Women's Media Nation | Social, political, and cultural issues relating to women

Tips to success in the workplace

posted by ChickSpeak
Friday, June 18, 2010 at 8:37pm CDT

The process of finding a job can be a grueling one. The endless phone calls, the interviews, finding business appropriate clothing, making sure you’re presenting in the best, most professional light possible. It’s a lot to think about and can be somewhat daunting!

But no doubt being the smart and productive chick that you are, you’ll have no problem landing yourself a great position, even if it takes a lot of work to get there. However, what many of us tend to forget is that after you are offered a job and accept it, you’re not automatically in the clear.

In fact, when starting out at a new job that is really the prime time to prove what a fabulous worker you are. Remember in your interview talking to your potential employer about all the traits that you process that would make you prefect for this position? Well, now is the time to prove that you actually can live up to all of those things.

Chicks, when it comes to the workplace you have to be smart. It’s a competitive world, especially among us women, and almost inevitably there will be coworkers, managers, and bosses who are going to test just how much you can handle.

Not to fear, you’re up to the challenge but you have to remember that who you are as a professional must be very different than who you are in your life outside of the office.

Among your closest girlfriends, you probably don’t think twice about engaging in a little gossip. With your friends you most likely feel comfortable saying how you really feel and not worrying about it getting around.

But, in the workplace it’s a whole different story. Because you spend much of your week surrounded by your coworkers, the line between personal and professional can easily get blurred. You might start to mistakenly believe that you can have the same kind of relationships with your coworkers as you do with your friends.

Of course, you should be friendly and get to know the people you work with, but becoming too comfortable with coworkers could be a very big mistake. Once you start talking about people in the office, you might be surprised how quickly your words could come back to haunt you.

“A negative work environment is a less productive work environment. Gossip in the workplace can create an uncomfortable atmosphere for not only the person the gossip is about, but for everyone in the workplace,” says an article on eHow.com.

You don’t want to become known as the office gossip. Let your work ethic do the talking for you. By trashing others you work with you might sabotage yourself and miss out on great opportunities or promotions. Plus, you’ll find that the more negative comments your spread the less welcoming your coworkers will be.

Talking about the people you work with will do nothing for you but make it seem like you’re still stuck in high school. Chances are spreading workplace gossip will prevent anyone from taking you seriously. Don’t disappoint your employer and yourself by spreading malicious tales.

It’s also important to be careful about what kind of relationship you have with your boss. While you should of course respect your employer, a boss is another person you don’t want to overstep your boundaries with. You should be friendly, but not best friends.

Don’t take criticism from your boss too personally. Listen to what he or she tells you and see what you can take from the comment to improve your productivity at the office but any negativity from your boss is not a reflection on your character.

Chances are at some point or another you will encounter an employer that you kind of clash with. Just do your job to the best of your ability. Make sure you’re always prepared and ready for anything, that way your boss will have nothing to criticize you about.

If your boss continues to treat you unfairly, confront them in a professional manner. After all, if you’re treating your employer with respect you deserve the same in return.

Remember when you’re at the office you’re there to do a job. The key to success is staying focused on the task at hand avoiding petty distractions that could stand in the way of living up to your full potential.

Sarah Friedman is a journalism student at Northeastern University. She’s had to deal with some awful bosses but didn’t let them get the best of her.