The
other day one of our coworkers Jeff was logged onto a computer at work. After
he left another coworker went onto the computer to program some boards. When I
logged onto Facebook later that same day on my computer I noticed “Jeff” was
saying some pretty interesting things on his Facebook page. For instance, I
didn’t know that Jeff’s favorite color of nail polish was purple. Or that he
was getting his nails done at the salon later that day after going shopping for
some new sandals. He was also considering getting a perm for his hair.
Many lessons can be learned at work
during the day. For instance: Always log out of social media sites before
shutting down a shared computer. Today I’d like to go over several other
important lessons time at the office has taught me. I find these lessons to be
valuable and important for everyone to know in whatever business they may have.
Yesterday
we were informed by our coworker Paul that many US States our currently
considering succeeding from the United States. Paul often keeps us informed of
various matters regarding the political climate of our country. For instance,
throughout the past year he would leave his cubicle and stand in the middle of
our cubicle section and discuss how frustrated he was with what one of the
candidates did. For a while it was Newt Gingrich and Donald Trump. Then Romney
and more Romney and Obama and then more Romney. He’s slightly democratic so
most of his complaining was about Romney. He brought up his personal feelings
with regard to various controversial issues raised during the election season
and how poorly politicians were addressing them.
What
Paul didn’t realize was that when he was away the other employees would have
some commentary on their own –but not on politics. Paul at one point was
bestowed with the nickname “Paul”-itician. His behavior rather than his rhetoric
was often discussed at lunch and at leisure throughout the office when he was
away.
Lesson: Sharing personal view points can add great insight into the lives of those around you. It can also irritate some people. Perhaps political opinions and personal views are best expressed on the appropriate occasion, calmly, and with great respect to others who may share differing views. Calmly.
In
another instance, two other coworkers Fred and Jim didn’t often see eye to eye.
But they did express their views respectfully –usually when the other person wasn’t
around. Jim is in Sales and during our marketing meetings he would share all
the new leads he had with potential clients and all the products he was
planning on shipping out to them. Fred was the Engineering Manager and during
engineering meetings he would share how his department was low on parts and may
have to push back or delay some of the current orders so he had time to order
more parts and actually build the products to ship out.
Lesson: Communication is an
important part of any business culture. When one does not effectively
communicate, important details and facts are left out of the attempt at a shared
vision. The system then malfunctions and people can get very confused. And
bewildered. And frustrated. And angry. And I’m going in the other room now...
Sometimes
it’s best not to take things so seriously. This is why most of us at work like
to discuss a variety of non-work related topics. For instance Brian, Fred, and
Ken often enjoyed discussing their favorite tv shows. Like the other day they
were talking about Dancing with the Stars. Andrea, who’s cubicle is next to
mine, actually had to interrupt their discussion to mention the very important
fact that their “man cards” needed to be turned in by the end of the day.
Lesson: Diversity is an important
aspect of a business environment. Allowing people to feel free to be themselves
and openly support the Giants or Dancing with the Stars leads to happier, and
more accepting business relationships among coworkers.
Actually
one of the most diverse people in the office was a woman named Alex who was
actually born and raised in Mexico. She spoke Spanish fluently and often talked
to customers on the phone in Spanish. Once after having a 20 minute
conversation over the phone speaking Spanish she actually continued speaking Spanish
for the next 5 minutes… to Brian… who thought she was still talking on the
phone… and she was confused why he was being so rude and ignoring her… and he
was confused why she was looking at him…and she was confused why he wouldn’t
answer her preguntas…
Lesson: Communication is an
important part of any business culture. When one does not effectively
communicate important details people can get confused. And bewildered. And
frustrated. And resentful. And really
confused.
I’ve
been designing some new user interfaces for our boards. These user interfaces
are just concepts right now and I have to make a lot of iterations. I was
looking around my cubicle, among my art which generally consists of ink
drawings I make and thought, “Why don’t I have any of the product images I
create on my cubicle walls?” At the time I also noted how boring most of the
Kleenex boxes we get are. They’re always floral print and I felt bad because
most guys don’t like floral print. Then I thought what if my company made
sleeves for Kleenex boxes as a way to promote our brand. 30 minutes later my
experiment was complete. And with that I officially became the weird girl who
sits in the artistically-inclined cubicle and puts images of our products on
random boxes of Kleenex.
Lesson: Diversity is an important
aspect of a business environment. Allowing people to feel free to be themselves
and design Kleenex box sleeves and grow potted plants at the office encourages
acceptance and individuality in the cubicle community.
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