The workplace environment is constantly changing, so today’s working generations are slowly having to adapt to surviving and working within this new modern work environment.
Mark Your Territory
It’s vital that you distinguish between social spaces and serious workplaces. Most offices don’t have access to the sleep pods or Ping-Pong tables that start up companies appear to be adding to their working environment, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make boundaries as to where social areas and working areas are.
This is also important in regard to social events. Depending on the culture of your office, if you are management who spend a lot of time socially with your employees, it can be difficult for you to ever be more than a ‘friend.’ If you are treating your employers to a drink, it’s important to go out for one and then leave, allowing the rest of the team to bond on an equal level. If you get carried away and all of your team see you at your worst, they may not see you as professional, and it will be difficult for them to take you seriously.
Make Your Physical Space Better
If you’re sat at a desk for eight or nine hours a day, it’s important that the desk is associated with happy thoughts that will motivate you while you’re at work. You can change your desk space easily – just make it more personal and add things that make it a little different. Buy your own keyboard and mouse, bring your own photos in and even treat yourself to some new stationary. In an office environment, these little things can make a big difference and make you feel more comfortable within your workplace! It’s amazing what a few personal belongings can do.
Get Used to Small Talk
Unfortunately, part of the package with working environments is getting used to small talk, and it’s a really important element within the office environment. You don’t want to come across as rude by not partaking in the standard conversations about the weather and the commute to work. If you are genuinely really busy and have to get your head down – just tell people! Going hand-in-hand with this, if the conversation moves on and people start telling you about their personal problems, try and avoid offering advice. You never know when you’re going to accidently offend someone, so try and avoid this in order to save your professional working relationships.
Leave Without Burning Bridges
No matter what job you are doing, if you do decide it’s time to leave, make sure you do so without burning any bridges. You are leaving the company you have been working for, not the relationships you have with previous co-workers and management. When you interview or work in another company, don’t waste time bad-mouthing your old job because you never know who knows who! Some people will actually know other people who work in your company so making sure you have a good reputation that follows you is vital to surviving in the modern workplace. As well as this, just because you’re leaving a company does not give you an excuse to work less hard than you would if you weren’t leaving. Your management will notice and it may affect your reputation.
Understand That Work Is NOT Your Entire Life
One of the greatest changes that have come alongside the modern working environment is that employers and businesses understand more than ever that work is not everyone’s ‘life’. It can be easy to get stressed, angry and upset if something doesn’t go right at work, but try and stay calm and not bring those feelings into your personal life. If you let work control your whole life, you may find yourself struggling more and not being happy in the long run. If you do find yourself struggling at work, don’t be afraid to speak to management!