portion of our life and if you’re going to be there for so long, wouldn’t you feel better just being yourself? All this office etiquette and rules for the workplace are dehumanizing and need to go away.
April 19th, 2007 at 11:29 pm
G8 dear….its the fact. With positive attitude we can achieve any thing…………..cheer..
April 19th, 2007 at 11:46 pm
Dear Jack,
I sincerely hope that you one day experience working in a liberated office. More importantly, I hope you can grow as a person and realize that success is not linked to following rules in an office.
-Chris
p.s. If you can’t act over the top (i.e. being yourself) or get drunk when you want to get drunk , then what’s the point of working there?
April 20th, 2007 at 12:31 am
Interesting to see how people thrashing these points based on their own perceptions forgetting that these points mainly focuses on “how others perceives you in office” and not other wise. And thats becomes the most important thing when you work for a global organization.
Being yourself is good but have we done it all our lives? NO… numerous instances like school lectures, social gathering, masses, and many more places, we behaved as others (parents or society) wanted us to behave.
I sincerely believe you need to be a smart player to be in good books
Good Work JACK!
April 20th, 2007 at 1:17 am
you forgot #11:
“Never take a dump in your bosses file drawer if there is a chance you will get caught”
I was guilty of this at my first professional job. I think back on that and realize what a jerk I must have been.
nowdays i make sure i wont get caught.
-hoss
April 20th, 2007 at 1:20 am
Many good points here. My first job is actually in a big oil company, so these tips will come in handy!
Best regards
April 20th, 2007 at 3:24 am
10 Tips for Being a Better Office Professional…
10 Tips for Being a Better Office Professional posted at IndianPad.com…
April 20th, 2007 at 4:17 am
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April 20th, 2007 at 4:49 am
I hope there is not a problem if I translate this to my blog and put a link.
April 20th, 2007 at 4:56 am
Kudos on the list I thought it was very informative, I am very young and in the office so when I started I could have used a list like this just to give me the heads up, and I agree with Awanish this list is a good guideline as to what others will be expecting of you not the office 10 commandments.
April 20th, 2007 at 5:04 am
“1. Do not discuss your salary/wage with your coworkers.”
Only applicable in the US, where companies and governments’ union-busting techniques have effectively eliminated the ability of labour to organise and conduct collective bargaining to achieve some of the fair and decent privileges that many European workers enjoy such as 6 weeks of holidays and the right to an office with a window. Here it is very common to have full transparency regarding wages since it is a necessity for the workers to know if they are being cheated if they want any kind of empowerment - an ideal that the typical US office slave has sadly abandoned giving rise to such outlets of US-specific frustration as the Dilbert comic strip and - it would appear - this blog.
April 20th, 2007 at 5:09 am
I have worked in large and very small offices, as well as in private and public schools. These are all good rules of thumb. Of course we can reevaluate certain ones as we get to know the individual employment atmosphere, but these are just good common sense guidelines.
Thanks for putting them all in one place.
April 20th, 2007 at 5:18 am
All these tips are unfortunaly relevant for a long list of companies. I used to have a job where all these rules were a part of surviving in the “office jungle”.
If all or most of these rules are relevant to your job… Get a new one - You’ll never regret it.
April 20th, 2007 at 5:42 am
#1 is not always true. If you are in the midst of a merger and you find out that the new staff is earning more than you for the same work it BEHOOVES you to know that. You need to know how much of a raise you can ask for, or to look somewhere else if they can’t raise you up to the level of your coworkers. As long as you are close enough to a new person and feel comfortable asking DO IT!
April 20th, 2007 at 6:51 am
12) Don’t fart in the office. Go into the bathroom to do that. Of course, do as I say, and not as I do.
April 20th, 2007 at 6:57 am
Carlos,
Feel free to translate this article for your blog as long as you link back to me here.
Thanks,
Jack
April 20th, 2007 at 7:16 am
Excellent list. You couldn’t go much wrong by following these tips.
In my experience it seems people consider that people in the office are an extension of their network of friends and therefore treat them accordingly. This is not always the wisest move as petty squabbling and in-fighting get in the way of a good, hard work.
April 20th, 2007 at 8:40 am
Love the post! Well thought out, well written and some really solid points in there. Some good comments too - love seeing educated banter in comments
As for point 5, “nobody likes a whiner”, a mate of mine in Australia recounted to me recently that they have implemented a “wobbly wig” (named after the phrase “chucking a wobbly”, aka “dummy spit”, aka “throwing toys out of the pram”) at his work, which is a horrible, brightly coloured wig.
If someone whines, they are nominated by their co-workers to wear the “wobbly wig”. Majority rules as to whether it’s warranted and if it is, the wig is worn for 30 min regardless of whether they are going into client meetings etc.
I implemented it here at work in the UK, and it’s been a total hit! Keeps the whining to a minimum and yet a source of amusement at the same time.
April 20th, 2007 at 8:57 am
Excellent Advise. Saving it for later reference
April 20th, 2007 at 9:23 am
Good afternoon to you all. I just wanted to chime in on this discussion and give you my perspective (as a 20 year old intern).
Ive made the odd mistake of not following alot of these no nos, but then again im also learning as I go. If you are a college student (or university if you’re Candian like me) then i suggest a co-op or internship as soon as the opportunity arises. I have learned so much from my time at the View Magazine (where i co-op) and im sure it will be INVALUABLE in my future endeavors. From my perspective however i tend to disagree with some of the line of thinking behind this post. If you have to do all these little steps and dodges all the time then whats the point in even having dialogue in the office? strickly business i get it, however, i dont agree whatsoever.
so when you think about what you should say or what your boss wants you to say, find a middle ground. speak your mind and if thats contrary to what the boss thinks then discuss and make sure he/she knows that YOU are the lifeblood of the company and your ideas are only for the companys benefit. Let them know if you didnt say something that the company may have missed an excellent opportunity or potential prospect. if your boss doesnt agree dont dwell on rediculous instances and garbage that will only drag you down and everyone around you, just move on. Enjoy life, enjoy your job, and be honest especially to yourself.
i hope i dont sound like a pig headed college student, but i really care nothing for people who mathmatically calculate every move and thought, if my boss doesnt like what i put out then find another person willing to bend as far as he/she wants. ill do my own thing and enjoy life.
ps. My time at VIEW magazine has not only enlightened me its also built up alot of contacts, friends and confidence. Heres an E shout to all of you who helped me in this learning experience. I go back to school April 27th.
April 20th, 2007 at 9:32 am
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April 20th, 2007 at 9:34 am
Hey Miles,
Nobody ever said that you can’t be yourself and speak your mind, just don’t start talking about how cheap prostitutes are in XXX city (true story, someone did this at a business lunch that I attended).
It’s all a matter of tact and discretion.
April 20th, 2007 at 10:02 am
well, there you are definetly correct. my point (if you missed it, im a sloppy writer) is that if you have to calculate every move you make it makes life pretty much just a headache, however you are certainly correct on the tact and tastefulness.
April 20th, 2007 at 10:03 am
I think many of these are way open for debate. However, they are a good reminder. Happiness at work is not a science - but we seem to make it one.
A huge key is ti take all of the perks that are offered. Lunch hours, vacation days, etc. These items will keep you more balanced and less resentful!
April 20th, 2007 at 10:41 am
It is always easy to be a “Monday morning quarterback”
Max Labovitch
Right Wing
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42 - 44
April 20th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
Sell your soul for a minor payrise. Most of these points will keep you on the route to the inflationary payrise once per year.
Happiness really comes from being yourself at work - and if that means behaving like a schoolkid, then do it. Happy people make the best colleagues - and colleagues that get on well are more productive, with better results.
April 20th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
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April 20th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
Boy, Jack, I’m amazed that people visiting someone’s blog feel they have to flame the person as a reward for the blogger sharing ideas and keeping the comments system open for anyone who wants to respond. These are not people I’d want to work with.
But I’ll also say that at least in my state, all the state workers have their salaries published. I know people who find it rude to ask what someone’s house is worth, but it’s public information in county records available to anyone. That’s on the web now, too, and people house hunting, (or job hunting) will find out without necessarily being nosy.
I’d also say the hardest, trickiest one is number 3. We all need to commiserate sometimes, we all need to share sometimes, and we all need to complain (about work or private matters) sometimes, but once it’s out, it’s out. Hearing it back in a twisted form, or finding yourself working with someone who is now your team leader, and knows you’ve had problems with fill in the blank puts pressure on both people to respect each other in a different way than if the private news was still private. Some people can handle the responsibility of having been a certain kind of friend–and now a certain kind of coworker–and some people will need to discuss what you maybe thought was private in order to simply process it themselves (in other words, not horrible gossips, but sincere people with sincere needs of their own).
I agree that keeping a professional situation is important, and I’m very open and frank, but I expect professionalism from my coworkers, and they are entitled to it from me. That sometimes means keeping private things private, and sometimes it means sharing so that people know if something is going to affect the project or relationship. One can do all of these things and still be oneself, professional, and an asset to the office. One can also do all these things and slack, miss deadlines, and screw up. Trust will always be an ongoing issue, and balancing boundaries can be tricky business. Respecting boundaries may mean be quiet now, I have to work, or it may mean, Joe is quiet and shy and I’ve passed his desk for six months without initiating a conversation that would reduce stress in the office if I did. Tricky finding balances all along.
Good job on the list. I’m shocked at how rude some of your respondents are. The internet is strange (and useful). Best wishes on your blog. I ran into it via del.icio.us.
April 20th, 2007 at 11:47 pm
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April 21st, 2007 at 7:42 am
It’s a shame that these points are more or less true, they make the work place seem like a soulless existance, where people put on a false facade from nine to five. Perhaps im being an idealist in thinking people should be able to co-operate with each other without un-writen rules, we seems to manage it quite well outside the work place.
April 24th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
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April 24th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
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April 28th, 2007 at 9:01 am
I definitely agree with not sharing your salary. Never a smart idea.