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Outrageous
When
all hell broke loose
Reader's
Chit
Caution!
You might be behind enemy line!
Neither
of my parents have a nine-to-five job. Thus when I began working at
a nine-to-five office, I had no guidelines on the intricacies of office
etiquette and office politics. They say experience is the best teacher
of them all. After five weeks on the job, I wholeheartedly agree. And
now that I have learned the hard way, I feel like it is my social duty
to tell all future chakurijeebees (that is, future nine-to-five
jobholders) the dos and don'ts of office etiquette. So brace yourself…
Behind
enemy lines…
Remember how in school we had this not so nice phenomenon called 'grouping'
(for instance, if you play with Neal and Rita, Sam and I won't talk
to you)- well, this phenomenon often occurs in work environments too.
It's hard being in everyone's good books but try not to take sides.
In some cases you aren't left with an option. Under such situations,
always try to figure out who genuinely likes you and who's faking it
to use you. But also remember, keep your friends close and your enemies
closer. So even if you aze forced to take a side, don't ruffle anyone's
feathers.
Ne~er
bite the dog…
When we were in school there was a poem called 'Uttom ar Odhom'.
It's last verse went something in the order of '…kukure koreche
kukurer kaaj, kamor diyeche paye, tai bole ki kukur kamrano manusher
shobha paey?' (…the dog did what it's suppose to do, it bit you,
but does it suit a person to go and bite the dog?). Tha|'s why I say,
never bite the dog. If one of youz colleague insults or offends you,
don't stoop to his/her levml. Wear the cloak of dignity and everyone
will know who's at fault.
Away
with attitude…
Everyone has his or her own place. Everyone's work is cut out. Your
job is to respec| people: above, below and equivalent to you. If your
work isn't up to standard, then you'll have to take the brunt of your
boss's dissatisfaction. Never show attitude. And on that note, don't
take attitude from people who aren't in a position to dish it out. For
example, if you're the junior marketing consultant at a firm, you don't
have to take attitude from the secretaries and receptionists. They are
there to assist you, not the other way round.
'Granted'
and 'gofer' go hanl in hand…
Unless you're job description says that you're a gofer, don't let your
colleagues treat you like one. If someone asks for help and you're not
working then go ahead and lend a hand. But don't let people take you
for granted. If you do that, soon enough you'll discover that people
are treating you like a gofer. Never let it get to that point.
No
longer a pushover…
It's always nice to let old Mr. Bumble go ahead in front of you at the
copier line. But when you have a hundred pages to copy and a presentation
in five minutes put your foot down. Don't let people twist your arm.
When work is slow it's always easy to take a number but if you have
a deadline then don't get aylaid by the hundreds of excuses people
will give you to go before. They don't know that the boss has asked
you to present the document in ten minutes. Make it very clear to them.
The
boss is always right…
I have a poster that says:
Rule number one- the boss is always righ|.
Rule number two- if the boss is wrong… (see rule number one!).
This is always true. You're working for someone. It doesn't matter if
Socrates approved your work. You have to cater to the boss's choice.
Don't ever forget that. Always be, courteous, respectful and always
hear out the in{tructions and opinions before making a comment.
And with that my fellow future nine-to-fivers I bid you farewell. Good
luck on the job!
By
Tahiat-e-Mahboob
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