Maintaining Professionalism

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Article featured in Avatar - Volume 4, Issue 2 (August 2010).

Maintaining Professionalism
By Katrina (AppleTini)

As we hit our later teenage years, many of us begin to hold job positions at local movie theatres, aquatics centers, restaurants, or stores. Whether you are currently working at your first place of employment for the summer, or have started working full time at your forth or fifth place of employment, it's important to maintain an air of professionalism regarding work at all times.

Having stayed at the same place of employment for four years and been promoted to different positions over those years, I have learned a few things about being successful in the workplace as a young adult.

Firstly, set boundaries for yourself. When I first became employed, I knew I had decisions to make. All of my coworkers were my age, which meant that there were definitely ample opportunities to further relationships with certain coworkers. It is important that you set your own limitations and check on your job's official rules and records about "fraternizing" with coworkers before trying anything.

Personally, I made the choice to avoid work-dating related drama altogether and not date or "do" anything with coworkers, and it has worked well for me thus far. Unfortunately, friends of mine have not been so lucky . Taking the chance of getting "close" to coworkers can not only jeopardize your professional position, but can also make things awkward and dramatic, which is something we should all be mindful of when taking that chance.

If you do decide to cross the line of acquaintance with a coworker, be sure that you present as neutral a front to this person as you do to the rest of your coworkers at the workplace, regardless of how you act away from the workplace.

Secondly, leave work at work and keep personal lives personal. Only recently have I begun to take work home with me, but never once have I brought home to work with me. Regardless of what position you're in, do strive to keep these lives separate. On the note of leaving work at work, try to complete all duties before you leave the building so that you don't feel pressured to put in hours off the clock when you could be enjoying your personal life. Be productive at work and always try to make the most out of your clocked in time. On the other hand, though it may be tempting to gossip to coworkers, or supervisors, about what happened at the party last weekend, it's always best to try to keep your personal life personal. Unfortunately, stories get twisted and skewed, and this typically will not work out in your favor. You have your friends and family to tell stories to!

Thirdly, do not post work related statuses on the internet. I was talking to a friend of mine about this just a few weeks ago, who had a coworker get fired for posting Facebook statuses about her job. No, she was not Facebook friends with her supervisor, and was only Facebook friends with a few of her coworkers. She had not posted many work related statuses before, but word somehow got back to her boss about this, who was able to read the status and asked her to leave. This may seem uncommon, but unfortunately, it happens much more often than we would like to imagine.

When posting any content on the internet, never post the name of your place of employment - positive or negative. Most places of employment do not allow this, and drama may arise as a result of you breaking this sometimes unwritten rule. It is also wise to avoid posting negative statuses about work altogether, even if you do just refer to it as "work." You are being paid by said workplace, and it is important that you do not jeopardize your position by spreading negativity about it.

Lastly, keep a positive and healthy relationship with your superiors, coworkers, and inferiors. Though you may not always feel chipper and happy about going to work, it is usually best to try to maintain a positive attitude at the work place. As many of us has realized, misery loves company and certainly rubs off on others very easily. This does not mean to be fake, but rather to keep any negative comments to yourself. If you are in the presence of superiors, you will naturally be more inclined to work hard to keep up a healthy and professional relationship. However, try also to remain friendly to your coworkers. It's going to be much more enjoyable to go into work everyday if you have a good relationship with coworkers.

Furthermore, if you are in a supervisor position, you must keep in mind that you ARE setting an example for those you are supervising. You should always strive to work hard and set a good example in order to be a successful supervisor. Finally, know that not everyone at work has to like you, and in a supervisor position especially, it is likely that there will be people who don't like you; it's nearly impossible to please everyone. Don't take it personally, and remember that this is why you have friends to love you - so coworkers don't have to!