A Great piece of simple articulation by Business Is Childs Play. Of course while conducting our daily business we tend to forget some of the most simple “humanly” courtesy. This also forces me to wonder that why we have become so unhuman or machine like. One example of machine like behavior could be observed in out daily email…With my most slowest of typing speed it takes me not more than 2 seconds each to write “Hi or Dear XXX”…and ending it with “Thanks or Best Regards XXX”….but yet it seems that while working with machines or surrounded by machines we have given up what we called as basic humanly etiquettes…. We love dressing serious…we love acting busy or serious…Then I tend to think that why we have created these walls around us. The only time I believe people have “real” walls is either they are in coffin or are in jail. So why to jail yourself with such walls. You don’t need to act serious to do a serious job. Equally, you need to enjoy your work….your work doesn’t need to enjoy you :)
Conflict is inevitable. When you have different personalities working together, varying ideas competing, and increasing time spent in conference rooms turmoil is bound to occur. I’ve been a part of arguments at work that are eerily similar to arguments I’ve witnessed on the playground. After a recent work place conflict I was compelled to ask my daughter’s preschool teacher what rules they enforce in the classroom. She wisely explained that the rules change with each class. Her class identifies the rules they think are important. “If I tell them what to do they won’t listen. If they contribute to the development of the rules they better understand why they need to follow them.” she said. That made perfect sense.
When I set out to write this piece I thought that I could easily identify rules that any team could follow. After my discussion with the preschool sage I realized that the rules should be developed by the team. Using the rules developed by preschoolers, and after reviewing with some team members, I suggest the following rules for the workplace.
1. Use your inside voice: Most likely you work in an office with cubicles. Be respectful of your neighbors and keep conversations at a reasonable tone. Use headphones when listening to music and take group conversations into a conference room.
2. Be kind to each other: You don’t have to like everyone but you do need to be respectful. Exercise common courtesy.
3. Don’t lean back in your chair: Trust me, if you lean back in your chair you’ll fall and everyone will laugh.
4. Use your words: When faced with conflict don’t use email. Conversations are much more effective when looking for resolution.
5. Don’t eat stuff off the floor: Don’t put anything in your mouth that was on the floor, left over from last week’s carry-in, or touched my manager’s desk.
6. Be active listeners: Give your undivided attention to the person speaking. Criss-cross applesauce, hands in the lap, laptops and smartphones put away.
7. Be the best you can be: Work hard at what you do, be the best you can be, and recognize the best in your coworkers.
8. Keep your hands and feet to yourself: You don’t want a lecture from Human Resources on sexual harassment. That’s uncomfortable for everyone.
What rules would you suggest adding?
0 comments:
Post a Comment