The Good Old Work Culture that probably does not exist anymore!

Self-Esteem begins and ends with you. The more you know about yourself, the less moved you’ll be by the opinions of others. — B. Dilley

What kind of work culture should you steer away from?

The less obvious kind.

We often dwell in office discussions on gender diversity, equal opportunity, remuneration, position and so on. But the bigger problems crop from smaller bites of an issue that cause the entire root to rot. These exist at every level and are often overlooked or underrated.

As we unfold these “not so popular issues” you’ll start to understand how keeping away from these can make a huge positive shift in your personal and career growth.

Office Timings & Work Timings — Some team leaders and managers notice the time their team members walk in and out of office. Sometimes also notice the number of breaks their employees take. Please remember office time means the total amount of time you spend in office and does not count for the contribution to work that you have made, whereas work time is the total time you’ve spent in getting an actual work done. Focus on a minimum of four hours of actual work & notice the difference. Countable work gets done only when you focus on working hours and not busy office hours.

Post Office Catch Ups — Office outings are meant for individuals who want to hang outside of work environment. This in no way means to discuss office work or office people to be precise. True catch ups are based on engaging with like minded people who work together and want to get to know each other better. Post office catch ups should not be forced upon anyone and every individual decision should be respected. If you’re not up for it you should not go for it. Gracefully decline the invitation. Unless it’s an office event where you should equally participate.

Office Smoke Breaks and Lunch Breaks — It is just an assumption that only people who take smoke or lunch breaks together build a good relationship and can work well together. Spending time can enhance your relationship at work but this is not the way to build a good work relationship. Everybody is getting paid to do their job. If you’re engaging in any activity like smoke or lunch breaks it should be for only one reason and that is because you want to; not under any peer pressure.

Gossips — When a group of individuals come together to pass time during work hours, more than often they will indulge in gossip. While it can be entertaining for many unknown reasons; you should know someone who can gossip with you can gossip about you. These kinds of small matters are often blown up and lead to bigger unwanted issues. Why would anyone want to indulge in office gossip? It is as pathetic as it sounds.

The Invisible Line — There is a very thin line between too much information and just enough information that one should be sharing about their personal lives in front of their office colleagues. Your personal life and your choices are outside of work. It is good to have friends at work but be careful when you open up because sometimes people can use it unknowingly to hurt you. That’s the kind of drama one should avoid in a professional environment.
The Silicon Valleys of the world and maybe your organization will teach you a lot about building a good work culture. It will not add up unless everyone change how they deal with people and more importantly how they deal with their work.

Tell us how you feel about this, we’d love to get your views & if we like your story we’ll feature it.

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