5 Things They Say At Workplace and What They Really Mean

According to the Business Dictionary - “A rule is an authoritative statement of what to do or not to do in a specific situation, issued by an appropriate person or body.”

However, when it comes to professional world rules not always have to be documented. There are certain unwritten rules of workplace, which no one will ever tell you. In this post I am going to shed light on some of those unwritten rules that will help you survive through the initial hardships when you start your professional journey.

"Focus more on work and less on management. Start using a project management software."

Let us have a look at those rules -

The real meaning of flexibility

Okay, so ‘Flexible office timings’ this is one phrase that has been making all the buzz in recent times. Business have started to embrace flexible work culture, but are they really following it?

More often than not, flexible work timing is nothing more than just click bait. Employees are expected to come on time, and stretch the office time beyond their working hours just because the boss is still working.

That’s one of the first unwritten rules of workplace you need to make yourself familiar with.

The door is always open, but

Moving on from flexible work timing to another factor that plays a massive role in attracting potential employees - ‘we follow an open door policy, everyone can come and get in touch with any of the senior persons to share ideas, discuss issues and what not.’

Yes, the door is always open. And, your voice will be heard. But, don’t keep high hopes of your ideas being implemented. Because it is a general tendency for people sitting at top of the hierarchy to do things their way.

That’s the second unwritten rule - chances of your ideas being implemented in one go are quite meagre.

We care for your personal life

But don’t bring your personal problems to the office. As beautiful as it may sound to have a workplace that feels like home, the fact of the matter is that you should keep your personal life out of the office doors.

No matter what the HR told you about discussing issues that are causing trouble in your work, don’t ever bring personal topics into the office. Because, this will be the first thing on which your performance will be judged. And, secondly you can never be certain of the information being leaked out, and your personal issues becoming the topic of conversation over the coffee machine.

So, keep your personal and professional life separate.

You performed well - really?

So you have been following all the rules meticulously at your first job. You have performed exceptionally well - but wait, have you really? Does anyone know about it? Did you get any appreciation email or documented proof of your good performance?

If not, chances are you won’t be getting the due raise you are expecting. Because the most important rule of modern day workplace is to make let your performance be seen or heard. Whenever you get an opportunity tell manager about the appreciation mail you received from the client. Discuss regularly with the HR manager about the good stuff you have been doing and how you have brought timely results.

Remember, your performance will be judged based on the noise that you are creating along with it.

We love change, but we don’t really need it

You might have heard your manager or the person taking your interview say ‘We love change. We embrace it.’ The reality, however, is that most organizations are reluctant to change.

As someone who is fresh in the job, you might bring some great ideas to evolve the business process. But, don’t expect that the management will act upon them. In fact, there is a huge probability that those ideas will be put down in the cold box unless someone from the senior management is really interested or the already existing processes are bleeding a loss.

There you have it - some of the things that you need to know before stepping into the professional world. Don’t take things in their literal meaning. Try to have an open mind about what they say, give yourself some time to understand how things work out at real-life workplace.

So, are you ready to step into the professional world?

*********

Let me send you my best stuff, click here to subscribe now!

Vartika Kashyap runs the marketing team at ProofHub — a project management software for teams of all sizes. She is a seasoned marketing professional who is an expert in digital marketing and entrepreneurship. She’s been featured among LinkedIn’s Top Voices for the year 2016 & 2017. Connect with Vartika on LinkedIn, Medium and Twitter.

Also follow our company page @ProofHub to get the recent updates about our tool, published articles, motivational quotes & presentations.

*********

If you liked reading this post, you are surely going to love this as well -

1. This detox diet can change your life forever
2. 5 Things They Say At Workplace and What They Really Mean
3. How we make a new employee’s welcome special at ProofHub