A person spends most of his life at his job. He literally grows together with her, he experiences successes and failures with her. Our professional and personal qualities are manifested precisely among our colleagues in the company. They become witnesses to our life situations. And as in that joke when a man complains to his annoying wife: “You have always been with me, in moments of failure and hardship, and how I wish I could get rid of you,” this can be directly applied to his workplace. So, let's look at the topic of how to approach work correctly?
We are stressed by monotony, routine, the same faces. We want to change something, but on the other hand we understand that we cannot lose a permanent place of employment, a stable salary that is good compared to others. But inside us it’s like, “I want something new, unknown.” But you shouldn’t buy into this, you need to make sure that you go to work as if it were a holiday.
Cultivate a positive attitude towards your work and enjoy it. You don’t believe that this is possible – and in vain! We offer just 10 steps, by taking which you will become the best employee of your enterprise.
You are attracted by earnings, not by ideas
You certainly can’t argue with that, can you? But there are also those who plunge headlong into the idea of the project. But they forget that their work should be well paid. This is great and beneficial for your employer, who is only interested in you working for an idea. Therefore, he constantly talks about what important point you are working on, what what you are creating will mean for society. This way he saves his money and wastes your time. He will do everything so that his hard worker does not understand that he needs to work for a good salary, otherwise:
- no one will stay at work overtime;
- his employee will begin to look for another, more profitable place of work;
- will begin to refuse functions that are not part of his job responsibilities and for which he is not paid extra;
- the employee will think about protecting his rights and begin to read the Labor Code.
We live in capitalist times, but this does not mean that the order is particularly different from the socialist stage. It is important for any employer, be it an appointed director, a communist plant owner or a private owner, to observe the eternal axiom: more work, less pay. This is why the very cult of the company’s “leader” is created and regulations are formed.
Based on it, one can understand that in an enterprise everyone should serve the same goal, and it should become the main interest of every employee. And you don’t need to hang your ears too much if they tell you that the company and its staff exist not for earnings, but for the Great Idea. To prevent people from scattering to other enterprises, trainings, incentives, corporate events, and the awarding of regalia and awards have been introduced. If your company constantly chooses the employee of the year, but the salaries leave much to be desired, you are being taken advantage of.
Corporate regulations are not always bad. It all depends on what management wants. Often, this is especially cultivated in Japanese, South Korean, European, American and other companies. It is important for owners that employees are “burning” with the desire to improve the quality of products and services. Therefore, regulations are being created with the relevant points. If a good salary is added to this, then rejoice, you are in a good place and don’t even think about changing it.
Work according to your employment contract
Remember once and for all, you don’t owe anyone anything! This golden truth should accompany a person in all areas of life (excluding family relationships).
Many enterprises do not shy away from violating the law and exploit employees to the fullest. But by doing this they are breaking the law and must be held accountable. The violations relate to the regime when a person is constantly forced to stay after work, go out on weekends, and not have vacation. And for all this the pay is pitiful. Therefore, when applying for a job, read the contract carefully. But it would also be a good idea to familiarize yourself with the clauses of the labor code relating to the relationship between employer and employee.
Quite often, management motivates unpaid overtime by excessive necessity, increased sales, or a peak in orders. And more often than not, a new employee is told that this is the way it is, that everyone here is like one big family. This is how a person is put in an awkward position. And he is forced to obey the unwritten laws of the company and work more than necessary.
But imagine a simple situation - you hired people to renovate your house. Tell me, will they do the work without payment? Or can you use someone else’s work for free? No, you are unlikely to be capable of this. And others are capable, and only because people like you agree to their conditions, requests, demands.
You do not respect your work and believe that you can be used for the benefit of others. Respect yourself and others will respect you. And the fact that now is the peak of sales and overtime work is required is not your problem. Let them pay, since it’s a peak, it means their profits are increasing, they should pay extra!
In any company or enterprise, force majeure situations may arise. At such moments, if they are infrequent and do not depend on the actions and inactions of management, you need to intervene and work together to steer the situation. Do not refuse help and help out your company and colleagues. But at the same time, do not let your kindness, participation and desire to help turn into an obligation. Don't let them exploit you and play on your human feelings.
Don't be afraid of relationship damage
Most often, we follow the excessive demands of our superiors for fear of ruining our relationship with them. Of course, it depends on him whether I will work here or not. He can fire me at any moment for any reason. Or start spreading rot on me, turning the team against me, awarding a shortfall, etc.
No one argues that human meanness has no boundaries. Especially greedy managers do not neglect unscrupulous means in order to force a person not only to work, but to work overtime, without days off, vacation, etc. In doing so, they create an environment where you have no hope of being paid for your overtime. But there is a powerful force behind you - labor legislation. At any moment you can throw a thick code on the table and demand respect for your rights. But there is one “But!”
More often than not, we are treated the way we deserve! Yes Yes! Don't argue. Didn't you give your management a reason to understand that you can be exploited? Yes, he asked to be late two or three times and you silently agreed to work overtime, afraid of offending him. Sorry, but working relationships do not include such concepts as resentment and pity. Everything is based on an agreement that both parties - yours and management - must comply with.
And yet, no one appreciates soft-bodied, timid and shy people. Bosses, and these are usually leaders, value rebellion and strength of character. And you behave like a “gutta-percha boy” and agree to everything.
Stop being afraid of management
Yes, this point is perhaps the most difficult. Few people are not timid in the face of the above and are at a loss when answering a request to work more than their time. But we must remember that our superiors are people just like us. Only they got a different position.
Often, they themselves are shy in front of the employees of the company or enterprise. It is for this reason that the same subordination was created, behind which all the authorities are hiding. Stop being afraid and talk frankly with your manager. Tell him what you're most upset about is why you think he's taking advantage of your work.
Here is a real life case (by the way, this is observed in many enterprises).
“A friend of mine graduated from college and got a job at a company. During the interview, he showed what he was capable of, and he had plenty of talent. So, during the interview, he was promised one salary, but after the job he began to receive about 15% less. The difference, you understand, is quite significant.
I wouldn’t mind immediately going up and talking to the authorities, but my friend was afraid to do this. When he thought about this, something terrible was happening in his soul. He hated himself for being afraid to come up and find out the question, and at the same time he hated his superiors. So more than a year passed and at this moment he dared. In response, he heard words of misunderstanding, complete ignorance and disrespect. All he had to do was change jobs. But you could have raised the issue in the first month and walked away, far away from such unscrupulous employers.”
Therefore, do not waste time; in the case of a meager salary, it only plays against you, but in favor of your management. Let it be scary for you, the main thing is that the demands are legal. They promised one salary, let them pay it. The contract specifies certain days off and vacation, everything must be fulfilled! Well, what can your manager do with you if your demands are completely legal and he must comply with them? Fire - no, he has no right. Unless, after the negative result of the conversation, it is better for you to leave and not return.
Stop being upset about problems at work
He who does not work does not make mistakes. If you have a failure, there is no point in worrying, because it has already happened. Better learn from your mistakes and don’t let them stress you out or suppress new beginnings. We are more afraid not of mistakes, but of being reprimanded for them by our superiors. So what? Everyone is being scolded! From childhood we had to explain to our parents why we did this or that wrong. It's about the same thing here, only on an adult scale. Well, he’ll say a couple of “kind things” to you, maybe even more rudely. No one has died from them yet, but you will have to “hack” your nose.
The main thing is not to get fired, especially if the job is profitable and loved. And even more so, with an entry in the work book. This is like a negative recommendation; with it, it will be difficult for you to find at least any job in your specialty. Maximum – technical worker, cleaner.
As for the scale of the error, it is unlikely that it is that significant, unless you are a doctor or a driver. As a rule, one learns from mistakes. It is important that in the process of gaining experience, you carefully listen to the advice of more experienced mentors and colleagues and respect their recommendations. You cannot be self-confident, even if you graduated from a higher educational institution with honors. Theory without practice is nothing! You will have to re-learn your craft, from the very beginning.
If you made a mistake, it does not mean that you are worthless. Don't be afraid to lose respect, everything will happen, but over time. What matters to your boss is not that you can make a mistake, but how you feel about your obligations.
Responsibility, dedication, desire to participate and increase profitability are what they are interested in in every employee. Therefore, if you made a mistake, a miscalculation, learn from what was perfect and move on! Someone whispers behind your back that you are not capable of anything - don’t pay attention - “The dog barks - the caravan moves on!” Enemies judge, but you improve!
Don't chase regalia
It's one thing to get a salary increase for overtime efforts, new ideas, zeal and a larger volume of completed orders. Some are just waiting to be awarded another title for this, or even better, to be made “Employee of the Year.” It would be nice if they added more money to it, but just regalia is nothing, a trap for stupid ambitions. This is how those whose work blinds them behave. And they don’t think about other interests at all, they forget about family, friends, relatives.
And yet, the more you fight for the attention of your management, the more you waste valuable time, for which you can earn more. If you think that in the eyes of your superiors you really look better than others, you are mistaken. For them, the procedure for assigning regalia, as we already know, is a manipulation that increases labor productivity.
Study the labor market
Take an interest in working conditions at other places. Don’t mistakenly think that you work at the best enterprise in the world, or in your city. By studying the labor market, you will understand whether you really got the best job, or whether there are companies where your work will be paid more fairly. And promising growth can indeed be ensured there. And here you are just vegetating and wasting your precious time.
It is ignorance of the labor market that is the reason that most of us sit overtime at work, not paying attention to colds, flu, and fatigue. We think that once we leave this job, we won’t be able to get a job anywhere else. A common and banal mistake that has no right to life in our modern times, when information about employment can be obtained in a matter of seconds via the Internet.
Information from the labor market is very useful not only for workers, but also for those who are looking for a profitable position. During the interview, you will know how your work is paid at enterprises. But also what conditions must be fulfilled by the authorities.
No need to be afraid of losing your job
There are no unique enterprises, believe me, there will be at least a couple or two more like them. You can especially find work in large metropolises and cities. For example, in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and other large locations there are many enterprises where they value human abilities and create excellent conditions for workers. Don’t sit idly by – be inquisitive! Search, read, buy newspapers, magazines, go to employment sites, read reviews about how they pay and how employees are treated at a particular enterprise.
Don't be afraid of getting fired - you're not the first, you won't be the last. Well, getting fired is not the end of the world. If you have abilities and talent, then you will be useful in another place. Don't cut ties with colleagues at your former job. And also, leave gracefully.
Be that as it may, no matter who is to blame, you need to part ways so that the negative recommendation of the former manager does not become a reason for refusing employment in other places. But you need to be grabbed hand and foot and offered good wages. And take the moment of dismissal as an incentive for new beginnings. If we had not been fired, you would still be sitting in the same place and suffering in routine.
Important: the dismissal of an employee is a serious blow for the company. With the current shortage of quality personnel, every person has a “golden account”. Therefore, do not worry, let those who have lost valuable personnel worry.
Eliminate legal illiteracy
No, we do not encourage you to completely study all legislative codes. Learn the ones you'll need to protect your labor rights. And if you carefully read this very useful book, you will understand that your work on a day off should be paid double. And upon dismissal (without an article), you are simply obliged to pay double salary.
Unscrupulous employers take advantage of the legal ignorance of employees and use them for their own selfish purposes. They can exploit people without a twinge of conscience. They don’t think about the fact that they have their own interests, families, plans for vacations and weekends.
When you get a job in a company where the world of “gray” salaries “in envelopes” reigns, be prepared that, most likely, other points of the law will be violated. There is no need to enter into an agreement with unscrupulous people, otherwise you will get stuck in all this for a long time. What kind of claims can we talk about then if you are in the same “harness”, that is, together you break the law. When finding a job, choose a company that still pays “white” wages and does not circumvent the laws. Even if the payment is slightly lower than the unofficial one, you still have a guarantee of protection in case of unforeseen circumstances.
Leave work at work!
We just can’t calm down and continue to count and create ideas in our heads when we get home. This is a big mistake. There is no need to bring work home; it has its own time frame - according to your work schedule. At home you need to rest, relax, pay attention to your family and friends. If you continue in this spirit, you will quickly become bored with work, and you will even hate the work you love. And yet, work is good, it helps us survive. But this is not the most important thing in life. Take care of your health, do not overwork. Otherwise, you risk “burning out” in the workplace. And lose not only her, but also everything you have.
Besides work, there are a lot of interesting things in the world. No, we are not forcing you to give up work. It’s just that everything in this life has its place. And you don’t just work, but please your superiors, try to please them. And you are doing it in vain! The management doesn't really care about anyone. The main thing is that the work does not stand still, and brings them more and more profit!
And you, will serve your whole life in favor of others. But in your declining years, remember that you didn’t see anything in it except your work. Did you miss time to communicate with your loved ones, did you give up vacations, travel, and for what? So that once a year the bosses can tell us how good and responsible we are? Is your life worth it? Hardly!
And finally, take your work calmly. As a necessary attribute, without which it is impossible to survive. But it should be on the list of other important points - rest, relaxation, communication. And also, when you undergo an interview, try to carefully study the terms of employment, the amount of wages and the attitude of management towards employees, the relationship between ordinary employees. Show the qualities inherent in a person who cares about the development and growth of the company in which he works.
You want to create and develop new projects, strive to improve the quality of goods and services produced. And if it’s quite normal for you to receive a salary in “envelopes” and be among those who break the law, agree, but remember, even in such cases you cannot exploit a person. In any case, it’s up to you, but make decisions only with a clear head and knowledge of the matter!
Bye everyone.
Best regards, Vyacheslav.
Unfortunately, not everyone enjoys work. Some are annoyed by her routine, others complain of constant stress. It would seem that if you don’t like your job, you need to quit it. But what if for some reason you can’t leave?
If it is not possible to go to
The Internet is replete with articles on the topic of happiness and productivity and most often advises quite obvious things: quit what you don’t like, say “no” to what doesn’t make you enthusiastic. And these are good tips.
If you don't like something, you need to get rid of it as soon as possible. Self-abuse reduces the quality of life, takes away the motivation to get up in the morning and ultimately leads to depression.
However, no one tells you what to do if you cannot quit your job or project for some reason. After all, life is not as simple as posts on . You may have a mortgage, moving, children, elderly parents - or who knows what else? And so, sometimes it’s simply not possible to change jobs in the next month or two.
At the same time, work can be hateful, every day can be like hard labor, and the stories of the lucky ones who do what they love and receive a good income from it only cause irritation.
I combine remote work and freelancing, and I have had many situations when I wanted to give up everything and become a Tibetan monk.
But I’m an adult, responsible person and I don’t give up on projects halfway, so I’ve developed several ways for myself to cope with a negative attitude towards current projects and complete things without sacrifice or consequences.
1. Take a break from tasks you don't enjoy.
My main thing in such cases is to divide tasks into pleasant and unpleasant and perform the latter only when inspired. I have long noticed that some things, especially those related to creativity, only suit me in a special mood.
If you force yourself, you will still have to procrastinate for a long time and tediously, advance “a teaspoon per hour,” and then redo it. But if there is a fuse, the work goes quickly and is completed in a couple of hours.
My experience. I took on freelance projects and for days I couldn’t bring myself to sit down to work, especially when it came to some kind of wedding, in which there were only sources for 10 hours. I love editing, but looking through the material and choosing good moments is tedious and very long work.
As a result, I divided the project into several stages: selecting material in two or three approaches (dividing the number of files into equal batches and disassembling only one per approach), then editing (usually also in two approaches) and color correction.
Between stages and approaches there is a mandatory break of several days. When I knew that I didn’t have to sit on the whole project all day at once, but could spend two or three hours now and the same at the end of the week, each stage was completed in one breath.
2. Plan your tasks in the evening
If you wake up every morning thinking you hate the day, it's time to plan.
In the evening, decide which work tasks you will tackle first. Most likely, there are things that don’t bother you very much or even like them: put them first on the list.
My experience. It's easier for me to start the day with design and editing. If there are no such tasks, then I look through my email and communicate with my partners. After a couple of simple tasks are completed, it is much easier to take on the rest.
3. Optimize complex processes
Sometimes work is annoying because of its routine: the same thing every day, boring monotonous work. Think, can you change this? Bring creativity? Speed up some tasks and delegate others?
My experience. Last year I was editing lessons, and one process in the chain was very tedious and drove me crazy. So much so that I asked for an emergency leave to take a break from him.
When I returned to work, I figured out how to simplify this process, things went faster, and I even started to like it. Moreover, the idea was obvious, but it did not occur to me due to blurred vision and fatigue.
If decisions to delegate or change any tasks are made by your superiors, don't be shy about talking about them. And don’t be afraid to say that you can’t or don’t want to do some tasks.
Honesty is the best policy: you will get rid of frustration and do a better job, which ultimately benefits the entire company. The same goes for tasks that interest you: even if they are not related to your position, you will not lose anything if you ask them to be given to you. It is quite possible that your bosses will agree and give you a chance to prove yourself.
4. Take a vacation and have a good rest
Some people are hyper-responsible and cannot leave work for a day. They go on vacation and are still always in touch - just in case. But that doesn't make sense.
No matter how amazing an employee you are, don't think that you are so indispensable. Believe me, your colleagues will calmly cope without you, even if they say otherwise.
So turn off your laptop and tablet, put your phone in airplane mode and board the plane: it's time to relax. It is likely that your irritation from work is due to simple overexertion. For two weeks, lie on the beach and drink cocktails or explore new cities and don’t dare think about work: let your brain rest.
If the situation is critical and your planned vacation is not coming soon, ask for a couple of days off or a vacation at your own expense.
It’s better not to get an extra few thousand than to later suffer from depression and emotional burnout. Which, by the way, also reduces immunity.
5. Look for a new job
Ultimately, if you're tired of your current job, it's better to find a new one. Perhaps it’s worth saving up some money for the time that you will be looking for it or “taxiing” for your usual salary. Agree with your loved ones for support, ask your friends to find out if their companies have open vacancies.
If you don’t want to go back to the office, think about remote work, freelancing or your own business. In the end, try a related field or just a different company - perhaps it’s the place of work, and not its essence.
There is a lot of work, and if you have experience and enough perseverance, you will definitely find a pleasant alternative. The main thing is to remember that your life is in your hands, and only you decide how it will turn out.
6. Don't forget about yourself
Sometimes burnout occurs when a person has nothing left in life except work. Therefore, it is very important to notice this condition and do something: see friends more often, get out of town, remember your hobbies. Sometimes it’s even useful to just “spit at the ceiling.” The main thing is not to think about business at this time.
It is important that you stop associating yourself with your position: for example, if you are a good person, then you can easily be one in another company or as a freelancer.
And in your free time, be something else - an athlete, a collector, an animal activist.
It’s normal to view work as a way to earn money.
And finally, a remark for the most picky: of course, work should bring pleasure. And it’s cool, if you find just such a thing, then the tips listed above will not be useful to you. But not everyone can and wants to be “experts in their field” 24 hours a day.
Treating work as a way to earn money, use your skills and knowledge, and something that takes 8 hours a day is also normal.
I was prompted to write this article by the negative experiences of many of my friends who take their work too seriously and are too emotionally involved in the events that happen in their office. And therefore, intrigues and incidents at work make them worry a lot, thinking about work even in their free time.
My past work experience also provided the basis for this article. I once allowed my employer to exploit me, stayed late at work and saw it as a priority over my personal life. Now I have stopped making this mistake. And I want to tell you about the rules that help me protect my personal life from work, stop worrying about mistakes, about the attitude of my superiors, and consider my work activities as serving my own, and not the interests of others.
This post is mainly about office work. But I think my advice can help workers of any level.
Rule 1 - Work for money, not for an idea
This is an obvious statement, don't you think? But, as often happens, people forget the most banal things. And this is facilitated, among other things, by your employer. It is more profitable for the employer for the employee to work mainly for the idea, and only then for the money. Why?
A person who understands that the meaning of his work is his salary is very difficult to exploit.
He will not stay a whole month after work, forgetting about his family or personal life, when he is not paid for it. He will not miss the opportunity to move to another place of work with more favorable working conditions, because he works for money. He will not do a lot of work outside his field of activity unless he receives financial compensation for it.
He will appeal to the law that regulates labor relations in controversial situations, instead of silently agreeing with the most absurd demands of employers.
Therefore, many corporations strive to find employees with a desire to work “for the idea” and this desire is encouraged in every possible way during the work process.
Despite the fact that modern corporations are products of capitalist societies, they also contain many features of socialist formations. A “cult of the leader” and regulations on corporate values are being created. The purpose of the company and the collective good are elevated to the rank of the highest interest of each employee's work. An ideological atmosphere is created, surrounded by which the employee works not for the benefit of his own prosperity, but for the benefit of the company, team, society!
They are trying to convince people that, despite the fact that they earn money by working in the company, they are here for the sake of something more than just mercantile interests. And in order to maintain such conviction in people, organizations resort to many different means: trainings, speeches by managers, propaganda, awards, awarding regalia and titles (“employee of the year”), exploitation of the brand, imposing patriotism throughout the corporation, etc. and so on.
The absurdity to which the use of these funds reaches depends on the specific company. In large Western corporations (Western - not in geographical terms, but in relation to the business building model: Japanese and Korean companies can also be attributed to this model, like many domestic organizations), corporate patriotism is cultivated more strongly than in all other companies.
Is this bad? Not always. On the one hand, there is nothing wrong with the company looking for dedicated employees, that it is trying to create incentives for them to work, in addition to monetary ones, thereby increasing their interest in the work process.
On the other hand, patriotism, loyalty, and corporate values can serve as justifications for the exploitation of personnel by unscrupulous employers. Many companies don't care about anything other than their profits. They don't care about your personal life or your personal interests; they want you to work as hard and as much as possible. And the more you work and the less you ask, the more profitable your work is for the managers and shareholders of the company, but the less profitable it is for yourself.
Working “for an idea” also gives rise to a lot of unnecessary stress and frustration. For a person who works for money, the worst possible scenario at work would be his dismissal. He may be afraid that he won't get paid, or won't get paid on time, or won't get a bonus. If he made a mistake at work, he will not lament this, because he will not necessarily be fired for this, will he?
A person working for an idea (or to satisfy his own ambitions) may be afraid that his efforts will not be paid attention to by his superiors, that his colleagues will not admire his professionalism. The employee is “for the idea” of treating his mistakes at work as a personal tragedy, as proof of his personal failure.
Workers for the idea come to work sick, stay in the office late, work on weekends, even if they are not paid. For the sake of work, they are ready to neglect their own health, their personal life and their family. Corporations look at this behavior as a virtue, although in my opinion it is only a form of morbid obsession, servility and addiction.
When you work for money, you have less emotional attachment to your work.
This leaves you with fewer strings tied to your job that the employer can pull for their own benefit rather than yours. And the less attached you are to it, the less frustration you feel and the more space you have to think about something other than work. As a result, you begin to relate to failures more easily, you forget about work when you come home, a reprimand from your superiors does not turn into a personal drama for you, and work intrigues pass you by.
So always remind yourself why you go to work. You are here to earn money, provide for your family. The worst thing that can happen here is that you get fired. For some, dismissal is a critical event, for others it is not, since work can always be found. But, in any case, dismissal does not mean that you will be anathematized, made a traitor to the Motherland. This means simply leaving your current job and looking for a new place and new opportunities.
Work is only a means to achieve goals! This is not a goal to which you should sacrifice your family, your health and your happiness.
Working for money means not only refusing to work primarily “for an idea.” This means not working to satisfy your passions and ambitions. If you work to command, to put pressure on people, to seem important to yourself, then you will perceive any failure at work as a challenge to your self-esteem and, as a result, you will take failures to heart.
Please do not think that I want to force you to give up your love for what you love, replacing it with cold pragmatism. Love your job, but don’t turn this love into a painful addiction! In everything you need to observe moderation.
Rule 2 - Remember, you do not owe anyone anything other than what is stated in your employment contract
Many firms try to exploit the feeling of personal involvement of employees in the activities of the organization. Sometimes this is expressed in the presentation of demands on the employee that go beyond the scope of labor legislation. For example, this applies to systematic free overtime, requests to work on weekends without compensation, orders to perform work that is not the employee’s obligations.
Management can motivate this by “production necessity,” seasonal sales peaks, difficult periods for the company, or standards established in a given organization (“this is how we do things”). But why should this become your personal problem?
Imagine yourself as an employer of labor. Let's say you hired workers to renovate your apartment. Will you ask them to work for free just because you have such a good family that can’t wait to live in a newly renovated apartment? Or because you're having a hard time and aren't getting paid enough?
No, you won’t, because you understand that these are your problems, and not the problems of workers who also have their own interests and also need to feed their families. Of course, if you work with these workers on an ongoing basis, then there may be some concessions from the parties to each other. But everything must have a limit!
Why do you give the right to use you in your own interests? Why should you work for free just because someone is having a hard time or can't handle seasonal sales?
It's not your problem! If a company continually fails to keep up with workload, it must hire more new employees. If some employees are overloaded, management can more effectively distribute responsibilities among employees. All these are company matters that should be solved by the company by attracting new resources, and not by exploiting existing ones!
Managers love to play on their sense of responsibility. They may tell you: “if you leave now, customers won’t receive their orders!” Stay and work for free! The company needs you!”
If the company's clients regularly receive orders only through free after-hours work, it means that the company has constant problems that it did not take care of in a timely manner. And it is trying to “patch up the holes” by attracting free labor and capitalizing on the workers’ sense of personal responsibility!
If the client doesn’t receive the order because you won’t be at work until 11 pm, then management should have thought about it earlier. Even if customers don't get something, is it really that scary? Imagine that next door to your work there is a company that sells irons, and your friend works there. You receive a call from him, and he screams into the phone in a panic: hurry up! Help! We don't have time to ship the irons! Our clients will go to work tomorrow in wrinkled shirts! Do you want people to work tomorrow in wrinkled clothes? Run here and load the irons into the cars!”
You won't run there because you don't care about the irons. It is clear that you do not work there and you were not initially responsible for these irons. But you are also not responsible for anything beyond your job responsibilities. You shouldn't be delayed just because someone is constantly behind schedule to ship the goods. From the moment your working day ends, your unfinished tasks become foreign to you! It doesn't matter what happens to him, it's not your concern!
Devote more time to your family, your children. They need you more than some shareholders and bosses!
Here I want to stop right away and make an important point. I don’t want you to think that I’m preaching some kind of corporate individualism and encouraging you to quit your job the second your work day ends by showing your boss your employment contract.
There is nothing wrong with helping colleagues, even if this is not stated in your contract. If your boss asked you to stay late for the first time in six months, there is nothing wrong with that either. Especially if you work as a doctor and we are talking about people, not irons.
Unpredictable situations occur in every organization and this is normal. If you want to help on your own, help. But everything is good in moderation. Don't turn help and human relationships into exploitation of you. If free overtime work is regular, if it is normalized in the organization, then this is not normal!
Rule 3 - Don't be afraid to ruin your relationship
There is no need to be afraid that if you do not allow your employer to violate labor laws, you will ruin your relationship with him. “I would go home at 6 pm, but suddenly my boss will treat me badly then, so I’ll stay until 9.”
No one respects people who are timid and do not know how to defend their own rights. If you submit to any, even the most unlawful, demands of your superiors and are afraid to say a word against it, then you will not inspire respect in anyone. Imagine for yourself how you would treat a person who always agrees with everything? Would you respect him? He can be treated as a humble servant, but he cannot be respected!
I dare to assure you that they will begin to respect you only when you show firmness, and not softness and humility.
You will not ruin the relationship if you demand what you are entitled to by law. But even if people react badly to this, it will remain their personal problem. You got a job, not hired into slavery. If an organization considers legal slavery normal and treats poorly those who do not consider it normal, you have no business working in such an organization.
Rule 4 - Don't be afraid of your boss!
Your bosses are people just like you, even if they try to put on an important air of office celestials, protecting themselves from mere mortals with a wall of subordination. There is no need to be afraid to talk to your management if you are not happy with something.
I worked in one organization almost immediately after graduating from college. Then I was a very indecisive and timid student yesterday. Salaries in the organization were unofficial. This was done in order to evade taxes by the company. Therefore, the real salary was not reflected in the employment contract. When I started working, they began to pay me less than they promised at the interview. It was not very big, but a noticeable difference. It was approximately 10% of the promised salary.
My relatives told me: come and figure out why this happened. But I was afraid to approach my boss and ask a completely fair question: “Why am I being paid less than they promised? Let's somehow correct the situation."
What was I afraid of? Can not say. Probably the authority of the boss, which was mixed with my self-doubt, awareness of my own inexperience and a feeling of superiority of a huge organization over my pathetic personality with its insignificant demands.
Then, after two years of working in this company, I finally approached my superiors with this question. I was still afraid, but then I had already learned to ignore my fear. I knew I was doing everything right. But it was too late, my demands were not satisfied. I soon found a new job and left the company a few weeks after this conversation.
There is no need to be afraid of anything. If you think you deserve a promotion, go to your boss and ask him for it, no matter how important and strict he may be! What will he do to you? Think well! Will he fire you? No! Will he treat you worse? Hardly!
This fear of the boss’s authority, inflated by means of corporate culture, is similar to the irrational fear of a child of a kindergarten teacher! You are not a child! There is nothing to be afraid of!
Talk to your boss. Offer your ideas to the manager, discuss working conditions, resolve controversial issues, demand a salary increase. Remember, your boss is a person just like you and he can’t do anything bad to you. If you are still afraid, forget about this fear. This is the fear of a small child that sits inside of you. Step over this feeling and take action!
Rule 5 - don't be upset by failures at work
Made a mistake? Because of you, the company defaulted on its obligations to clients? It's OK! Sometimes everyone makes mistakes.
Are you afraid that your boss will tell you off? So what if he tells me off? He won’t strangle you in his office. Words have never killed anyone. I repeat, you are not in kindergarten to be afraid of scolding. The worst thing they can do to you is fire you (most often, make you redundant and pay a severance package in accordance with the law).
By making a mistake at work, you are not committing some serious moral crime (Unless, of course, you are a doctor, the truth is, even doctors make mistakes), although your bosses are trying to convince you otherwise, trying to shame you and appeal to your conscience. “Oh, the client didn’t receive the goods, oh, what a disaster, it’s all because of you!”
It's OK. It’s just that some people who own the company’s assets will receive a little less profit and that’s all. The lost money will not be deducted from the salaries of your colleagues or boss (usually). That's why you don't set any of them up when you make a mistake.
If you made a mistake at work, it does not mean that you are a worthless person. Many people are wrong. The ability to be an impeccable performer is not the main human virtue. In other words, if you experience constant failure at work, it doesn't necessarily mean you're a bad person.
Maybe the job is not right for you, maybe your boss is making too high demands on you. Anything can happen.
I don't want to tell you to be irresponsible and not care about the fact that you are wrong. Still try to be more attentive, draw conclusions from mistakes in order to make fewer of them in the future. A person is capable of developing any of his qualities. And his mistakes do not mean that he is bad. They communicate that we need to move on.
Don't feel bad about your mistakes, feel like you're a failure, or feel bad about being shamed or reprimanded by a boss or colleague.
When I worked in the organization that I wrote about above, I very often made mistakes in calculations, which led to problems with shipping goods to clients. Partly, it was my fault. I was inattentive, I had problems concentrating, I was very worried about my work and because of this I was nervous and made a lot of mistakes (now, of course, I have become much more attentive and calmer, but, nevertheless, I make mistakes in articles, although significantly less than I allowed them when I first started creating this blog).
I used to often stay late at the office. Sometimes I stayed at work until 12 o'clock at night (of course, without monetary compensation) and at this time the most intense period of work was observed. Fatigue and my inattention were taking their toll. I made serious mistakes. It happened that these errors were discovered immediately by one of my senior colleagues.
My colleagues had been working there for a long time and were very harsh on the fact that I was so often mistaken. They worried about these mistakes as if they were their own. Due to the fact that I was upset because of failures, and also because I listened to people’s criticism of me, I began to make even more mistakes, as I completely lost concentration and my anxiety only increased!
The fear of making a new mistake provokes new mistakes! So when I tell you not to get upset over mistakes, I'm not trying to encourage you to be irresponsible. I wish to teach you to be calmer, receive fewer negative emotions and, as a result, make fewer mistakes!
Rule 6 - don't fight for regalia
Getting a salary increase is good. Receive a bonus too. But not at the cost of your health and personal life. Don't prioritize work over your family life and your development.
Receive the title of “employee of the month/year” - why is this necessary?
Just as your failures at work do not necessarily mean that you are a bad person, your achievements in front of your superiors do not necessarily mean that you are a good person. Diligence and diligence are not the only good qualities of a person.
Stop fighting for the attention of your superiors, for some titles, if it takes a lot of energy. Do you feel like you will look like a hero to someone? In fact, you will simply become the perfect, exemplary slave of the corporation! You will only demonstrate that you are ready to go out of your way, forgetting about yourself and your family for the sake of some badges and praise!
It will not look more noble than a dog currying favor with its owner so that he can pat it on the head.
Rule 7 - know the labor market
Employees working in various organizations often have a false belief in the uniqueness of the conditions in which they work. It seems to them that the same way they work now, they can’t work anywhere else. “Nowhere else will there be such prospects and opportunities, nowhere else will they pay as much as they pay here,” they think.
Therefore, they sit in the office until late, endure bad attitudes from their superiors, come to work with a fever, thinking that they will not find the same working conditions anywhere else.
But the only way to find out about working conditions in other places is to consider other work options: go for interviews, consult with friends, get information about the labor market in other ways.
Many people who think that nowhere will be better do not even try their luck in the labor market. Even if they try, they quickly give up.
Before I found a job that suited my needs, I spent a year interviewing and must have visited 50 different places. Most often, I was denied employment because I had no experience communicating with HR during interviews. But then I realized how to behave during an interview.
And I found a better job than the one I worked at before. The new place didn't live up to my expectations, and a month later I found an even better place. That's where I still work.
Maximum? Exactly. Who said that you should ask your employer for a salary that corresponds to the average salary in the market? Why not get paid above average?
Firstly, it is difficult to talk about the average salary if you do not know what is happening in the labor market. (The only way for an ordinary employee to find out about this is to go to interviews, as I wrote)
Secondly, the average salary is like the average temperature in a hospital. Why should you even focus on this number?
Go to interviews, don’t be afraid to ask for a higher salary than what you are currently paid and look at the reaction of the potential employer. Different companies pay differently. Somewhere they will laugh at your requests, but somewhere they will make you an offer and pay you as much as you ask. Be prepared for anything, visit many different companies, see how things are there.
Otherwise, you will continue to think that you cannot earn more than 50 thousand in your position while working in Moscow. Usually people don’t talk about their salary to anyone because “that’s the way it is.” But this unspoken rule sometimes works against us. We don’t know how much our colleagues earn, how much our friends earn, since no one tells anyone such information.
As a result, it becomes more difficult for us to adequately assess the size of our salary and therefore we put up with what is offered to us. What if you found out that your office colleague, who works the same hours as you work, earns 80 thousand? Would your 50 thousand still seem like worthy compensation then?
(I’ve actually come across situations more than once when different employees of the same class were paid differently in the same company! Not because they had different experience, but because one asked for more, the other less during the interview! You’re unlikely will offer more than you ask, even if they are ready for it.)
Personally, I try to tell my friends how much I am paid if they ask me, and I try to get similar information from them in order to understand what the current situation is in the market and what my position is in this market. Do I need to change anything? Is there another possibility?
Of course, I don’t talk about my salary to just anyone, but this issue can be discussed with friends or close colleagues.
Rule 8 - Don't be afraid to lose your job
Your organization is most likely not unique. If you live in a large city, especially Moscow, then there are many places where you can work even under the best conditions.
Search, learn, explore, develop. And there is no need to be afraid that if you are fired from this company, your life will end. You may find something else. Don't be afraid to lose this place.
There's nothing wrong with that. Moreover, dismissal is not only grief, it is an opportunity. A chance to find something better!
Therefore, do not allow your superiors to blackmail you and intimidate you with dismissal. Moreover, problems in connection with your dismissal will not only be with you, but with the organization in which you work, since the company will have to look for a new employee and train him. So it is unknown who will have more problems.
At my first job, I did a poor job due to the same inattention and anxiety. They started to scare me with dismissal, so they probably wanted to motivate me.
I didn't like working for this organization anyway. So I said, “okay, I’ll quit myself.” I was not a genius, I was an ordinary, sluggish, green university graduate. But the company tried to keep even such a person! As soon as I said that I would quit myself, they began to dissuade me from this decision.
It was not profitable for the company to look for another person, despite the fact that I had only worked for a few months and still didn’t know much. Perhaps they thought that I couldn’t cope due to my inexperience and that I needed time to gather my strength and do the job well. They were not mistaken in this, time passed and I eliminated my shortcomings. Now I'm doing a good job with both my main job and my second job (this site).
But I still left this company and got a job for more money and under better conditions.
Conclusion: being fired is not only a loss for you, but also for the company. No one will fire you without the most compelling reasons for this.
If you want to resign of your own free will, but are afraid that you will let someone down, betray someone, then cast aside these stupid doubts! There is no need to perceive the company as a ship in which each employee moves towards a common goal together with other employees. Don't think that if you leave this ship, you are betraying the general idea.
In fact, the purpose of a company is solely the purpose of the owners of that company and the shareholders. To achieve their goal on their "ship", they hire oarsmen who are paid for their work. If you want to transfer to another ship that pays you more, why not do it? Would you betray your fellow rowers? No, because they will still be paid no matter where the ship ends up (unless it gets caught in a storm). It may become harder for them to row after you leave, but the captain will find a replacement for you. Moreover, each of your colleagues, just like you, has the choice to leave the ship.
Your goal and the goal of your colleagues on this ship is to row and earn money for yourself and for your family.
The captain's goal is some distant island. But, having reached this island, will the captain share its treasures with you? No, he only pays you for rowing!
Therefore, there is no need to identify your goal with the goal of the corporation. You should not identify your colleagues to whom you have become attached with the heads of the organization. There is a captain, and the rowers are hired workers.
This understanding will help you become less attached to your office and, as a result, worry less about work. After all, there are always other possibilities! And at your current place of work, the light is not reduced by a wedge.
Rule 9 - Know labor law
Did you know that working on weekends pays double? Do you know that if they want to fire you, then you are required to pay several salaries (Unless, of course, you are fired under an article)?
Now you know. Study the law, do not allow unscrupulous employers to exploit your ignorance of the law. The company is required by law to pay overtime. You have the right to be paid in full for your work.
Of course, domestic organizations often circumvent the law. For example, this happens in companies with the “gray” part of the salary. In such organizations, an employee has fewer rights: he may be fired without warning, he may not be paid or his salary may be reduced without warning. This does not mean that I do not recommend working in such companies. But still, I consider the absence of a “gray” salary to be an essential criterion for choosing a job. If a company works “in white”, this is a big plus.
I’m writing about this because many people don’t think about it and consider tax evasion the most natural thing! When I went for interviews, I asked the question: “is your salary white?”
They looked at me in surprise and answered: “white?? Of course not! So what?"
And the fact is that I, as an employee, am at great risk when I work in such an organization. More often than not, everything can work out and if the organization is normal, you will be paid. But you are not insured against anything. If a company has problems, if it faces the need to lay off employees, you can simply be easily let go (or simply have your salary cut in half) with virtually no compensation.
Remember, breaking the law and denying you your legal rights is not the norm!
Knowing the law will help you defend your rights and approach your work more easily. After all, you have rights, which means you have guarantees, which means there are fewer reasons for fear.
Rule 10 - Home separate from work
After work, throw all thoughts about it out of your head. Think about something else. Leave all your worries about an unfulfilled plan, an unsubmitted report at your workplace. Work is not the most important thing in life. For many of us, it's just a way to make money. All the endless work intrigues, conflicts, unfulfilled obligations - it's all nonsense, trifles.
Many of us do not decide people's destinies at work, but are just links in a huge organism that works in the interests of shareholders and owners of the corporation. Is your role in this system really that important to you?
All the activities of a corporation are the employment of some people, dividends for other people, and access to certain benefits of third people. All corporations together form a market, which has the function of distributing goods and services in society.
This is undoubtedly useful and helps organize social relations. Such a system is not an absolute evil. But is it really worth deifying this car? Deify the role of a cog in it? Relax! Take this role easier! Didn't get the job done? It's OK. Put it out of your mind if the workday is already over. Think about it tomorrow, as the heroine of one famous novel said.
Stop obsessing over your work. There are many things in life that need your attention and participation. Work is not your whole life.
Some people are proud that they devote themselves so selflessly to their work, they are ready to give up everything in order to please their superiors and help the development of the company. They see in this nobility, loyalty and a certain kind of heroism. I don’t see anything in this other than an escape from my problems, dependence (workaholism), selfishness, weakness, servility to authority, narrow-mindedness, lack of interests and hobbies.
Your family needs you more than your boss. Your health is more important than any money. Life is not designed to be a hero at work for 12 hours every day until retirement. If you spend your whole life focusing only on work, then what will you achieve in the end? Money? Confessions?
Why is all this necessary if you have wasted years of your life? This will make you a hero in the eyes of your boss, but is that all you want?
The endless pursuit of money, recognition, fulfillment of a plan, authority and prestige is a pursuit of emptiness! There will be nothing there in the end, despite what you may now think is the highest goal!
Work is only a means. A means to realize your life goals. Work should be subordinated to these goals, and not vice versa. If you view work as a means, you will be much less upset by failure. Your head will become much less clogged with work matters. You will be able to think about something other than work. And understand what you really want, what is the true purpose of your life...
Conclusion - there is no need to demonstrate knowledge of these rules at work.
As I already wrote, I used to be very worried about work and worried a lot about the result. I was ready to stay late, ignoring my wife’s desire to be with me at least in the evening. I did this because I thought that “it’s the right thing to do,” that it’s more important than anything, that work is “everything.”
But then my attitude towards life in general and work in particular began to change (I wrote about this in the article what I got from meditation). I realized that there are many things in life that are more important than work and work should be subordinated to my life, and not vice versa.
Some people are so designed that when they suddenly understand something important, come to some new conviction, they surrender to this conviction with all the passion of a new discovery! Only after some time do they manage to find a balance between their discoveries and the demands of the outside world.
Therefore, when I got tired of worrying about failures, when I realized that work was not the main thing, I began to treat it with demonstrative indifference. When my colleagues again began to accuse me of having made a mistake, and because of me some client would not receive his goods today, instead of clutching my head, blaming myself and apologizing (as I did before), I calmly said: “so what? What's wrong? and turned to the monitor.
From one extreme to another. This of course was not entirely correct on my part. But what happened, happened. My new reaction was also understandable.
You should not take my example in this case and sharply reconsider your line of behavior at work. Treat your work more simply, but do not show obvious indifference. If you make a mistake, calmly draw conclusions, try not to make mistakes in the future and openly admit your mistakes. Just don’t suffer about it, that’s all.
If you used to stay late at work all the time, allowed someone else’s work to fall on you, and suddenly you got tired of it, then you don’t need to immediately leave your workplace as soon as 18-00 hits, without having done your work (you can of course do this, if you don’t cherish this place). People don't expect this from you and expect the job to get done. Therefore, you should prepare everyone for the fact that you will no longer sit late into the night and do someone else's work. Warn people about this so they are prepared. Warn new employers right at the interview that you will not agree to free overtime.
I’m not trying to educate you to give a damn, I just want you to have a simpler attitude towards work, have other interests in life besides it, and not allow corporations to exploit your own labor!
I'm also not trying to develop bad employees. If you do not treat work with fanaticism, this does not mean that you will become a careless employee. On the contrary, you will perform many tasks better if you do not worry too much about possible failure.
The influence of human emotions on effective decision making can be seen in poker. This is a game that I really love for its versatility. Victory in it depends not only on luck, but also on the ability to play.
I think any poker professional will confirm the following thesis. If a player is very worried about the result, worried about the mistakes he has made, he will begin to play even worse, make the wrong decisions and make even more mistakes.
Calmness, control of emotions, a calm attitude towards losses are the key to success in poker. If a player is highly emotionally involved in the game, if his goal is to teach other players a lesson, to prove something to someone, to be the very first, and if he is mortally afraid of defeat, he will most likely suffer it.
Therefore, approach your work the same way a good player approaches the game: calmly and with a cool head. Don’t make work a field for realizing your ambitions and resolving your complexes. It is not your life or dignity that is at stake. Work is not the most important thing in life. Relax!
As a final piece of advice, I would advise you not to demonstrate knowledge of these rules during the interview. The employer expects you to work for the idea of the company's prosperity or for the idea of personal professional development, but not for money! Because it is difficult to exploit a worker for money!
If this is expected of you, then play by the employer’s rules and show with your appearance and answers that professional development and the opportunity to work in such a great company are more important to you than money.
I wrote about this in the article on how to answer interview questions correctly.
I hope you find these tips helpful. Some of them are more suitable for young people living in big cities, where there is a wide choice of work. But, I am sure that the advice to take a simpler approach to work will suit any employees, of any age and profession!
Here we will talk about how to approach work correctly. The following tips will help you worry less about failures at work, learn to assert your rights as an employee, not be afraid of your bosses, and find a balance between life and work.
I was prompted to write this article by the negative experiences of many of my friends who take their work too seriously and are too emotionally involved in the events that happen in their office. And therefore, intrigues and incidents at work make them worry a lot, thinking about work even in their free time.
My past work experience also provided the basis for this article. I once allowed my employer to exploit me, stayed late at work and saw it as a priority over my personal life. Now I have stopped making this mistake. And I want to tell you about the rules that help me protect my personal life from work, stop worrying about mistakes, about the attitude of my superiors, and consider my work activities as serving my own, and not the interests of others.
This post is mainly about. But I think my advice can help workers of any level.
Rule 1 – Work for money, not for an idea
This is an obvious statement, don't you think? But, as often happens, people forget the most banal things. And this is facilitated, among other things, by your employer. It is more profitable for the employer for the employee to work mainly for the idea, and only then for the money. Why?
A person who understands that the meaning of his work is his salary is very difficult to exploit.
He will not stay a whole month after work, forgetting about his family or personal life, when he is not paid for it. He will not miss the opportunity to move to another place of work with more favorable working conditions, because he works for money. He will not do a lot of work outside his field of activity unless he receives financial compensation for it.
He will appeal to the law that regulates labor relations in controversial situations, instead of silently agreeing with the most absurd demands of employers.
Therefore, many corporations strive to find employees with a desire to work “for the idea” and this desire is encouraged in every possible way during the work process.
Despite the fact that modern corporations are products of capitalist societies, they also contain many features of socialist formations. A “cult of the leader” and regulations on corporate values are being created. The purpose of the company and the collective good are elevated to the rank of the highest interest of each employee's work. An ideological atmosphere is created, surrounded by which the employee works not for the benefit of his own prosperity, but for the benefit of the company, team, society!
They are trying to convince people that, despite the fact that they earn money by working in the company, they are here for the sake of something more than just mercantile interests. And in order to maintain such conviction in people, organizations resort to many different means: trainings, speeches by managers, propaganda, awards, awarding regalia and titles (“employee of the year”), exploitation of the brand, imposing patriotism throughout the corporation, etc. and so on.
The absurdity to which the use of these funds reaches depends on the specific company. In large Western corporations (Western - not in geographical terms, but in relation to the business building model: Japanese and Korean companies can also be attributed to this model, like many domestic organizations), corporate patriotism is cultivated more strongly than in all other companies.
Is this bad? Not always. On the one hand, there is nothing wrong with the company looking for dedicated employees, that it is trying to create incentives for them to work, in addition to monetary ones, thereby increasing their interest in the work process.
On the other hand, patriotism, loyalty, and corporate values can serve as justifications for the exploitation of personnel by unscrupulous employers. Many companies don't care about anything other than their profits. They don't care about your personal life or your personal interests; they want you to work as hard and as much as possible. And the more you work and the less you ask, the more profitable your work is for the managers and shareholders of the company, but the less profitable it is for yourself.
Working “for an idea” also gives rise to a lot of unnecessary stress and frustration. For a person who works for money, the worst possible scenario at work would be his dismissal. He may be afraid that he won't get paid, or won't get paid on time, or won't get a bonus. If he made a mistake at work, he will not lament this, because he will not necessarily be fired for this, will he?
A person working for an idea (or to satisfy his own ambitions) may be afraid that his efforts will not be paid attention to by his superiors, that his colleagues will not admire his professionalism. The employee is “for the idea” of treating his mistakes at work as a personal tragedy, as proof of his personal failure.
Workers for the idea come to work sick, stay in the office late, work on weekends, even if they are not paid. For the sake of work, they are ready to neglect their own health, their personal life and their family. Corporations look at this behavior as a virtue, although in my opinion it is only a form of morbid obsession, servility and addiction.
When you work for money, you have less emotional attachment to your work.
This leaves you with fewer strings tied to your job that the employer can pull for their own benefit rather than yours. And the less attached you are to it, the less frustration you feel and the more space you have to think about something other than work. As a result, you begin to relate to failures more easily, you forget about work when you come home, a reprimand from your superiors does not turn into a personal drama for you, and work intrigues pass you by.
So always remind yourself why you go to work. You are here to earn money, provide for your family. The worst thing that can happen here is that you get fired. For some, dismissal is a critical event, for others it is not, since work can always be found. But, in any case, dismissal does not mean that you will be anathematized, made a traitor to the Motherland. This means simply leaving your current job and looking for a new place and new opportunities.
Work is only a means to achieve goals! This is not a goal to which you should sacrifice your family, your health and your happiness.
Working for money means not only refusing to work primarily “for an idea.” This means not working to satisfy your passions and ambitions. If you work to command, to put pressure on people, to seem important to yourself, then you will perceive any failure at work as a challenge to your self-esteem and, as a result, you will take failures to heart.
Please do not think that I want to force you to give up your love for what you love, replacing it with cold pragmatism. Love your job, but don’t turn this love into a painful addiction! In everything you need to observe moderation.
And I found a better job than the one I worked at before. The new place didn't live up to my expectations, and a month later I found an even better place. That’s where I still work (note: I was working there at the time of writing. I currently work for myself).
Maximum? Exactly. Who said that you should ask your employer for a salary that corresponds to the average salary in the market? Why not get paid above average?
Firstly, it is difficult to talk about the average salary if you do not know what is happening in the labor market. (The only way for an ordinary employee to find out about this is to go to interviews, as I wrote)
Secondly, the average salary is like the average temperature in a hospital. Why should you even focus on this number?
Go to interviews, don’t be afraid to ask for a higher salary than what you are currently paid and look at the reaction of the potential employer. Different companies pay differently. Somewhere they will laugh at your requests, but somewhere they will make you an offer and pay you as much as you ask. Be prepared for anything, visit many different companies, see how things are there.
Otherwise, you will continue to think that you cannot earn more than 50 thousand in your position while working in Moscow. Usually people don’t talk about their salary to anyone because “that’s the way it is.” But this unspoken rule sometimes works against us. We don’t know how much our colleagues earn, how much our friends earn, since no one tells anyone such information.
As a result, it becomes more difficult for us to adequately assess the size of our salary and therefore we put up with what is offered to us. What if you found out that your office colleague, who works the same hours as you work, earns 80 thousand? Would your 50 thousand still seem like worthy compensation then?
(I’ve actually come across situations more than once when different employees of the same class were paid differently in the same company! Not because they had different experience, but because one asked for more, the other less during the interview! You’re unlikely will offer more than you ask, even if they are ready for it.)
Personally, I try to tell my friends how much I am paid if they ask me, and I try to get similar information from them in order to understand what the current situation is in the market and what my position is in this market. Do I need to change anything? Is there another possibility?
Of course, I don’t talk about my salary to just anyone, but this issue can be discussed with friends or close colleagues.
Rule 8 - Don't be afraid of losing your job
Your organization is most likely not unique. If you live in a large city, especially Moscow, then there are many places where you can work even under the best conditions.
Search, learn, explore, develop. And there is no need to be afraid that if you are fired from this company, your life will end. You may find something else. Don't be afraid to lose this place.
There's nothing wrong with that. Moreover, dismissal is not only grief, it is an opportunity. A chance to find something better!
Therefore, do not allow your superiors to blackmail you and intimidate you with dismissal. Moreover, problems in connection with your dismissal will not only be with you, but with the organization in which you work, since the company will have to look for a new employee and train him. So it is unknown who will have more problems.
At my first job, I did a poor job due to the same inattention and anxiety. They started to scare me with dismissal, so they probably wanted to.
I didn't like working for this organization anyway. So I said, “okay, I’ll quit myself.” I was not a genius, I was an ordinary, sluggish, green university graduate. But the company tried to keep even such a person! As soon as I said that I would quit myself, they began to dissuade me from this decision.
It was not profitable for the company to look for another person, despite the fact that I had only worked for a few months and still didn’t know much. Perhaps they thought that I couldn’t cope due to my inexperience and that I needed time to gather my strength and do the job well. They were not mistaken in this, time passed and I eliminated my shortcomings. Now I'm doing a good job with both my main job and my second job (this site).
But I still left this company and got a job for more money and under better conditions.
Conclusion: being fired is not only a loss for you, but also for the company. No one will fire you without the most compelling reasons for this.
If you want to resign of your own free will, but are afraid that you will let someone down, betray someone, then cast aside these stupid doubts! There is no need to perceive the company as a ship in which each employee moves towards a common goal together with other employees. Don't think that if you leave this ship, you are betraying the general idea.
In fact, the purpose of a company is solely the purpose of the owners of that company and shareholders. To achieve their goal on their "ship", they hire oarsmen who are paid for their work. If you want to transfer to another ship that pays you more, why not do it? Would you betray your fellow rowers? No, because they will still be paid no matter where the ship ends up (unless it gets caught in a storm). It may become harder for them to row after you leave, but the captain will find a replacement for you. Moreover, each of your colleagues, just like you, has the choice to leave the ship.
Your goal and the goal of your colleagues on this ship is to row and earn money for yourself and for your family.
The captain's goal is some distant island. But, having reached this island, will the captain share its treasures with you? No, he only pays you for rowing!
Therefore, there is no need to identify your goal with the goal of the corporation. You should not identify your colleagues to whom you have become attached with the heads of the organization. There is a captain, and the rowers are hired workers.
This understanding will help you become less attached to your office and, as a result, worry less about work. After all, there are always other possibilities! And at your current place of work, the light is not reduced by a wedge.
Rule 9 – Know the labor law
Did you know that working on weekends pays double? Do you know that if they want to fire you, then you are required to pay several salaries (Unless, of course, you are fired under an article)?
Now you know. Study the law, do not allow unscrupulous employers to exploit your ignorance of the law. The company is required by law to pay overtime. You have the right to be paid in full for your work.
Of course, domestic organizations often circumvent the law. For example, this happens in companies with the “gray” part of the salary. In such organizations, an employee has fewer rights: he may be fired without warning, he may not be paid or his salary may be reduced without warning. This does not mean that I do not recommend working in such companies. But still, I consider the absence of a “gray” salary to be an essential criterion for choosing a job. If a company operates “in white”, this is a big plus.
I’m writing about this because many people don’t think about it and consider tax evasion the most natural thing! When I went for interviews, I asked the question: “is your salary white?”
They looked at me in surprise and answered: “white?? Of course not! So what?"
And the fact is that I, as an employee, am at great risk when I work in such an organization. More often than not, everything can work out and if the organization is normal, you will be paid. But you are not insured against anything. If a company has problems, if it faces the need to lay off employees, you can simply be easily let go (or simply have your salary cut in half) with virtually no compensation.
Remember, breaking the law and denying you your legal rights is not the norm!
Knowing the law will help you defend your rights and approach your work more easily. After all, you have rights, which means you have guarantees, which means there are fewer reasons for fear.
Rule 10 – Home separate from work
After work, throw all thoughts about it out of your head. Think about something else. Leave all your worries about an unfulfilled plan, an unsubmitted report at your workplace. Work is not the most important thing in life. For many of us, it's just a way to make money. All the endless work intrigues, conflicts, unfulfilled obligations are all nonsense, trifles.
Many of us do not decide people's destinies at work, but are just links in a huge organism that works in the interests of shareholders and owners of the corporation. Is your role in this system really that important to you?
All activities of a corporation are the employment of some people, dividends for other people, and access to certain benefits of third people. All corporations together form a market, which has the function of distributing goods and services in society.
This is undoubtedly useful and helps organize social relations. Such a system is not an absolute evil. But is it really worth deifying this car? Deify the role of a cog in it? Relax! Take this role easier! Didn't get the job done? It's OK. Put it out of your mind if the workday is already over. Think about it tomorrow, as the heroine of one famous novel said.
Stop obsessing over your work. There are many things in life that need your attention and participation. Work is not your whole life.
Some people are proud that they devote themselves so selflessly to their work, they are ready to give up everything in order to please their superiors and help the development of the company. They see in this nobility, loyalty and a certain kind of heroism. I don’t see anything in this other than an escape from my problems, dependence (workaholism), selfishness, weakness, servility to authority, narrow-mindedness, lack of interests and hobbies.
Your family needs you more than your boss. Your health is more important than any money. Life is not designed to be a hero at work for 12 hours every day until retirement. If you spend your whole life focusing only on work, then what will you achieve in the end? Money? Confessions?
Why is all this necessary if you have wasted years of your life? This will make you a hero in the eyes of your boss, but is that all you want?
The endless pursuit of money, recognition, fulfillment of a plan, authority and prestige is a pursuit of emptiness! There will be nothing there in the end, despite what you may now think is the highest goal!
Work is only a means. A means to realize your life goals. Work should be subordinated to these goals, and not vice versa. If you view work as a means, you will be much less upset by failure. Your head will become much less clogged with work matters. You will be able to think about something other than work. And understand what you really want, what is the true purpose of your life...
Conclusion – there is no need to demonstrate knowledge of these rules at work.
As I already wrote, I used to be very worried about work and worried a lot about the result. I was ready to stay late, ignoring my wife’s desire to be with me at least in the evening. I did this because I thought that “this is how it should be”, that this is the most important thing, that work is “everything”.
But then my attitude towards life in general and work in particular began to change (I wrote about this in the article). I realized that there are many things in life that are more important than work and work should be subordinated to my life, and not vice versa.
Some people are so designed that when they suddenly understand something important, come to some new conviction, they surrender to this conviction with all the passion of a new discovery! Only after some time do they manage to find a balance between their discoveries and the demands of the outside world.
Therefore, when I got tired of worrying about failures, when I realized that work was not the main thing, I began to treat it with demonstrative indifference. When my colleagues again began to accuse me of having made a mistake, and because of me some client would not receive his goods today, instead of clutching my head, blaming myself and apologizing (as I did before), I calmly said: “so what? What's wrong? and turned to the monitor.
From one extreme to another. This of course was not entirely correct on my part. But what happened, happened. My new reaction was also understandable.
You should not take my example in this case and sharply reconsider your line of behavior at work. Treat your work more simply, but do not show obvious indifference. If you make a mistake, calmly draw conclusions, try not to make mistakes in the future and openly admit your mistakes. Just don’t suffer about it, that’s all.
If you used to stay late at work all the time, allowed someone else’s work to fall on you, and suddenly you got tired of it, then you don’t need to immediately leave your workplace as soon as 18-00 hits, without having done your work (you can of course do this, if you don’t cherish this place). People don't expect this from you and expect the job to get done. Therefore, you should prepare everyone for the fact that you will no longer sit late into the night and do someone else's work. Warn people about this so they are prepared. Warn new employers right at the interview that you will not agree to free overtime.
I’m not trying to educate you to give a damn, I just want you to have a simpler attitude towards work, have other interests in life besides it, and not allow corporations to exploit your own labor!
I'm also not trying to develop bad employees. If you do not treat work with fanaticism, this does not mean that you will become a careless employee. On the contrary, you will perform many tasks better if you do not worry too much about possible failure.
The influence of human emotions on effective decision making can be seen in poker. This is a game that I really love for its versatility. Victory in it depends not only on luck, but also on the ability to play.
I think any poker professional will confirm the following thesis. If a player is very worried about the result, worried about the mistakes he has made, he will begin to play even worse, make the wrong decisions and make even more mistakes.
Calmness, control of emotions, a calm attitude towards losses are the key to success in poker. If a player is highly emotionally involved in the game, if his goal is to teach other players a lesson, to prove something to someone, to be the very first, and if he is mortally afraid of defeat, he will most likely suffer it.
Therefore, approach your work the same way a good player approaches the game: calmly and with a cool head. Don’t make work a field for realizing your ambitions and resolving your complexes. It is not your life or dignity that is at stake. Work is not the most important thing in life. Relax!
As a final piece of advice, I would advise you not to demonstrate knowledge of these rules during the interview. The employer expects you to work for the idea of the company's prosperity or for the idea of personal professional development, but not for money! Because it is difficult to exploit a worker for money!
If this is expected of you, then play by the employer’s rules and show with your appearance and answers that professional development and the opportunity to work in such a great company are more important to you than money.
I wrote about this in an article.
I hope you find these tips helpful. Some of them are more suitable for young people living in big cities, where there is a wide choice of work. But, I am sure that the advice to take a simpler approach to work will suit any employees, of any age and profession!
Here we will talk about... The following tips will help you worry less about failures at work, learn to assert your rights as an employee, not be afraid of your bosses, and find a balance between life and work.
I was prompted to write this article by the negative experiences of many of my friends who take their work too seriously and are too emotionally involved in the events that happen in their office. And therefore, intrigues and incidents at work make them worry a lot, thinking about work even in their free time.
How to approach work correctly
My past work experience also provided the basis for this article. I once allowed my employer to exploit me, stayed late at work and saw it as a priority over my personal life. Now I have stopped making this mistake. And I want to tell you about the rules that help me protect my personal life from work, stop worrying about mistakes, about the attitude of my superiors, and consider my work activities as serving my own, and not the interests of others.
This post is mainly about office work. But I think my advice can help workers of any level.
Rule 1 – Work for money, not for an idea
This is an obvious statement, don't you think? But, as often happens, people forget the most banal things. And this is facilitated, among other things, by your employer. It is more profitable for the employer for the employee to work mainly for the idea, and only then for the money. Why?
A person who understands that the meaning of his work is his salary is very difficult to exploit.
He will not stay a whole month after work, forgetting about his family or personal life, when he is not paid for it. He will not miss the opportunity to move to another place of work with more favorable working conditions, because he works for money. He will not do a lot of work outside his field of activity unless he receives financial compensation for it.
He will appeal to the law that regulates labor relations in controversial situations, instead of silently agreeing with the most absurd demands of employers.
Therefore, many corporations strive to find employees with a desire to work “for the idea” and this desire is encouraged in every possible way during the work process.
Despite the fact that modern corporations are products of capitalist societies, they also contain many features of socialist formations. A “cult of the leader” and regulations on corporate values are being created. The purpose of the company and the collective good are elevated to the rank of the highest interest of each employee's work. An ideological atmosphere is created, surrounded by which the employee works not for the benefit of his own prosperity, but for the benefit of the company, team, society!
They are trying to convince people that, despite the fact that they earn money by working in the company, they are here for the sake of something more than just mercantile interests. And in order to maintain such conviction in people, organizations resort to many different means: trainings, speeches by managers, propaganda, awards, awarding regalia and titles (“employee of the year”), exploitation of the brand, imposing patriotism throughout the corporation, etc. and so on.
The absurdity to which the use of these funds reaches depends on the specific company. In large Western corporations (Western - not in geographical terms, but in relation to the business building model: Japanese and Korean companies can also be attributed to this model, like many domestic organizations), corporate patriotism is cultivated more strongly than in all other companies.
Is this bad? Not always. On the one hand, there is nothing wrong with the company looking for dedicated employees, that it is trying to create incentives for them to work, in addition to monetary ones, thereby increasing their interest in the work process.
On the other hand, patriotism, loyalty, and corporate values can serve as justifications for the exploitation of personnel by unscrupulous employers. Many companies don't care about anything other than their profits. They don't care about your personal life or your personal interests; they want you to work as hard and as much as possible. And the more you work and the less you ask, the more profitable your work is for the managers and shareholders of the company, but the less profitable it is for yourself.
Working “for an idea” also gives rise to a lot of unnecessary stress and frustration. For a person who works for money, the worst possible scenario at work would be his dismissal. He may be afraid that he won't get paid, or won't get paid on time, or won't get a bonus. If he made a mistake at work, he will not lament this, because he will not necessarily be fired for this, will he?
A person working for an idea (or to satisfy his own ambitions) may be afraid that his efforts will not be paid attention to by his superiors, that his colleagues will not admire his professionalism. The employee is “for the idea” of treating his mistakes at work as a personal tragedy, as proof of his personal failure.
Workers for the idea come to work sick, stay in the office late, work on weekends, even if they are not paid. For the sake of work, they are ready to neglect their own health, their personal life and their family. Corporations look at this behavior as a virtue, although in my opinion it is only a form of morbid obsession, servility and addiction.
When you work for money, you have less emotional attachment to your work.
This leaves you with fewer strings tied to your job that the employer can pull for their own benefit rather than yours. And the less attached you are to it, the less frustration you feel and the more space you have to think about something other than work. As a result, you begin to relate to failures more easily, you forget about work when you come home, a reprimand from your superiors does not turn into a personal drama for you, and work intrigues pass you by.
So always remind yourself why you go to work. You are here to earn money, provide for your family. The worst thing that can happen here is that you get fired. For some, dismissal is a critical event, for others it is not, since work can always be found. But, in any case, dismissal does not mean that you will be anathematized, made a traitor to the Motherland. This means simply leaving your current job and looking for a new place and new opportunities.
Work is only a means to achieve goals! This is not a goal to which you should sacrifice your family, your health and your happiness.
Working for money means not only refusing to work primarily “for an idea.” This means not working to satisfy your passions and ambitions. If you work to command, to put pressure on people, to seem important to yourself, then you will perceive any failure at work as a challenge to your self-esteem and, as a result, you will take failures to heart.
Please do not think that I want to force you to give up your love for what you love, replacing it with cold pragmatism. Love your job, but don’t turn this love into a painful addiction! In everything you need to observe moderation.
Rule 2 – Remember, you don’t owe anyone anything other than what is stated in your employment contract
Many firms try to exploit the feeling of personal involvement of employees in the activities of the organization. Sometimes this is expressed in the presentation of demands on the employee that go beyond the scope of labor legislation. For example, this applies to systematic free overtime, requests to work on weekends without compensation, orders to perform work that is not the employee’s obligations.
Management can motivate this by “production necessity,” seasonal sales peaks, difficult periods for the company, or standards established in a given organization (“this is how we do things”). But why should this become your personal problem?
Imagine yourself as an employer of labor. Let's say you hired workers to renovate your apartment. Will you ask them to work for free just because you have such a good family that can’t wait to live in a newly renovated apartment? Or because you're having a hard time and aren't getting paid enough?
No, you won’t, because you understand that these are your problems, and not the problems of workers who also have their own interests and also need to feed their families. Of course, if you work with these workers on an ongoing basis, then there may be some concessions from the parties to each other. But everything must have a limit!
Why do you give the right to use you in your own interests? Why should you work for free just because someone is having a hard time or can't handle seasonal sales?
It's not your problem! If a company continually fails to keep up with workload, it must hire more new employees. If some employees are overloaded, management can more effectively distribute responsibilities among employees. All these are company matters that should be solved by the company by attracting new resources, and not by exploiting existing ones!
Managers love to play on their sense of responsibility. They may tell you: “if you leave now, customers won’t receive their orders!” Stay and work for free! The company needs you!”
If the company's clients regularly receive orders only through free after-hours work, it means that the company has constant problems that it did not take care of in a timely manner. And it is trying to “patch up the holes” by attracting free labor and capitalizing on the workers’ sense of personal responsibility!
If the client doesn’t receive the order because you won’t be at work until 11 pm, then management should have thought about it earlier. Even if customers don't get something, is it really that scary? Imagine that next door to your work there is a company that sells irons, and your friend works there. You receive a call from him, and he screams into the phone in a panic: hurry up! Help! We don't have time to ship the irons! Our clients will go to work tomorrow in wrinkled shirts! Do you want people to work tomorrow in wrinkled clothes? Run here and load the irons into the cars!”
You won't run there because you don't care about the irons. It is clear that you do not work there and you were not initially responsible for these irons. But you are also not responsible for anything beyond your job responsibilities. You shouldn't be delayed just because someone is constantly behind schedule to ship the goods. From the moment your working day ends, your unfinished tasks become foreign to you! It doesn't matter what happens to him, it's not your concern!
Devote more time to your family, your children. They need you more than some shareholders and bosses!
Here I want to stop right away and make an important point. I don’t want you to think that I’m preaching some kind of corporate individualism and encouraging you to quit your job the second your work day ends by showing your boss your employment contract.
There is nothing wrong with helping colleagues, even if this is not stated in your contract. If your boss asked you to stay late for the first time in six months, there is nothing wrong with that either. Especially if you work as a doctor and we are talking about people, not irons.
Unpredictable situations occur in every organization and this is normal. If you want to help on your own, help. But everything is good in moderation. Don't turn help and human relationships into exploitation of you. If free overtime work is regular, if it is normalized in the organization, then this is not normal!
Rule 3 - Don't be afraid to ruin your relationship
There is no need to be afraid that if you do not allow your employer to violate labor laws, you will ruin your relationship with him. “I would go home at 6 pm, but suddenly my boss will treat me badly then, so I’ll stay until 9.”
No one respects people who are timid and do not know how to defend their own rights. If you submit to any, even the most unlawful, demands of your superiors and are afraid to say a word against it, then you will not inspire respect in anyone. Imagine for yourself how you would treat a person who always agrees with everything? Would you respect him? He can be treated as a humble servant, but he cannot be respected!
I dare to assure you that they will begin to respect you only when you show firmness, and not softness and humility.
You will not ruin the relationship if you demand what you are entitled to by law. But even if people react badly to this, it will remain their personal problem. You got a job, not hired into slavery. If an organization considers legal slavery normal and treats poorly those who do not consider it normal, you have no business working in such an organization.
Rule 4 - Don't be afraid of your boss!
Your bosses are people just like you, even if they try to put on an important air of office celestials, protecting themselves from mere mortals with a wall of subordination. There is no need to be afraid to talk to your management if you are not happy with something.
I worked in one organization almost immediately after graduating from college. Then I was a very indecisive and timid student yesterday. Salaries in the organization were unofficial. This was done in order to evade taxes by the company. Therefore, the real salary was not reflected in the employment contract. When I started working, they began to pay me less than they promised at the interview. It was not very big, but a noticeable difference. It was approximately 10% of the promised salary.
My relatives told me: come and figure out why this happened. But I was afraid to approach my boss and ask a completely fair question: “Why am I being paid less than they promised? Let's somehow correct the situation."
What was I afraid of? Can not say. Probably the authority of the boss, which was mixed with my self-doubt, awareness of my own inexperience and a feeling of superiority of a huge organization over my pathetic personality with its insignificant demands.
Then, after two years of working in this company, I finally approached my superiors with this question. I was still afraid, but then I had already learned to ignore my fear. I knew I was doing everything right. But it was too late, my demands were not satisfied. I soon found a new job and left the company a few weeks after this conversation.
There is no need to be afraid of anything. If you think you deserve a promotion, go to your boss and ask him for it, no matter how important and strict he may be! What will he do to you? Think well! Will he fire you? No! Will he treat you worse? Hardly!
This fear of the boss’s authority, inflated by means of corporate culture, is similar to the irrational fear of a child of a kindergarten teacher! You are not a child! There is nothing to be afraid of!
Talk to your boss. Offer your ideas to the manager, discuss working conditions, resolve controversial issues, demand a salary increase. Remember, your boss is a person just like you and he can’t do anything bad to you. If you are still afraid, forget about this fear. This is the fear of a small child that sits inside of you. Step over this feeling and take action!
Rule 5 – don’t be upset by failures at work
Made a mistake? Because of you, the company defaulted on its obligations to clients? It's OK! Sometimes everyone makes mistakes.
Are you afraid that your boss will tell you off? So what if he tells me off? He won’t strangle you in his office. Words have never killed anyone. I repeat, you are not in kindergarten to be afraid of scolding. The worst thing they can do to you is fire you (most often, make you redundant and pay a severance package in accordance with the law).
By making a mistake at work, you are not committing some serious moral crime (Unless, of course, you are a doctor, the truth is, even doctors make mistakes), although your bosses are trying to convince you otherwise, trying to shame you and appeal to your conscience. “Oh, the client didn’t receive the goods, oh, what a disaster, it’s all because of you!”
It's OK. It’s just that some people who own the company’s assets will receive a little less profit and that’s all. The lost money will not be deducted from the salaries of your colleagues or boss (usually). That's why you don't set any of them up when you make a mistake.
If you made a mistake at work, this does not mean that you are a worthless person. Many people are wrong. The ability to be an impeccable performer is not the main human virtue. In other words, if you experience constant failure at work, it doesn't necessarily mean you're a bad person.
Maybe the job is not right for you, maybe your boss is making too high demands on you. Anything can happen.
I don't want to tell you to be irresponsible and not care about the fact that you are wrong. Still try to be more attentive, draw conclusions from mistakes in order to make fewer of them in the future. A person is capable of developing any of his qualities. And his mistakes do not mean that he is bad. They communicate that we need to move on.
Don't feel bad about your mistakes, feel like you're a failure, or feel bad about being shamed or reprimanded by a boss or colleague.
When I worked in the organization that I wrote about above, I very often made mistakes in calculations, which led to problems with shipping goods to clients. Partly, it was my fault. I was inattentive, I had problems concentrating, I was very worried about my work and because of this I was nervous and made a lot of mistakes (now, of course, I have become much more attentive and calmer, but, nevertheless, I make mistakes in articles, although significantly less than I allowed them when I first started creating this blog).
I used to often stay late at the office. Sometimes I stayed at work until 12 o'clock at night (of course, without monetary compensation) and at this time the most intense period of work was observed. Fatigue and my inattention were taking their toll. I made serious mistakes. It happened that these errors were discovered immediately by one of my senior colleagues.
My colleagues had been working there for a long time and were very harsh on the fact that I was so often mistaken. They worried about these mistakes as if they were their own. Due to the fact that I was upset because of failures, and also because I listened to people’s criticism of me, I began to make even more mistakes, as I completely lost concentration and my anxiety only increased!
The fear of making a new mistake provokes new mistakes! So when I tell you not to get upset over mistakes, I'm not trying to encourage you to be irresponsible. I wish to teach you to be calmer, receive fewer negative emotions and, as a result, make fewer mistakes!
Rule 6 – don’t fight for regalia
Getting a salary increase is good. Receive a bonus too. But not at the cost of your health and personal life. Don't prioritize work over your family life and your development.
Receive the title of “employee of the month/year” - why is this necessary?
Just as your failures at work do not necessarily mean that you are a bad person, your achievements in front of your superiors do not necessarily mean that you are a good person. Diligence and diligence are not the only good qualities of a person.
Stop fighting for the attention of your superiors, for some titles, if it takes a lot of energy. Do you feel like you will look like a hero to someone? In fact, you will simply become the perfect, exemplary slave of the corporation! You will only demonstrate that you are ready to go out of your way, forgetting about yourself and your family for the sake of some badges and praise!
It will not look more noble than a dog currying favor with its owner so that he can pat it on the head.
Rule 7 – know the labor market
Employees working in various organizations often have a false belief in the uniqueness of the conditions in which they work. It seems to them that the same way they work now, they can’t work anywhere else. “Nowhere else will there be such prospects and opportunities, nowhere else will they pay as much as they pay here,” they think.
Therefore, they sit in the office until late, endure bad attitudes from their superiors, come to work with a fever, thinking that they will not find the same working conditions anywhere else.
But the only way to find out about working conditions in other places is to consider other work options: go for interviews, consult with friends, get information about the labor market in other ways.
Many people who think that nowhere will be better do not even try their luck in the labor market. Even if they try, they quickly give up.
Before I found a job that suited my needs, I spent a year interviewing and must have visited 50 different places. Most often, I was denied employment because I had no experience communicating with HR during interviews. But then I realized how to behave during an interview.
And I found a better job than the one I worked at before. The new place didn't live up to my expectations, and a month later I found an even better place. That's where I still work.
Interviews gave me more than just a job opportunity. They gave me the opportunity to understand what was happening in the labor market, what was expected from specialists of my level and how much they were willing to pay maximum (the interviews also helped me become more self-confident).
Maximum? Exactly. Who said that you should ask your employer for a salary that corresponds to the average salary in the market? Why not get paid above average?
Firstly, it is difficult to talk about the average salary if you do not know what is happening in the labor market. (The only way for an ordinary employee to find out about this is to go to interviews, as I wrote)
Secondly, the average salary is like the average temperature in a hospital. Why should you even focus on this number?
Go to interviews, don’t be afraid to ask for a higher salary than what you are currently paid and look at the reaction of the potential employer. Different companies pay differently. Somewhere they will laugh at your requests, but somewhere they will make you an offer and pay you as much as you ask. Be prepared for anything, visit many different companies, see how things are there.
Otherwise, you will continue to think that you cannot earn more than 50 thousand in your position while working in Moscow. Usually people don’t talk about their salary to anyone because “that’s the way it is.” But this unspoken rule sometimes works against us. We don’t know how much our colleagues earn, how much our friends earn, since no one tells anyone such information.
As a result, it becomes more difficult for us to adequately assess the size of our salary and therefore we put up with what is offered to us. What if you found out that your office colleague, who works the same hours as you work, earns 80 thousand? Would your 50 thousand still seem like worthy compensation then?
(I’ve actually come across situations more than once when different employees of the same class were paid differently in the same company! Not because they had different experience, but because one asked for more, the other less during the interview! You’re unlikely will offer more than you ask, even if they are ready for it.)
Personally, I try to tell my friends how much I am paid if they ask me, and I try to get similar information from them in order to understand what the current situation is in the market and what my position is in this market. Do I need to change anything? Is there another possibility?
Of course, I don’t talk about my salary to just anyone, but this issue can be discussed with friends or close colleagues.
Rule 8 - Don't be afraid of losing your job
Your organization is most likely not unique. If you live in a large city, especially Moscow, then there are many places where you can work even under the best conditions.
Search, learn, explore, develop. And there is no need to be afraid that if you are fired from this company, your life will end. You may find something else. Don't be afraid to lose this place.
There's nothing wrong with that. Moreover, dismissal is not only grief, it is an opportunity. A chance to find something better!
Therefore, do not allow your superiors to blackmail you and intimidate you with dismissal. Moreover, problems in connection with your dismissal will not only be with you, but with the organization in which you work, since the company will have to look for a new employee and train him. So it is unknown who will have more problems.
At my first job, I did a poor job due to the same inattention and anxiety. They started to scare me with dismissal, so they probably wanted to motivate me.
I didn't like working for this organization anyway. So I said, “okay, I’ll quit myself.” I was not a genius, I was an ordinary, sluggish, green university graduate. But the company tried to keep even such a person! As soon as I said that I would quit myself, they began to dissuade me from this decision.
It was not profitable for the company to look for another person, despite the fact that I had only worked for a few months and still didn’t know much. Perhaps they thought that I couldn’t cope due to my inexperience and that I needed time to gather my strength and do the job well. They were not mistaken in this, time passed and I eliminated my shortcomings. Now I'm doing a good job with both my main job and my second job (this site).
But I still left this company and got a job for more money and under better conditions.
Conclusion: being fired is not only a loss for you, but also for the company. No one will fire you without the most compelling reasons for this.
If you want to resign of your own free will, but are afraid that you will let someone down, betray someone, then cast aside these stupid doubts! There is no need to perceive the company as a ship in which each employee moves towards a common goal together with other employees. Don't think that if you leave this ship, you are betraying the general idea.
How to approach work correctly
In fact, the purpose of a company is solely the purpose of the owners of that company and shareholders. To achieve their goal on their "ship", they hire oarsmen who are paid for their work. If you want to transfer to another ship that pays you more, why not do it? Would you betray your fellow rowers? No, because they will still be paid no matter where the ship ends up (unless it gets caught in a storm). It may become harder for them to row after you leave, but the captain will find a replacement for you. Moreover, each of your colleagues, just like you, has the choice to leave the ship.
Your goal and the goal of your colleagues on this ship is to row and earn money for yourself and for your family.
The captain's goal is some distant island. But, having reached this island, will the captain share its treasures with you? No, he only pays you for rowing!
Therefore, there is no need to identify your goal with the goal of the corporation. You should not identify your colleagues to whom you have become attached with the heads of the organization. There is a captain, and the rowers are hired workers.
This understanding will help you become less attached to your office and, as a result, worry less about work. After all, there are always other possibilities! And at your current place of work, the light is not reduced by a wedge.
Rule 9 – Know the labor law
Did you know that working on weekends pays double? Do you know that if they want to fire you, then you are required to pay several salaries (Unless, of course, you are fired under an article)?
Now you know. Study the law, do not allow unscrupulous employers to exploit your ignorance of the law. The company is required by law to pay overtime. You have the right to be paid in full for your work.
Of course, domestic organizations often circumvent the law. For example, this happens in companies with the “gray” part of the salary. In such organizations, an employee has fewer rights: he may be fired without warning, he may not be paid or his salary may be reduced without warning. This does not mean that I do not recommend working in such companies. But still, I consider the absence of a “gray” salary to be an essential criterion for choosing a job. If a company operates “in white”, this is a big plus.
I’m writing about this because many people don’t think about it and consider tax evasion the most natural thing! When I went for interviews, I asked the question: “is your salary white?”
They looked at me in surprise and answered: “white?? Of course not! So what?"
And the fact is that I, as an employee, am at great risk when I work in such an organization. More often than not, everything can work out and if the organization is normal, you will be paid. But you are not insured against anything. If a company has problems, if it faces the need to lay off employees, you can simply be easily let go (or simply have your salary cut in half) with virtually no compensation.
Remember, breaking the law and denying you your legal rights is not the norm!
Knowing the law will help you defend your rights and approach your work more easily. After all, you have rights, which means you have guarantees, which means there are fewer reasons for fear.
Rule 10 – Home separate from work
After work, throw all thoughts about it out of your head. Think about something else. Leave all your worries about an unfulfilled plan, an unsubmitted report at your workplace. Work is not the most important thing in life. For many of us, it's just a way to make money. All the endless work intrigues, conflicts, unfulfilled obligations are all nonsense, trifles.
Many of us do not decide people's destinies at work, but are just links in a huge organism that works in the interests of shareholders and owners of the corporation. Is your role in this system really that important to you?
All activities of a corporation are the employment of some people, dividends for other people, and access to certain benefits of third people. All corporations together form a market, which has the function of distributing goods and services in society.
This is undoubtedly useful and helps organize social relations. Such a system is not an absolute evil. But is it really worth deifying this car? Deify the role of a cog in it? Relax! Take this role easier! Didn't get the job done? It's OK. Put it out of your mind if the workday is already over. Think about it tomorrow, as the heroine of one famous novel said.
Stop obsessing over your work. There are many things in life that need your attention and participation. Work is not your whole life.
Some people are proud that they devote themselves so selflessly to their work, they are ready to give up everything in order to please their superiors and help the development of the company. They see in this nobility, loyalty and a certain kind of heroism. I don’t see anything in this other than an escape from my problems, dependence (workaholism), selfishness, weakness, servility to authority, narrow-mindedness, lack of interests and hobbies.
Your family needs you more than your boss. Your health is more important than any money. Life is not designed to be a hero at work for 12 hours every day until retirement. If you spend your whole life focusing only on work, then what will you achieve in the end? Money? Confessions?
Why is all this necessary if you have wasted years of your life? This will make you a hero in the eyes of your boss, but is that all you want?
The endless pursuit of money, recognition, fulfillment of a plan, authority and prestige is a pursuit of emptiness! There will be nothing there in the end, despite what you may now think is the highest goal!
Work is only a means. A means to realize your life goals. Work should be subordinated to these goals, and not vice versa. If you view work as a means, you will be much less upset by failure. Your head will become much less clogged with work matters. You will be able to think about something other than work. And understand what you really want, what is the true purpose of your life...
Conclusion – there is no need to demonstrate knowledge of these rules at work.
As I already wrote, I used to be very worried about work and worried a lot about the result. I was ready to stay late, ignoring my wife’s desire to be with me at least in the evening. I did this because I thought that “this is how it should be”, that this is the most important thing, that work is “everything”.
But then my attitude towards life in general and work in particular began to change (I wrote about this in the article what I got from meditation). I realized that there are many things in life that are more important than work and work should be subordinated to my life, and not vice versa.
Some people are so designed that when they suddenly understand something important, come to some new conviction, they surrender to this conviction with all the passion of a new discovery! Only after some time do they manage to find a balance between their discoveries and the demands of the outside world.
Therefore, when I got tired of worrying about failures, when I realized that work was not the main thing, I began to treat it with demonstrative indifference. When my colleagues again began to accuse me of having made a mistake, and because of me some client would not receive his goods today, instead of clutching my head, blaming myself and apologizing (as I did before), I calmly said: “so what? What's wrong? and turned to the monitor.
From one extreme to another. This of course was not entirely correct on my part. But what happened, happened. My new reaction was also understandable.
You should not take my example in this case and sharply reconsider your line of behavior at work. Treat your work more simply, but do not show obvious indifference. If you make a mistake, calmly draw conclusions, try not to make mistakes in the future and openly admit your mistakes. Just don’t suffer about it, that’s all.
If you used to stay late at work all the time, allowed someone else’s work to fall on you, and suddenly you got tired of it, then you don’t need to immediately leave your workplace as soon as 18-00 hits, without having done your work (you can of course do this, if you don’t cherish this place). People don't expect this from you and expect the job to get done. Therefore, you should prepare everyone for the fact that you will no longer sit late into the night and do someone else's work. Warn people about this so they are prepared. Warn new employers right at the interview that you will not agree to free overtime.
I’m not trying to educate you to give a damn, I just want you to have a simpler attitude towards work, have other interests in life besides it, and not allow corporations to exploit your own labor!
I'm also not trying to develop bad employees. If you do not treat work with fanaticism, this does not mean that you will become a careless employee. On the contrary, you will perform many tasks better if you do not worry too much about possible failure.
The influence of human emotions on effective decision making can be seen in poker. This is a game that I really love for its versatility. Victory in it depends not only on luck, but also on the ability to play.
I think any poker professional will confirm the following thesis. If a player is very worried about the result, worried about the mistakes he has made, he will begin to play even worse, make the wrong decisions and make even more mistakes.
Calmness, control of emotions, a calm attitude towards losses are the key to success in poker. If a player is highly emotionally involved in the game, if his goal is to teach other players a lesson, to prove something to someone, to be the very first, and if he is mortally afraid of defeat, he will most likely suffer it.
Therefore, approach your work the same way a good player approaches the game: calmly and with a cool head. Don’t make work a field for realizing your ambitions and resolving your complexes. It is not your life or dignity that is at stake. Work is not the most important thing in life. Relax!
As a final piece of advice, I would advise you not to demonstrate knowledge of these rules during the interview. The employer expects you to work for the idea of the company's prosperity or for the idea of personal professional development, but not for money! Because it is difficult to exploit a worker for money!
If this is expected of you, then play by the employer’s rules and show with your appearance and answers that professional development and the opportunity to work in such a great company are more important to you than money.
I wrote about this in the article on how to answer interview questions correctly.
I hope you find these tips helpful. Some of them are more suitable for young people living in big cities, where there is a wide choice of work. But, I am sure that the advice to take a simpler approach to work will suit any employees, of any age and profession!