Being engineers can be very time-consuming. With the amount of work that needs to be done and the overwhelming pressure we get from our superiors, we just want to focus on the job at hand. We want our office life to be peaceful – no politics, no drama. Unfortunately, that is not the case for everyone. When we’re surrounded with people with different personalities, it’s inevitable that we’ll clash with some of them.
However, there are easy ways to avoid office drama. We don’t have to get involved in unnecessary bickering with the people we work with or be part of a surrounding with uncomfortable tension around us. You can focus on achieving your goals at work without getting involved in any catty fights at all. So how do you avoid office dramas?
Avoid spreading gossip.
Gossips can be addicting. You just want to learn all the juicy details of the people you work with – especially someone you don’t get along with well. It’s fun to know all their imperfect details and share it to the person next to you. However, spreading gossip (or being involved in a similar act) can be detrimental to your relationship with someone. If word gets out that you’ve been spreading stories, especially if it’s false, will put you in a terrible spotlight in the workplace while your reputation will suffer as you get labelled as the office gossip.
Respect your boss.
Our boss may not be the best person to work for all the time. In days when we get scolded for all the mistakes we made for a certain job, we are tempted to speak ill about him/her to the person who is willing to listen. It’s a risky move to badmouth a boss. Once you do it, there’s a high chance your boss will hear about it. You don’t want to get reprimanded for it. You can’t afford to lose your job or have a bad recommendation letter from him/her at all.
Go to work with the right attitude.
It’s not the most exciting thing to do but waking up early to go to work is an important task we have to do in the morning. We complain on Twitter or Facebook that we’re too tired to go to work, too tired to deal with our officemates or even too stressed to deal with the projects with need to finish this week. However, changing your attitude and focusing on finding ways to get the job done and focusing on your career goals will help you have a more optimistic approach at work. With the right attitude, your officemates would appreciate your presence even more and helps you avoid being in bad situations with other peopls.
Learn to be civil with the people you work with.
Even though we don’t get along well with everybody, it’s important to establish a civil relationship with each person. You don’t have to get out of your way just to please everybody but it helps to remain polite to each person. You don’t have to laugh at everybody’s jokes but it won’t hurt you to politely smile at people if you cross paths with them. Learn to listen to what they have to say without interrupting them. Most importantly, treat them equally and respect who they are and what they do at work.
Focus on solving the problem.
Instead of adding more fuel to the fire, find a way to solve the problem you have with your officemate as soon as possible. Instead of telling someone else about your complaints with a certain person, discuss it with the person involved. Yes, it may be uncomfortable to do but resolving your issues as soon as possible gives you more time to focus on your job instead of throwing snarky comments to the person you’ve had conflict with. Resolving your conflict with your officemates also gives you the opportunity to show your boss that you are responsible with your relationships at work and shows a good sign of leadership within your team.
Source: Fast Company
