What have you learnt over the years about the workplace? (wherever that may be!)

dandelionclock30

This is what you get for selling out-they tempted you away, then bit you on the jacksy.Just desserts and all that.! Its funny actually,would you really expect anything less.They would have been laughing their bits off at you.

dontone

Agree with a lot of these posts entirely. What I have learned is-

Keep your distance from the office gossips, never ever be dragged into any sort of dispute between them. If one asks for an opinion about the other - say "I'd rather keep out of it"
Work colleagues/managers are exactly that. They aren't your friends. They drop you like hot bricks when you leave. Two of them, who promised to keep in touch, removed me from their facebook list as soon as I walked out of the buiding the day I left.
Managers who want to be friends are usually the type who will drop you in it to save their own skin.
You will always lose a battle with a colleague if their relative is a manager.
If a director offers you a drink at the Christmas do, say "no thankyou" I got one bought once from one, and he never let me forget it because he expected me to buy him one back - Even though he left 15 mins after he got it me.
Women colleague who work in offices are the worst kind of workmate. Nothing you say, do, help or make will ever be good enough to prevent them from !!!!!ing about you. Usually the worst culprits are the ones who are rather dim, because you can quite easily outwork them without trying.
Men respect women more who get their hands dirty and help out. Being a woman who is "one of the lads" is one of the best things that can happen to a woman in, say, a warehouse enviroment. The respect you can earn can be rather helpful and male colleagues are far more honest, pull no punches and you know exactly where you stand. Women workmates like knife sharpening too much to give the same loyalty.

Kirri

Callie22 wrote: »

One thing I learnt was that if you feel uncomfortable at the interview, then don't take the job! I was once interviewed by the two managers of a certain department, and the interview was very strange - lots of 'off' questions, and a bizarre 'good cop, bad cop' routine - and I had a very bad feeling about the place and the job. Stupidly I took the job, and my gut instinct was proven to be right very quickly. The department had a very, very high staff turnover and a major bullying problem and it was a miserable place to work, and I left less than a year later. So trust your instincts!

Also, ask about both overall and departmental staff turnovers - it can be a clue to problems.

How true, I should have trusted my instinct in my last job - I liked the mgr, the job had potential but I had a training day before starting full time and I got a bad vibe the second I sat down on the floor - thought I was over reacting and should give it some time but I was 100% right. Was an awful and unfriendly place to work, full of really !!!!!y women and people with huge egos and the odd bully, never worked anywhere that bad before. *shudder* Life really is too short to put up with all that crap.

I now hate offices so much I am wondering whether to change career...

Wobblydeb

Do something you at least enjoy, if not love....

TrickyWicky

Well I've worked for some really grotty companies and I've got a few bits to give too:

• Don't go the extra mile unless there is something in it for you. They'll become complacent and expect you to accept it as part of your role. If you do go above and beyond the call of duty, drop hints that you need some form of reward for it. Only then will they appreciate your efforts (weird isn't it).
• Don't expose your weaknesses or show your soft side. If you're naturally a soft person, bit dappy, not good at defending yourself etc, keep your gob shut. If you're a bloke who doesn't have a very deep, loud or menacing voice the same applies.
• If you're not happy about something, don't bottle it up and let it/them grind you down. Tell them and if you are right and fight for it with all guns blazing. This can backfire so trust your instincts but often it will show you are not to be walked over.
• Don't give them anything to discipline you about. Do the job honestly and don't take the **ss unless you're one of the company backstabbers/**selickers - you'll get yours anyway.
• If you don't have anything good to say, keep your gob shut. Make an effort to smile but just keep quiet.
• Loyalty to your company means nothing to them. Their loyalty to you also means nothing to them. The only time they'll consider becoming loyal to you is if there is a risk of you jumping ship to their competition.
• You're replaceable so if you've had enough and want to walk out the door, wait until they're absolutely screwed, short staffed, people are off sick or the company is in financial trouble etc and then either do it or threaten to (but be prepared to carry it out). Sometimes the employer will try to rectify the situation if they're desperate but most would rather take on a polish bloke.
• Don't be scared/paranoid about loosing your job if you speak out. I've been like this for years and despite letting them know I'm unhappy with things I've always backed down and not fought it out. I'm also the one who's ended up suffering and walking out the door on from many jobs.
• ALWAYS cover your own back. Email rules to autoforward emails to your personal account, mobile phone camera to take photos of other things etc.
• Keep a diary. Even send emails to yourself of things that just happened so you have a date and time record.
• The boss might be a real **** but they're the one who will put nasty crap in your file and try to get you fired. If you don't agree with their actions, make a record of it somewhere, grit your teeth and go along with it. Become their friend, get as much evidence on them as possible and the moment one or two other people complain about them, you have your moment to strike with the evidence and records you've collected from right under their nose.
• Most companies would rather loose you than put something right that they've done to wrong you.
• Take everything they offer you no matter how crap it is. It's their resources/money/stuff no matter how crap and they're offering it to you. Even if its just a pen, they've still had to pay for it and acquire it. If its a government funded course they've still got to find staff to cover your absence etc.
• Don't grass on other staff to a boss you don't get on with. Only grass on staff to a boss you do get along with and not on staff they prefer over you. If staff they like more than you need grassing up then you need to gradually bring your boss around to the issue and start to highlight the problem. The more irritated they become by the issue the more annoyed they'll be with their chums for being at the centre of it.
• Avoid walking out. I've done it many times. The company carries on doing its thing and you end up in the deep stuff. If they're making life hell, go and bash it out with them and clear the air. At least you won't have to bottle it up anymore.
• Unions aren't always a good thing. Being a union rep doesn't provide you with protection either. I've seen a union rep get the sack and the company even missed out bits of their own disciplinary procedures to get rid of him despite the legal implications.
• You might win at a tribunal, but they'll still carry on their activities and you'll be the one in a sticky situation without a regular income.
• If you're in a bad situation you have 3 options:
  • Put up with it
  • Leave
  • Be bold and strong. Human nature rather sickeningly is to gang up against the weak and give them a hard time.
• What goes around comes around.
• When you join the company you are at your most powerful position. If you find dodgy stuff going on, you can literally grass up anyone and stamp it out. You'll also set a "Don't f**k with me" precedent amongst the workers. You'll be a legend amongst management too. Do nothing and let the staff pull you down and get you into their dodgy stuff and the moment they discover a weakness about you they'll have you on the hitlist. The moment you walk into the company is the only time management will take you seriously as a professional. Once they've known you to be a complacent person they tend to ignore you. Be pro-active and pro-company from day one and they'll take you far more seriously.

dandelionclock30

I hate offices too and being stuck making polite conversation with some people who in different circumstances you wouldnt give the time of day to. My union rep said the main problem at work he dealt with was backstabbing. Its a wonder some places even get any work done theres so much bad feeling and pettyness. What makes it worse is that its darling this and give me a hug that and as soon as the person is out of earshot they are being pulled to pieces.
Who wants to be stuck in these shXXXXX offices, the human equivalent of the battery hen cage!

ellieellieellie

Something I've recently learnt:
Keep an eye on the relationship between your boss and their boss. Whether it's good or bad, it's likely to filter down to the staff below them.

Also, a lot of people above have said that colleagues are colleagues and not friends. I would disagree; colleagues can be friends, but you should be VERY careful about telling the difference.

medical

Cherry_Bomb wrote: »

It's not what you know but who you know

I agree wiyh this statement!

dontone

Kirri wrote: »

How true, I should have trusted my instinct in my last job - I liked the mgr, the job had potential but I had a training day before starting full time and I got a bad vibe the second I sat down on the floor - thought I was over reacting and should give it some time but I was 100% right. Was an awful and unfriendly place to work, full of really !!!!!y women and people with huge egos and the odd bully, never worked anywhere that bad before. *shudder* Life really is too short to put up with all that crap.

I now hate offices so much I am wondering whether to change career...

my last job was like this, only it was 4 men. 2 of them who had worked together for about 10 years+.
we all worked in the same office. The MD and his son who was the sales manager, had bitter arguments not related to work. The atmosphere was terrible because the MD also had health issues, which he blamed everybody else for and he was very bad tempered.
When i had the interview, there were 2 p/t jobs available, office clerk and a cleaner. No-one had applied for the cleaning job, so they asked me if I minded just keeping the office tidy occassionally - which I said ok. Turned out I was expected to make the tea as soon as I walked through the door (they would wait for about 3 hours for me to show up, because "they didn't make tea") I had to clean the kitchen, the toilet (not much fun when someone wipes poop on the door handle) hoover up and dust. The kitchen was a disgusting pit and a never ending battle with dirty dishes. It was a food preperation factory too :eek: I was glad when they laid me off after 6 months - I hated every second of it.
Always trust you instinct in an interview - If you get bad vibes just being sat in the office, turn the job down.

brutus1983

what ive learnt

office workers are a holes and like to take the credit for all the hard work the people on tools do
they think they know everything but in reality know eff all
they are lazy and incompetent and expect the workers to get them out of the thick smelly stuff