How to thrive in the Corporate Workplace
It is regrettable that as students, we often weren't taught how to do well in the workplace.
Oftentimes, we would assume that hard work is everything since diligence is valued in school.
However, the workplace is often more complex and sophisticated than that.
We often have to spend years in the workplace to get a feel of how to communicate with different people, surmount challenges and manage office politics.
This article aims to guide fresh graduates and working professionals with insights into factors that enable us to thrive in the corporate workplace, as follows:
Find the purpose in our career
In schools, we are often encouraged to study hard to secure good grades.
The purpose - from a practical and pragmatic perspective - is to create a financially stable life for ourselves and our loved ones.
Securing a financially stable job, settling down with a family and then living happily ever after are the norms here.
The "why" for studying hard is oftentimes imposed due to societal expectations, at least for most of us.
Well, at least the "why" is defined here.
However, the "why" for our work is not so clear cut and direct.
Why is this so?
We weren't born with a professional blueprint. We do not have an innate purpose to work in a certain profession.
With rapid changes in the employment market, technological advancement and global happenings that are beyond our control, many working professionals are compelled to learn new things primarily to secure employment.
This has resulted in many job candidates moving into different job roles, careers and industries in recent years.
This shift in job nature throughout our working years - oftentimes circumstantial - has somewhat made us confused about our work purpose.
In addition, there's been strong advocacy and changes in workplace practices that favor higher monetary remuneration for individuals with relevant work experience, and not the years of working experience.
These developments have created an irony that works to our detriment.
If job candidates have to change their job roles or industries due to uncontrollable circumstances such as COVID-19 or mass retrenchments, they would often have to take a pay cut due to a lack of work experience.
The same often applies to job candidates who are making a career switch, often from a sunset industry.
Hence, while upskilling and reskilling is meant for us to develop our career, some of us end up taking up training to work in new but uninterested jobs to secure employment and pay our bills - often with a pay cut.
Finding a meaningful job has thus become secondary, irrelevant or redundant.
In fact, finding a job that pays well becomes the key concern if we work because of high financial obligations pertaining to family, children and debts.
Singles, despite facing lower financial commitments, face challenges too - especially if they do not have much savings and have unhealthy spending habits.
There are many working professionals who have to secure a job before quitting their present ones because of high financial expenditure and low savings.
Coupled with inflation and a high cost of living, finding meaning in our jobs is not often among our priorities.
Some might even consider the search for meaning in our jobs idealistic.
In such circumstances, some may argue that it is more important to put food on the table before we talk about finding our work purpose, which most would attribute it to idealism, or naivety.
In a highly competitive work environment, bread and butter are almost a concern for everyone.
Nevertheless, if we prioritise pay over everything else, we would often lose zest and enthusiasm in our work over time, which are important contributing factors to our happiness.
Appreciating the value of our work contributions and enjoying the work process should be as important as our monetary remuneration.
This brings us to the question of "Do you live to work? Or work to live?"
There is no right or wrong answers to this.
Most if not some of us might prefer one over the other.
Nevertheless, when we find the purpose in our career, we can do either and still be contented and happy.
Because we enjoy our work.
This is why knowing the purpose behind our work is important.
The joy and satisfaction that we derive from work should be commensurated with our monetary remuneration to ensure a meaningful career.
Working in a meaningful job with unsatisfactory pay is not financially viable while working in an unsuitable job with high pay is stressful and hence, unhealthy.
I would always love the story of the "Three bricklayers" as it illustrates the value of self-importance, where we attribute value to our work.
For those who wish to know more about finding the "why" in our work, I would recommend Simon Sinek's acclaimed book "Start with Why".
Find the right work environment
Corporate workplaces are diverse in nature but so are we.
Thus, we need to understand ourselves and through this, identify the right work environment for us.
There may be different ways of categorizing workplaces, but for most of us, I would consider the following to be more relevant:
It is important to note that humanistic professions also define work quality by numbers and statistics to a certain extent. However, their nature is different - often reflecting the number of clients assisted, as opposed to profit figures that are often prioritized by for-profit organizations.
Navigate Office Politics
The best way to manage office politics is not to partake in it.
Partaking in it makes one an ally of a person or a group, while ostracizing other individuals or groups.
When one does not take sides and remain diplomatic, one is neither an adversary nor an ally to anyone.
It doesn't seem beneficial in the short run by doing so, since we are not taken care of by any one group.
However, such lack of group support is trivial compared to the advantage gained by one's neutrality in the long run, where one can primarily put in effort to get our work done instead of being mired in power play.
Not getting involved in office politics might make one an outlier but partaking in it is futile, since power dynamics change frequently.
An unpolitical individual is often trusted, and their thoughts and actions are often considered to be more objective as well.
A person who is neutral does not engage in sycophancy and ostracize no one. This is possibly the best stand that one can possibly make in the corporate jungle.
However, there's no avoiding office politics.
This is because not everyone would be fine with someone taking a neutral stand.
There would often be someone who would adopt a "if you are not on my side, then you are on theirs" mindset and turn a neutral person into an adversary.
Nevertheless, as long as we choose to remain neutral, take steps to ensure that there are no miscommunications between others and ourselves while taking steps to avoid being backstabbed, it should be fine.
Having said this, we should not blame anyone who partake in office politics since engaging in such activities is - oftentimes - a matter of self-preservation.
Since the early ages, humans have often sought protection in groups to be sheltered from adversaries.
It is simply human nature to seek shelter from those in power or perceived to be in power.
We see this clearly in children, who form their own play groups while sometimes ostracizing the rest. They also often run back to their parents when strangers seems intimidating.
We would almost always seek solace in familiarity and regard what are foreign as threats.
However, power is impermanent and hence, it is unreliable to rely on any groups or individuals for a sustained period of time.
It is best that we maintain positive relations with everyone and earn their trust by proving our worth and mettle through consistent hard work.
Here are some ways to manage office politics and protect ourselves from it:
1. Dine with different colleagues for lunch.
This includes colleagues from different departments.
A benefit of doing so is that you get to be updated with information at the organizational instead of departmental level.
And if you are a connector, defined here as someone who brings people together, such knowledge can enable you to introduce one colleague to another, further cementing you as an asset to the organisation as you are able to communicate across departments.
This is a valuable skill set to have, especially if you are in corporate or marketing communications where inter-departmental communications are vital.
2. Avoid bad-mouthing other colleagues.
If possible, remain neutral in our attitude towards everyone and behave professionally.
Nobody likes being bad-mouthed.
If one does so, it reflects badly on them, since others would avoid them.
Why is this so?
If they can talk negatively about someone, they would most likely talk negatively about us to others as well.
In our communications with others, we should try our best to speak positively of others whenever possible.
Doing so also trains us to look for the positive in people.
When our praises reach the person whom we commend through third parties, it is far more effective than if we praise them ourselves.
This is especially effective when senior management hear of our strengths and talents from someone whom they trust, other than ourselves.
Few like those who blow their own horn but when one's positive reputation spreads far and wide through others, that's a different story.
Of course, supporting or praising those whom others are critical of is not tactful. In such cases, remain neutral first before assessing if any form of mediating is possible between the conflicting parties.
3. Clear any miscommunications soonest
This could be a result of misunderstanding or backstabbing.
Regardless of any possibility of others' involvement in any arising miscommunications, the key is to resolve them soonest possible.
While we should not partake in office politics, we should do our best to protect ourselves from it.
Oftentimes, we may know of others who bad-mouth us since others may inform us about it, often anonymously through emails, etc.
It could be that they feel bad towards us if they do not do so, or it could simply be that they are not on good relations with those who bad-mouth us.
It doesn't matter.
It's best to clarify the misunderstanding with those who have received the wrong information about us, especially our immediate supervisors and senior management.
The key here is not to confront the person who is doing the bad-mouthing but to resolve the misunderstanding first.
This is to manage others' impressions of us, just in case someone - which includes our immediate supervisors - misunderstand us.
We should not blame these bad-mouthing individuals as oftentimes, we could have caused the misunderstanding to a certain degree.
Even if we didn't, it could simply mean that we didn't share a deep affinity with the person, in which case we should forgive and move on - while ensuring that such misunderstanding does not happen again.
4. Regard gossips, rumors and information with a pinch of salt.
Having said this, we should take note of information exchanges in such platform.
As the Chinese saying goes, if there is no wind, there will be no wave (无风不起浪).
There is almost always a reason for the origination of gossips and rumors.
Thus, there might be a snippet of truth in what is said, despite its possibly high degree of distortion.
What is important is to note what are being transmitted through the grapevine and prepare ourselves. In the event that what is communicated comes true, such as an impending retrenchment or a change of leadership, we can better manage it.
As for information regarding attitudes held towards and between individuals, it enables us to understand the power dynamics of the department and organizations.
Again, we should not use such information to our advantage but rather, knowing it is useful for us to effectively and positively manage our relationships in our work communications with others.
Marketing ourselves
Working quietly by the office corner with no one acknowledging our contributions and efforts - not to mention presence - just doesn't cut it if we are looking for career advancement in the corporate workplace.
This is especially so for introverts who often value their efforts more than personal branding, or who consider personal branding as extraneous, since results speak for themselves.
Well, the thing about the corporate workplace is that our results seldom speak by themselves.
If senior management do not know them, then they do not know them.
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And the promotion goes to those whose results and efforts they know.
This is how important marketing oneself as a talent and asset to the organization is.
How then do employees market themselves? Here are some suggestions:
1. Be vocal during meetings.
Speak up during meetings whenever possible, in terms of offering ideas, suggestions, comments, feedback, and concerns.
2. Lunch with senior management
Whenever possible, should employees meet senior management in the walkway or elevator, they should seize this opportune time to inform them of their contributions to the organizations succinctly, in the form of an elevator pitch.
Alternatively, when senior management approach employees for a chat, employees should take the opportunity to bring up their contributions to the organizations, while giving their team credits whenever applicable.
Doing so increases their present with senior management and increases their chances of being rewarded for their contributions.
3. Performance appraisals
The key is not only to meet the key performance indicators (KPIs) but to exceed them.
In addition, employees should find opportunities to inform their immediate supervisors of any additional work contributions.
They should also try their best to quantify these contributions in advance as numbers, figures and percentages are impactful in corporate work.
4. Ensure complete communication alignment between our immediate supervisors and senior management
It is important to ensure that what is communicated to senior management by our immediate supervisors about our work attitude and contributions are exactly aligned with what is communicated between our immediate supervisors and ourselves.
If there is any misalignment, we should rectify them soonest.
5. Participate in Departmental, Inter-departmental and Organizational events
Involvement in departmental, inter-departmental and organizational events often enable us to exhibit our strengths to senior management, be it hosting skills, logistics management or frontline service capabilities.
Being part of such event also enable others to recognize us as great team players.
Such events can also serve as networking sessions where we connect at a more extensive and deeper level with our departmental colleagues, which smoothens human relations within the organization.
Doing so is beneficial in numerous ways, including better working relationships when one is working in cross-departmental projects.
This brings us to the next point, which is understanding why people do the things they do.
Reading and Understanding people
To really understand someone, we need to observe each person individually.
People reading is exceptionally important in the workplace, as it enables us to understand others better, see the world through their eyes and in the process, communicate better with them.
If you are one who believes in the effectiveness of personality assessment and take well to the systematic way of understanding personality types, then you might like to consider reading about or taking up courses on Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), Big Five, Clifton Strengthsfinder, etc.
If you are an intuitive person, then merely reading a person through astute observation works fine as well. Based on their attire, responses to questions and non-verbal behaviour, intuitives as well as empaths usually read others quite well.
Choose the right Immediate Supervisors / Reporting Officers (RO), and Bosses
One of the most important factors that makes or breaks one's career is one's relationship with one's immediate supervisors.
They determine our work performance appraisal and hence, play a determining factor in our future with the organization.
This explains why employees leave organization due to micromanagers or demotivating managers, whose controlling and demeaning nature often jeopardize their attempts to justify their work effort.
A harsh immediate supervisor may not be a bad thing.
Everything goes down to their intentions behind their attitude.
If it is to ensure that their direct reports do their best work and their approach is understandable and bearable, then their direct reports might benefit - since we all need a critic to highlight what we need to improve.
However, if the intention of the supervisors is merely to demean and condemn, stemming from an attempt to prove their superiority (at times amounting to gaslighting), then it's best for their direct reports to leave their jobs, as it is almost impossible to reverse such supervisors' negative opinions of them.
Should they choose to stay, their future with the organizations - unless they transfer to another department within the organization, under a different immediate supervisor - would most likely be bleak.
This explains why choosing the right bosses - especially one's immediate supervisors - is very important as our relations with them plays a pivotal and determining role in our career advancement within the organization.
For corporate employees, it's best to keep looking until they find a supportive supervisor for themselves, and not settle for anything less. If not, they would most likely be shortchanging themselves.
For job candidates, if their immediate supervisors are present in the job interviews, it's advisable to assess their personality accurately there and then, and ask themselves if they are compatible with them - in terms of character, personality and communicating style before taking on the job.
Work smart
1. Be adaptable by aligning our communicating style with others' personality
This requires strong observation skills and best coupled with an in-depth understanding of human nature, personality types and behavioural psychology.
2. Understand our work priorities
This explains why some say that hard work alone does not cut it in the contemporary corporate workplace.
If employees do not work according to organizational priorities, they often are not rewarded as well as those who do - despite their hard work.
3. Learn how to market ourselves
This means that when communicating with our direct supervisors and senior management, we need to let them know our strengths and talents, and how we are contributing to the organization.
Being humble is great but if we choose to keep quiet about our contributions and achievements, we are simply short-changing ourselves.
The same applies to job interview sessions, where job candidates should focus on how they are suited for the applied jobs.
We should also be more vocal in meetings and be more participative in departmental and organizational events for our presence to be visible as mentioned above, for our strengths and contributions to be recognized.
Assess our future with the Organizations
We should not dive head-first into our work everyday, or be buried under tons of emails.
This is not working smart.
In the same way that we need to take time out to self-reflect and determine our priorities, we should also assess our future with the organizations regularly.
This is especially important in a time where lifetime employment is almost non-existent.
Organizations who are dedicated to ensuring employee's personal and professional development should understand this.
In the same way that organizations would like to retain talents in order to thrive, employees are also looking for organizations committed to their career development.
Observing Power Dynamics
I have mentioned that it's best to avoid office politics.
However, we also need to observe the power dynamics in our organizations.
We need to know the areas of control a staff has to facilitate our work.
This is especially so for professions such as corporate communications, where inter-departmental communications are essential.
In this instance, if they do not know who the decision-makers are in each department, or who is overseeing which tasks, it's going to be an issue.
Knowing who the decision-makers are will save us a lot of time in getting things done.
Successful sales professionals know this very well.
Years of experience interacting with customers - be it with individuals, couples or families - has enabled them to hone their observation skills to the extent that they can often identify the decision-makers with laser sight precision within a short period of interactions.
Another benefit of understanding organizational power dynamics is that through knowing the power players, we learn how to communicate better with them.
Most power players love power and control, are goal-oriented and are status-conscious.
If we understand this, we can adapt our communication style and goals to work well with them.
The non-power players are often more people-oriented. They may also be empaths and often prioritise human relations over work tasks.
To communicate with them, we can relate to them through banter and light-hearted humor, as well as making the effort to listen and understand them.
Exploring Career Advancement Opportunities
This point is highly relevant to job candidates who prioritize career advancement and/or social status.
How then do we climb the corporate ladder?
Here are some suggestions:
1. Check out promotion prospects early
It's advisable for us to keep a lookout in our departments for promotion opportunities.
Is someone senior leaving their positions?
When is that and who is the successor?
If a successor is not determined yet, would employees have a chance to secure that position, assuming that they are capable of taking on this managerial/leadership position?
If there is a suitable job opening but a successor is already decided, employees should try to find out the criteria for promotion such that they can apply for them when another opportunity arises in the near future.
If there are no prospects for promotion, then the job candidates should decide if they wish to continue to stay in their present organizations.
A lack of promotion opportunities for sustained period of time is often a common reason for employees to leave their organizations. Over the years, there are employees who decided to leave their organizations due to such circumstances.
Having said this, there are often limited leadership positions as compared to entry-level jobs in almost all organisations.
This is a reality in the corporate workplace that employees who are eager to advance in their career have to be mindful of.
2. Check for Leadership positions in Other Departments
It's best for employees to look within their departments for promotion opportunities.
However, if this is non-existent and if the job candidates are eager to prove themselves or to showcase their leadership capabilities in their organizations, looking beyond their departments within the organization for suitable job positions is often feasible.
This is especially so in present times where - in some organizations - employees are encouraged to rotate their job roles across departments to acquire diverse work experiences, thereby increasing their capabilities and making them potential candidates for promotion.
If job candidates choose to do this, they should establish mutual understanding with their immediate supervisors and department heads, and leave their job positions only when it's convenient for their departments.
They should also leave when there is already a replacement for their job roles, else it would likely disrupt the workflow in their department.
3. Check for possible open job positions due to Business Expansion
Sometimes, job positions can be created.
This is especially so in situations where a new team or teams are formed to oversee a new business expansion by the organizations.
In such situations, entire teams are often created from scratch.
This is when job candidates can market themselves for this position.
However, it is important to note that such job positions may be contractual rather than permanent positions, and there is no guarantee of contract renewal by the end of the contractual period.
CONCLUSION
There are many areas to look out for in order to do well in the workplace, as highlighted above.
However, the primary factor is still human relations.
Between an employee with great work performance but poor human relations with their colleagues and another who has strong support from their colleagues but of average work standards, the latter is often the chosen candidate for promotion.
Why?
It's almost always possible and somewhat easier to train and upgrade a person for more senior positions in terms of their skills, but it's very challenging to change a person's mindset and attitude in terms of their human relations with others.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Patrick Tay?is an educator, career coach and people developer who has more than 15 years of professional teaching and mentoring experiences in institutes of higher learning. Previously, he had worked in publishing, corporate communications, education sales and business development.