Statements to avoid at your new workplace

By JULIAH KARIMI karimijuliah@gmail.com
Posted  Monday, May 13   2013 at  01:00

I recently had a chat with an old friend from my college days. He is now a manager at a local bank. In between catching up, we went into the subject of work and exchanged stories about our experiences.

The similarities made us conclude that generally at the workplace, there are some things that we should never say in front of our co-workers, more so if we are new.

Granted, a company should feel like home. You should be free with people, but there are limits.

So, how much is too much information when chatting in the office? Many of the professionals I have asked this question have generally replied that there are a number of subjects that one should keep off. They include family secrets and politics. Likewise, the following statements should be avoided in the office:

“I can’t do any more tasks. I already have enough.” This sounds ordinary, but it could portray you as a “drama queen” if you are a woman, or a whiner. You do not want staff giving you nicknames around such expressions. If you are a new employee, others will conclude that you are lazy and not a team player.

“I am being paid overtime, aren’t I?” Uttering such a statement in front of your co-workers, and especially your new employer, may seem as if you only value money and are working just to get a paycheque rather than for the love of the job.

You may, indeed, be working just to get through the month or hard times, but this is not what everyone else would like to hear. Companies, especially in these tough economic times, are pushing the clock and making extra time to meet deadlines. It should not be a big deal, therefore, for one to stay an extra hour at work.

A former colleague had this habit when she first joined the organisation. Each time she uttered these words, the supervisor would ensure that she handed her work that was to be done before the next day. Eventually, she learned that work was not a chore one performed everyday, but a passion one got paid for.

“I am so bored.” As a new employee, you should never show boredom even if the job feels like watching grass grow. If you are not able to make your work interesting to yourself, then you will have years of boredom and eventually quit, not because the job is not perfect for you, but because you were not perfect for the job.

What you utter in conversations about your job eventually gets to your boss, who may not put up with it for long.

“My team mate is a very bad performer.” A story is told of two colleagues, Peter and Paul, who used to work as accountants in an audit firm. Peter was always talking about Paul behind Paul’s back, but one day Paul got promoted and having heard the remarks that Peter kept on saying about him, he decided he would appoint other colleagues to his team except Peter. The moral of the story is that you should never say something you will regret.

“This can’t be fair.” Entry level employees and graduates often feel as if the work given is not fair or that the remuneration they receive is discriminatory.

Each person at the work place is accorded personal treatment. It may be that your colleague came in at an earlier date or that he has more qualifications. Just work to the best of your ability and capabilities.

“We never did it like this at my former place of work.” Different rules apply in different workplaces. For example, hiring a car at your previous company may have been possible on lease basis, but at your present company, they only do it on a need basis. Do not openly complain about the difference without understanding the reasons for the different approaches. Careless comparisons make others think that you consider yourself better.