What Makes a Happy Workplace
October 10th 2007 01:57
Readers of these pages know I’m not big on people. But funnily enough, I have lots of mates at my current workplace. The people here are very friendly and helpful. We look out for each other, which is ironic as our jobs are very solitary and don’t require much interaction with anyone.
I like to hang out with a group of three boys. I am the only girl in the group but I love the feeling of kinship they bring. Each day we poke fun at and make funny faces at each other. We also make noises: I miaow like a cat while the boys burp. Whenever one of us hears some gossip we share it amongst ourselves. The ones who have been here the longest will pass tips to the younger members on what the boss expects and what annoys him. What a change from some of my previous workplaces where I was made to feel like an outsider.
At one place, the people in my team were very rude, unfriendly and cliquey. At first I thought it was because I was the new kid, until a couple of the temps started complaining to me about how unfriendly the people were. They even told me I was one of the more approachable ones. For a socially inept person, this was a big compliment.
The temps had a nickname for one of my colleagues: Toxic Ellen, who was the rudest of them all. If you smiled at her, she would ignore you. She also refused to talk to you unless you were friendly with the manager. So in the end I pretended she didn’t exist. In fact, I used to ignore all of them.
I also noticed that while another team went out of their way to be nice to me and the temps, we were neglected by our own team. No one bothered to wish us happy birthday even though they knew about it as they all chipped in for a cake. When the temps or other ‘outsiders’ left no one in my team bothered to wish them farewell, although the Friendly Team would organise our farewell lunches. At first I thought this was strange but I soon appreciated the Friendly Team’s acts of kindness.
The Friendly Team told me it was all to do with politics, team morale and team dynamics. The Friendly Team were mainly under 30 and were very laid-back people while the people in my team were a lot older (but not necessarily more mature). My team also disliked the fact I had a degree while the Friendly Team didn’t care. Also the Friendly Team’s manager had a reputation for being fair while our manager had a reputation for favouritism.
It would come with no surprise then that my team had a huge staff turnover while the Friendly Team remained stable.
Those who left all said they went on to better things. I can vouch for that. So for those who are stuck in an unhappy environment, there is hope out there.
I like to hang out with a group of three boys. I am the only girl in the group but I love the feeling of kinship they bring. Each day we poke fun at and make funny faces at each other. We also make noises: I miaow like a cat while the boys burp. Whenever one of us hears some gossip we share it amongst ourselves. The ones who have been here the longest will pass tips to the younger members on what the boss expects and what annoys him. What a change from some of my previous workplaces where I was made to feel like an outsider.
At one place, the people in my team were very rude, unfriendly and cliquey. At first I thought it was because I was the new kid, until a couple of the temps started complaining to me about how unfriendly the people were. They even told me I was one of the more approachable ones. For a socially inept person, this was a big compliment.
The temps had a nickname for one of my colleagues: Toxic Ellen, who was the rudest of them all. If you smiled at her, she would ignore you. She also refused to talk to you unless you were friendly with the manager. So in the end I pretended she didn’t exist. In fact, I used to ignore all of them.
I also noticed that while another team went out of their way to be nice to me and the temps, we were neglected by our own team. No one bothered to wish us happy birthday even though they knew about it as they all chipped in for a cake. When the temps or other ‘outsiders’ left no one in my team bothered to wish them farewell, although the Friendly Team would organise our farewell lunches. At first I thought this was strange but I soon appreciated the Friendly Team’s acts of kindness.
The Friendly Team told me it was all to do with politics, team morale and team dynamics. The Friendly Team were mainly under 30 and were very laid-back people while the people in my team were a lot older (but not necessarily more mature). My team also disliked the fact I had a degree while the Friendly Team didn’t care. Also the Friendly Team’s manager had a reputation for being fair while our manager had a reputation for favouritism.
It would come with no surprise then that my team had a huge staff turnover while the Friendly Team remained stable.
Those who left all said they went on to better things. I can vouch for that. So for those who are stuck in an unhappy environment, there is hope out there.
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