There are a few things one should seriously & consciously refine when one steps up from student life and joins a corporate environment... Few observations at my workplace have always caught my attention and sometimes made me shake my head in disgust...
1) Attire - Some employees are just so shabbily dressed. I mean they still operate in 'student-mode'... chappals & long untucked shirts are such a shabby combination! No-one's enforcing a dress-code here, but at least be presentable!
2) Language - Swear-words & slang are a definite turn-off ! Even-though it is over some friendly-banter in a conference room, avoid slang! And then they are such sissies on the football field!
Also please... Don't say "Good night, sleep tight" to a senior architect while wrapping up a conference-call !!
3) Freebies - Just because the company provides a free-stock of stationery or snacks in the pantry, it is just so juvenile to carry this stuff home for personal use. U are paid well. Go buy! Also don't come to office late-night with your spouse to make those free long-distance phone calls to your native!
4) Freedom & flexibility - These are the most abused concepts! Don't keep stirring into the coffee cup with a spoon and make that irritating clanking noise when in a conference call!! And don't get that apple that u eat half-way & then leave it for others to appreciate its color change from yellow to its darker shades and then to black all in the stretch of a single conf. call. Don't form a habit to always work at inhumanly hours. Working 11 pm to 5 am daily is gonna leave you nothing more than an individual contributor. U r always unavailable for architecture-discussions as u r sleeping when others need to discuss it !! Also all immediate info-requirements are discussed over mail waiting for u to wake up and read!
5) Personal/Domestic problems - Don't wash your dirty linen in public! Whatever happens at your home is personal. Don't discuss your spousal fights or your divorce-proceedings at office over lunch-tables! Are you seeking sympathy or are you providing entertainment here???
6) Personal calls - Try keeping your personal phone calls to a minimum when at office. Politely hang up! There are ppl. at my office I can't talk to for continuous 10 mins. due to constant phone calls they keep getting from all over the world! And such silly domestic issues are discussed during these unsolicited phone-calls with priority over important technical discussions!
7) Cubicle etiquette - Framed certificates u received in your 7th grade at some singing competition need not be displayed in your cubicle. Dolls, teddy-bears & hanging-monkeys are a definite No-No!!! Aren't you all grown up now?
In short, be clean, considerate, well-mannered & good-listeners at workplace. Is this too much of 'formality' to expect?
1) Attire - Some employees are just so shabbily dressed. I mean they still operate in 'student-mode'... chappals & long untucked shirts are such a shabby combination! No-one's enforcing a dress-code here, but at least be presentable!
2) Language - Swear-words & slang are a definite turn-off ! Even-though it is over some friendly-banter in a conference room, avoid slang! And then they are such sissies on the football field!
Also please... Don't say "Good night, sleep tight" to a senior architect while wrapping up a conference-call !!
3) Freebies - Just because the company provides a free-stock of stationery or snacks in the pantry, it is just so juvenile to carry this stuff home for personal use. U are paid well. Go buy! Also don't come to office late-night with your spouse to make those free long-distance phone calls to your native!
4) Freedom & flexibility - These are the most abused concepts! Don't keep stirring into the coffee cup with a spoon and make that irritating clanking noise when in a conference call!! And don't get that apple that u eat half-way & then leave it for others to appreciate its color change from yellow to its darker shades and then to black all in the stretch of a single conf. call. Don't form a habit to always work at inhumanly hours. Working 11 pm to 5 am daily is gonna leave you nothing more than an individual contributor. U r always unavailable for architecture-discussions as u r sleeping when others need to discuss it !! Also all immediate info-requirements are discussed over mail waiting for u to wake up and read!
5) Personal/Domestic problems - Don't wash your dirty linen in public! Whatever happens at your home is personal. Don't discuss your spousal fights or your divorce-proceedings at office over lunch-tables! Are you seeking sympathy or are you providing entertainment here???
6) Personal calls - Try keeping your personal phone calls to a minimum when at office. Politely hang up! There are ppl. at my office I can't talk to for continuous 10 mins. due to constant phone calls they keep getting from all over the world! And such silly domestic issues are discussed during these unsolicited phone-calls with priority over important technical discussions!
7) Cubicle etiquette - Framed certificates u received in your 7th grade at some singing competition need not be displayed in your cubicle. Dolls, teddy-bears & hanging-monkeys are a definite No-No!!! Aren't you all grown up now?
In short, be clean, considerate, well-mannered & good-listeners at workplace. Is this too much of 'formality' to expect?
2 comments:
Agree to all except #7
Cubicle is my space... why not?
How much of your cubicle is really yours? I mean, if it were a cabin, I can understand...
Here, I was referring to a chronic case at my workplace where the guy's cubicle was so full of soft-toys that the least conspicuous thing in his cubicle was his computer. What this lead to was not just ridicule but also senseless discussions with every damn passer-by regarding all the goodies he had gathered. And every goodie had a story/memory behind it! It lead to such a frivolous air around his cubicle & a pain for his neighbor.
Anything done in limits and with consideration for others is always fine & often fun. But going overboard is where the pain starts...
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