Some Office Rules to Swear By if you Want to Absolutely Kill it

Being a working adult is tough, especially when you’re young and into your first job. While you’re in college or school, your grades matter to no one but you. Sure, your parents, your teachers and you yourself might keep reminding you of the importance of achieving just the very best, but no one asks for an answer as if their life depended on it when you don’t.

When you’re working for an organisation, you are answerable for your work, or the absence of it for that matter.

I didn’t know many things when I started off with work; I learned some of them along the way. While people with years of experience working in the corporate sector might understand these things perfectly well now, after all the office patterns they’ve observed over years, the younger ones must know these before they step into their first or second job.

1. No matter which industry or profile you’re in, it’s always advisable to complete your targets, meet your goals - and you will not be praised for doing your job.

Praise will come when you go beyond your set target.

Understand that overachieving your targets once or on a few days here and there is not enough; consistency is important. You will have to go beyond the expectations repeatedly, with consistency, and make it a habit.

2. Again, no matter what process/team you’re in, you must give ideas and suggestions, even if they do not directly fall under your KRAs.

Volunteer for more work, preferably something different from what you do. That will help you get more visibility and dependability.

3. Do not waste too much time.

The important of taking breaks from work can’t be ignored. However, don’t waste a lot of time taking breaks. Don’t unnecessarily roam around or be on personal calls for too long.

Don’t do it especially when you’re new. You have not made an impression yet, and no matter how efficient you are at your job, your manager might get the feeling that you’re not interested in your work.

I’m not suggesting that you be the person who sticks to the desk and is perceived as someone who needs a lot of time to complete the work, but don’t look too work-free either.

4. Always be on the good side of your manager, even if you do not exactly agree with them on everything or don’t like their working style.

Well, you may take this to a personal level. Stick to their side, establish and maintain a friendship with them. You’ll get to learn a lot of stuff. You’ll get insider info too.

5. For every single time you under-perform, have an equal or larger number of times you over-perform. If not, at least balance out the targets in the long run, say the week or the month.

Not meeting your weekly, monthly, or annual targets would not yield good results.

6. Understand the scale on which you’ll be analysed for your annual or mid-yearly review or performance awards or competitions.

Try to figure out what is most important to the company or your manager/team lead, who holds power and influence in the team/company, etc., and work accordingly. Try to know or understand what your manager wants the most - end result, ideas, punctuality or some other quality.

7. Be punctual, even when you get familiar with how things work around in the office. Better still, be a few minutes early. Being early to work only has benefits - it gives you time to get in the work mode, time to complete any pending tasks you might have, or prepare you for the day ahead. Moreover, it would help you gain visibility. Being early could sometimes or in some companies mean that you get to leave early too.

Good manager or bad manager, being late to work doesn’t look professional, whereas being early would keep you in the good books.

8. Never let your personal life out completely. If you want to initiate conversations, decide which side of your life you want people to see and appreciate. You can talk about your passion or your hobbies. You can discuss news. But do not lay out your personal life for everyone to see. It’s good to have friends, but do not mix personal with professional, as that might affect your work, reputation or even credibility.

9. Never act smarter than your manager. While it’s important to let the manager know that you’re bright and have ideas, it’s equally important to let them know you are open to new ideas and are willing to learn new things.

All in all, an employee who is professional in behaviour and focussed on work is appreciated by everyone. This is the kind of person who gets more opportunities to grow. Having said that, being too competitive, sticking to the desk the whole day, and not making friends will make it difficult for you to spend your hours in the office. Social interaction is an underrated skill that must be given due credit.

Therefore, a person who masters these skills while also being on good terms with colleagues will absolutely kill it in office!