Creating a Workplace That Inspires You and Helps You in Your Career Progression
Workplace issues can run the gamut from job satisfaction to compensation to managing “up” to your boss and “down” to your subordinates. Each workplace has its own culture, norms and idiosyncrasies, but in many ways they are all the same. Learning to smoothly navigate among all the policies, procedures and people can make everything run smoother.
Finding an ally in the office can help you determine which workplace norms you should follow. And, just as important, be observant and inquisitive. Does everyone seem to know about company happy hours on the third Friday of the month? Find out who organizes them and figure out how you can be included.
It’s also important to make sure you have good working relationships not only with your boss, but with your peers, your subordinates and those in other departments. Many workplaces are fluid, and someone who reports to you today could be given a promotion and end up in another division. You want to make sure that your interactions with them were positive so that you then have another ally elsewhere in the company who can offer you insights you may need.
Working collaboratively instead of competitively with your entire team can be important for the future. It’s vital to be known as a team player and not someone who steals glory or shirks their part. Your boss is likely watching how you interact with others and you want to make sure your work product and demeanor reflect well on the company and department.
Likewise, having your boss as an ally can be vital to your career advancement, for obvious reasons. Not only because it can help you garner well-deserved raises, promotions and reviews, but because a boss who believes in you is likely to give you better projects and assignments and promote you in other areas of the company. Having a star employee on their team makes a supervisor look good as well so always be cognizant of how your work and interactions throughout the company reflect on your boss and department.
You spend a lot of time at work so it’s vital that you work as hard as you can to fit in and enjoy the culture and vibe that is your workplace. It’s best for your career – and it’s best for your personal advancement and satisfaction.
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The 20 Annoying Workplace Habits You Need to Break Now
1. Winning too much: The need to win at all costs and in all situations — when it matters, when it doesn’t, and when it’s totally beside the point. 2. Adding too much value: The overwhelming desire to add our two cents to every discussion. 3. Passing judgment: The need to rate others and impose […]
Positive Words Work Wonders
I’ve been having difficulty recently with some people in my life – people in positions of power. This is in a context of a volunteer organization, but it holds just as true in business. The two most motivating words are: “Thank You.” These days it seems like much in the world is about pressure, about […]
Friendly Workplaces for Women and Minorities
Is your company a women friendly workplace? Today companies are trying to morph into women friendly workplaces. The habits and cultures that have developed over the years, in many cases, are not easy to manage for a woman needing a place to pump milk, someone to check on childcare options, and demanding hours that eat […]
Helping Others to Save Face
Everybody screws up. Guaranteed. Worse than making a mistake, though, is when others use that to their advantage – to try to establish social superiority, to “make you learn,” to get something out of you. I’m an adult. 99.9% of the time I know I made a mistake, so it’s not particularly helpful to have […]
3 Tips on How to Deal With Difficult Work Situations
The boss isn’t being fair. Co-workers are being difficult, putting us in tough situations. It’s hard to focus on the work because of so much drama other people are creating for no good reason. It becomes particularly frustrating because we can’t fight back against toxic co-workers or the boss no matter how unfair it might […]
Do Fun and Work Have to Be Incompatible?
I have to confess I’m confused and a little bit suspicious of two big themes running through the way our society talks about work these days. On the one hand, there’s the whole idea of following your bliss. The hero of early 20th century business literature might have been the shoeshine boy who built an […]
