Thomas knew that management wasn’t happy with him at work. But he figured that was their problem, not his. He’d always been disagreeable. What could he do about his own nature? He figured that his natural obnoxiousness just kept management honest, on their toes. Thomas even felt that he was sticking up for other workers who just kept their noses to the grindstone while mostly avoiding him. And he was okay with that, too. Everyone could just leave him alone. Yet then HR paid him a visit, saying something about putting him on a corrective action plan if he didn’t shape up. HR’s visit made Thomas grumble even more. He couldn’t see what he could do about his naturally critical attitude. But he had an inkling that he’d better find out fast if he wanted to keep his job.
Problems
Much of the time, we can just work along in our job, not worrying about how we’re doing. Jobs should have a flow to them. You can’t be thinking about what you’re doing all the time without growing too self-conscious, even jumpy. Instead, relax and get on with the job. But jobs can also take some deep introspection and reform. Just go through the motions for too long on a job, and you can fall into some bad habits and rough patches. Job problems can certainly arise. One minute you’re sailing along just fine. The next minute, you’re struggling because of an unforeseen event or circumstance. Recognize when you have job issues and problems. Indeed, try to recognize when you’re slowly sliding toward what could become a job issue or problem. The best way to solve a job problem is to avoid it before it even arises. The next best way to solve a problem is to jump on it with a sound plan based on sound advice.
Crises
Address job issues and problems with a sound plan and sound advice before they become crises. A crisis is an event that may by its sudden occurrence change long-standing conditions and relationships. Employers are generally tolerant of the need for employees to make adjustments in their work habits and practices. When things get just a little out of whack or off kilter on the job, employers generally trust employees to discern and take the appropriate action to get back on track. That’s what supervisors do, noticing and correcting the small things before they become big things. When you see something going on with your own work that you sense is already an issue and could soon become a crisis, get help to work it out. While employers generally give employees some leeway to make the small adjustments, employers won’t ignore a crisis that interrupts or threatens to interrupt the workflow. When you get to the point of a crisis interrupting work, management and even ownership will get involved. And when management gets involved, you lose your ability to control the situation. Indeed, you could lose your job. Get help from others with relevant experience as soon as you sense an emerging issue, before you face a crisis.
Satisfaction
Getting help, though, isn’t just a matter of avoiding crises. Jobs are a huge part of life. You may as well get some satisfaction out of them. If you’re doing your job without problems but not getting any satisfaction out of it, then maybe you need some help. Yes, get help if you’re about to crash and burn in a job. But you could also seek help if you’re just going through the motions in a way that leaves you mostly or entirely unsatisfied. Life isn’t only about avoiding crises. Life is also about pursuing your call, using your capacities for good, and drawing meaning and purpose from your actions. You should be getting something out of life, sensing your daily role in its grand narrative, so that you can pour yourself into it rather than drag yourself through it. Bad habits develop when you’re not getting any satisfaction out of what you’re doing on the job. Don’t get to the point that you’re just dragging yourself through your workdays. Get help.
Customs
Another reason to get experienced help when you’re struggling on the job is that the struggles often arise out of hidden conditions. It would be one thing if doing well at work was simply a matter of following obvious signs and instructions. But that’s not the way humans generally operate. We do so well in so many different situations because of the customs we develop and to which we quickly adapt. A custom is an unspoken way of doing things, shared by a group doing the same work. Customs are usually safe, sensible, and efficient. The value of customs lies in their reliability. You don’t have to think about everything you do at work if you know and can follow the customary way of doing the work. But that’s exactly the rub: you may not know the customary way of your work. And your departures from customs may be the source of your work problems. Experienced help can inform you of the customs you may be unintentionally and unknowingly violating. Employers take customs seriously. If someone inside or outside your workplace gets hurt by your violation of a custom, your employer may have to pay for it.
Standards
Workplaces also have standards. A standard is a minimum performance level at which your employer expects you to perform. Standards are often written down, whether by your employer in technical documents or protocols, or by a government agency or private trade or professional association in a code connected with your employment. In that sense, you shouldn’t have so many problems discerning the standards governing your work. You should be able to look them up to read and apply them. But interpreting and applying industry or professional standards in any one work setting can be tricky. Employers can differ in the ways that they expect their employees to treat and conform to standards. So again, your problem at work may have to do with your inability or unwillingness to meet your job’s standards. Sound and experienced advice from someone who knows the standards and their common application can help.
Culture
Workplaces also have culture. Culture can be the hardest aspect of a workplace to quickly discern. Culture can also be the easiest workplace attribute over which to stumble, especially for newer employees or senior employees moving into new roles. Culture is that broad set of expectations governing the workplace that lies just below standards and customs. Culture, for instance, can be either formal or informal, professional or personal, and regional, national, or international. Culture can be striving or relaxed, competitive or collaborative, and compassionate or dispassionate. Stumbling over your workplace’s culture the first time won’t generally get you fired, especially if you’re the new person at work. Others will expect you to adjust over time. But consistently failing to conform to workplace culture can place you on the outside looking in, affecting your job advancement, satisfaction, and security. Taking some experienced advice on workplace culture can open your eyes to a new, more-satisfying, and more-productive way of navigating the workplace.
Norms
Workplace norms relate closely to workplace customs and culture. Norms reflect common values and expectations that guide workplace interactions. Punctuality, for instance, can be a strong norm in certain workplaces. Consistently show up late, and you may have violated a significant norm. Preparation is another significant norm in many workplaces. Come to meetings or worksites unprepared, and you may quickly lose the confidence of your colleagues and supervisors. Confidentiality is another significant norm in certain workplaces. Breach confidentiality through gossip or careless disclosures, and you’ll have lost all trust. Loyalty, respect, and unity are other norms, stronger in some workplaces than in others. Talking bad about management to co-workers, or dividing co-workers over work practices or conditions, can be the death knell for valuable assignments and promotions in workplaces that value loyalty, respect, and unity. Discerning your workplace’s norms can be challenging, but they’re there. Get discerning advice if you find yourself strangely at odds when at work. You may be missing an important norm.
Advisors
Having advisors at and around your job can indeed be the saving grace. Yet not everyone makes a good advisor. In many workplaces, one or more co-workers, supervisors, managers, or even subordinates and suppliers can make for good advisors. Some individuals in and around workplaces just have the ability to sense the prevailing customs, culture, and norms, and then to see who is and who isn’t meeting those workplace standards and expectations. Sometimes, the key advisor can even be a retired employee who has kept up contacts in the workplace and has the pulse of things. A key advisor could even be a minority owner or an owner’s spouse or trusted friend who knows the spirit of the workplace and how employees have failed or succeeded in navigating it. Keep your eye open for a workplace advisor, someone who cares for you and watches out for you more than others do.
Mentors
Identifying someone whom you know and trust, and who knows, respects, and even likes you, as a mentor can further improve your job support and guidance. Advisors give advice on job issues. Mentors mentor the whole worker. A mentor is someone you trust, with whom you develop a relationship the purpose of which is to improve your overall job performance. A mentor may give either much advice or only a little advice. In either case, with more or less advice, the mentor may communicate important attitudes and model important attributes for the protege to adopt. Even if you are a senior employee, don’t think that you’re beyond having a mentor. Even chief executive officers find mentors among retired CEOs or others with greater insight or experience than they at the moment and under their circumstance possess. Indeed, the greater your job responsibility, the greater may your need be to have someone who cares deeply about you, speaking job wisdom into your ear. Look around and outside of your workplace for mentors. You might even consider asking your supervisor or company owner whom they would recommend as a mentor. Doing so will show them that you care about your job performance and growth.
Reflection
What resistance do you have to getting job help? Is it time, trouble, effort, or availability? Or is it pride? Examine carefully your reasons for not getting job help, when you sense that you might need it. Set aside your pride, take the time, and go to the trouble to get sound and experienced job advice. On the other hand, what problems or looming crises do you discern that give you good reason to get job help? Be as specific as you can as to what might happen if you don’t soon get your job figured out so that you can start to do better. How well do you know your workplace’s customs, culture, and norms? Can you make a list of aspects of each, from the examples given above? Whom can you identify, right now, as a sound job advisor or mentor? How would you best go about identifying and approaching other job advisors and mentors?
Key Points
Get guidance about your job when you see problems developing.
Don’t wait for a job crisis to occur, before you get job guidance.
Job help can not only avert crises but also improve job satisfaction.
Experienced advice can help you discern and conform to job customs.
Experienced advice can help you identify and meet job standards.
Experienced advice can help you navigate job norms and culture.
Identify, seek out, and rely on trusted job advisors.
Finding a job mentor who cares deeply about you can also help.