Posted on 10 November 2011. Tags: inter-office stories, interoffice communications, networking, office personalities, office survival, tracking projects at work
By J. Thompson
Online Career Tips Staff
The following is a true story about workplace miscommunication. The actual names of the participants are being withheld to protect their identities.
Imagine The Cubicle Wonderland—long rows of side-by-side grey cubicles with small dividers between them and a company of about 50,000 employees worldwide. In this particular story, a high-profile information technology project was being developed over the course of a year.
[American Public University offers degrees for IT professionals]
Each week, “Brad,†the project manager, hosted almost daily status meetings. He was seated a row in front of me on the left. Directly in front of me, and on Brad’s right sat, “Jody.†Jody and Brad didn’t know each other. They just happened to work inches away from one another with a one-foot divider separating them.
Brad held large conference calls with the project team and Jody would dial to join because she was in charge of supporting “communications.†Brad never cared to introduce himself to the person next to him and Jody was too shy to introduce herself believe it or not.
Over the course of six months, I observed two working professionals completely ignore each other despite the fact that they were within arms length.
One day on a conference call, I overheard Brad say, “Communications person? Jody? Oh, where are you located?â€
“In the A Building,†Jody meekly replied into her phone.
“I work in the A Building,†Brad said confused. “Where do you sit?â€
“Umm… nearby,†she replied.
Brad stood up from his cubicle still wearing his headset and scanning the office area.
“Where,†he asked?
Jody stood up sheepishly next to him, also with her headset on.
At which point I jokingly yelled out, “Brad meet Jody, Jody meet Brad.â€
Talk about awkward.
So what’s the moral of this true story? Do you really need to ask.
Posted in Surviving the Office
Posted on 02 February 2011. Tags: getting ahead at work, job survival strategies, office personalities, surviving the office, things you shouldn't say to your boss
By J. Mason
Online Career Tips Staff
Make sure to have at least one hand covering your face if you find yourself ready to spar at work.
Now of course this isn’t literal, since fighting in the workplace can have worse consequences than a black eye or a bloody nose. Think of the reference to being on your toes and at the ready at all times. This can be with witty banter, a pitch that improves on your co-workers last effort, or maybe it’s consistently meeting all your deadlines on time; unlike your peers.
Maintaining a healthy level of competition can keep things lively in what could otherwise be a drone-like environment. You don’t want to think of work simply as a paycheck, so don’t view a challenge as something cut-throat or the “be all end all”.
Recently we had a writing contest at work. Everyone had an opportunity to submit work that would be judged by peers, and with the few that participated witter banter and competition ensued. As long as your comments don’t get too aggressive it’s perfectly fine to tease a co-worker, but it would be best to follow up the joke or tease with a compliment on their work. Be supportive of their efforts, and they may do the same. Unless you’re a one person island it helps to have people working around you that believe in you and would stick out their neck for you.
With that said, competitiveness can extend to job promotions, project assignments, or even favoritism. In something as sensitive as a job promotion it would serve you well to put your best foot forward. Throwing your “rival” under the bus may help change the way the boss views them, but it could also alter how they see you in a negative way. In this case you should mind your own business, and let your hard work and innovation do the talking for you.
[When in doubt, keep it to yourself.]
Even with being in cut-throat fields like writing, marketing, advertising, and medicine you should be mindful of when it’s time to take the gloves off. Just because you feel like someone is being unfairly promoted or getting preferential treatment don’t broadcast your feelings to a big audience. For all you know what you’re running on is emotion, not facts. Unless you can prove that this person is not doing their job and dumping work off on other people than you should stay out of the ring and in your cube, or office. Just remember what you came to work to do that day, not who you came to work to “destroy.”
Posted in Surviving the Office
Posted on 19 January 2011. Tags: job survival strategies, office personalities, surviving the office
APUS Career Services blogger Ryan Harding discusses three ways to handle those sneaky work colleagues who can’t wait for the opportunity to stab you in the back. Read the full story
Posted in Career Tips, Surviving the Office
