Online Career Tips

By: J. Mason
Online Career Tips Staff

It’s typically a good rule of thumb to not let the little things at work get under your skin. Just like you’re advised to keep your personal life distanced from work, it’s expected the same should happen with conflict within the office. The reasoning behind this is that emotions can cloud your better judgment, and hamper your decision making skills. But what if some of the things that play out everyday in the office are really eating at you? Is it really healthy to let something like this fester?

At Psychology Today they feel that work IS personal and what can upset you at work can do damage. They call this “inner work”.  “Inner work life is “inner” because it is usually unobserved by others. In fact, workplace culture often frowns on people openly expressing their feelings at work.” They go onto explain that hiding these emotions or holding them in can be damaging for two reasons:

• poor inner work life resulting from stress leads to increases in physical illness and absenteeism
• inner work life influences performance

It goes without saying that employees with a positive inner work life are more creative, motivated and productive. So by neglecting to notice signs of someone struggling at work emotionally can hurt the company’s bottom line and performance.

[When Tested at Work, Reverse the Roles and Keep Your Cool]

For those suffering from this in the office space be honest about how your day really is. If you’re not honest with your manager you can’t expect them to help make the situation better. Talk to someone also, maybe it’s your spouse or a co-worker you can trust. They can help give you the courage to confront the situation before you start to decline. And a note to manager’s, make sure you’re listening. If someone is going through something at work they may not blurt it out all at once, but may tell you in snippets of their struggles with others, worries about the company, etc. Give opportunities when you can to speak with those that report to you, and help in creating a safe environment and hopefully this will help in improving the inner work lives for your employees.

A major concern on every employee’s mind is not what their boss or supervisor says, but what they choose not to say. I am referring to subtle critiques of performance and behavior and personal feelings about your demeanor or attitude that bosses might decide to keep to themselves. Were they embarrassed when, in that last company-wide meeting, you accidentally stuck your foot in your mouth? Or when, in a moment of whimsy, you started chirping and stalking around the office like a giant flightless bird? Or perhaps the tone of your voice grates on their nerves like nails on a chalkboard. Or maybe they quietly hate the style in which you compose emails. Continue Reading

When you spend so much time on your resume, it helps to get a second pair of eyes on it once you’re done — someone else can spot things you may overlook because you’re so familiar with the content. Continue Reading

When asked what your flaws are during the interview, how do you typically respond? Besides telling them how perfect you are and how you would be an asset to their team try being honest instead. >Alison Green states it best by saying it makes you seem ingenuine.

Try instead a unique approach be mentioning a project you worked on, the steps you took to make things work, and the ultimate outcome. Where you could’ve improved in the project can be one thing you can work on. Use that as a motivator for being in the position you’re interviewing for.