Scr*wing around on your boss
Work can be just like a relationship. In the beginning everything is beautiful and new. “Oh, look at this nice office chair. I have never seen anything like it! And those colleagues of mine. Don’t even get me started on them. So nice and thoughtful.”
Then, after a few years or so, you come in after a rough night. That thing you call a body finds its way into the same old office chair without even noticing it was there. Colleagues share disapproving stares, asking you where you’ve been all night and in the distance, you can hear your boss telling you ‘we need to have a talk’.
At that point you realize you feel like your current job is just not satisfying enough. You’re too young to be tied down.
You begin snooping around online during lunchbreaks. You make a few new profiles and clandestinely update your LinkedIn account. A rush of adrenaline comes over you when a colleague walks by and you quickly close all your windows. It’s that moment where you decide to finally give in to your desires.
Screw monogamy. I want a second job!
Good. Good. Let the multi-job mind-set flow through you. You’re not the first one to want something like that, and you certainly won’t be the last. More and more people are giving in to their desires and are now experimenting working two or sometimes even three jobs at the same time. You could be one of them.
So here are some tips and tricks to get you started. A beginners guide to polygamous work relations, if you will.
Share = Communicare
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. Communicare means to share and that’s what you need to do. People tend to be a bit paranoid when it comes to work. Is she working for us now or working for her other team?
Maybe your colleagues aren’t modern, open-minded people, eager to explore the benefits of a polygamous work relationship. Maybe they are. Whatever the case, you will need to pro-actively offer them transparency about your work.
Don’t take stuff for granted. Share what you’re doing. Reassure people that you’re doing the tasks that they want you to do. Communicate what you have done, even if you think that it might be insignificant. This, ironically, might seem insignificant but communication is key when you work for one team. Let alone multiple teams.
Be present my friend
Flexible, agile, anti-fragile. You might have seen those words before. They’re all the rage these days as companies and organisations are experiencing a shift towards more flex jobs. We could point out some reasons as to why this is happening, but we’re not here for the boss now, we’re here for you.
And while things may go apesh*t at one job, you will need to be flexible enough to stay focused on your current job. Once you’re finished you can go over to your other job to see what’s up.
Sure, you can have your preferences but you will leave everyone unsatisfied when you’re always only physically present while your mind wanders off, dealing with other problems. Basically our advise is this: be a gentleman and pay attention. Then it will all work out just fine.
What's your real offer?
It’s time to get your Kevin Spacey on and negotiate some proper terms for yourself. When you work for multiple teams you have to divide your time. It’s up to you to decide when to work for who, but you will have to keep everyone happy.
That can only be accomplished when you can clearly argue for yourself what you want, while also taking into account what your team members need. If you can set up a flexible work schedule with the approval of all your colleagues, you will save yourself a lot of time and stress.
So don’t just sit there, nod your head and pretend that you’re listening. Listen, respond and negotiate. And while you’re at it, think about setting some…
b-o-u-n-d-a-r-i-e-s
Set them straight. Clear boundaries combined with clear communications make for one happy camper. And you’re the camper in this story.
Your colleagues should know that they cannot just ask you to ‘do this last, final thingy’ when you’re in a hurry to get over to your next job. Your boss cannot ask you to stay a little longer to finish up if you have another appointment at the end of the day. And you know that sort of stuff is bound to happen.
Unless you’re clear about those things from the start. Openly communicate about what you can and cannot do and what your responsibilities are and mark that territory. It’s the only way to go really.
Real friends
Networking is an important part of life and when working for multiple teams, one mustn’t forget the home team. Remember home? It’s where your heart should be, but your heart is apparently all over the place, hopping from one team to another. We understand.
Luckily for you there is this thing called social media. And you thought that was all about sharing pictures of babies and food right? It is actually… but it’s also a great way to keep in touch with your friends and family.
You can talk to them or you can just share pictures and thoughts about what you’re doing and share those on your social media profile. Even if you don’t have a lot of time to talk to everyone, they can still follow you around and stay updated about all your exciting endeavours.
Planning. Planning. Planning.
Oh time. You nefarious little piece of relativeness. Flowing right out of your hands when you’re having fun and seemingly coming to a complete halt during boring, ineffective meetings.
Time management is crucial for everyone, but when you’re busy buttering both sides of the bread it’s even more important. All your colleagues and team members should know when you’re available and when you’re not. And you want to know when you might have some spare time to finally binge-watch that new seas… have a nice dinner with your family.
If only there was a tool that could help you with communicating your availability to whoever you want, without sacrificing your privacy. We figured such a tool would be handy for such a fast-changing business environment, so we came up with one. Try it out for yourself and tell us what you think. It was never easier to cheat on your boss and keep all your teams happy at once.
Now go forth, be fruitful and multiply (your jobs)!
This article was originally posted on Floown Blog.
Curious about exploring the benefits of polygamous work relations some more? Or like to receive insightful, free stories about the Future of Work in your inbox? SIGN UP!
