The Office

The facts are that most office workers work “9-5 to make a living”. This means we spend approximately over one 1680 hours per year with our colleagues. Yes – that is over 100,000 minutes just in one year.

We are with our colleagues more than our family and friends and although we love our colleagues, there can be many things that really annoy us about them.

You have heard David Brent from the office – which one of these are you guilty of in your office?

I have been working for over 36 years in an office environment and have learnt a lot along the way! At Nayyars, we have a policy of trying to give people their first legal break… however what that means is it is the first time they have worked in an office. They have never been exposed to “office culture” or what is right and wrong in an office environment.

Let’s start with the staff kitchen, breakfast and dinnertime. Here are some Do’s and Don’ts:

• Wash up after yourself! Whether that is your mug or a teaspoon take responsibility for your own dishes.
• Do not eat food that smells! (particularly eggs)
• Smelly fish is not a food to be heated in a microwave
• If you are part of a tea round then don’t forget when it is your turn
• Do not make farmyard noises when you eat
• Clear your own food out of the fridge and try not to leave notes that say “Do not eat this belongs to….”

During the day, phones ring constantly. Here are some Do’s and Don’ts about answering them:

• Do not use the speaker phone in an open plan office. No-one wants to hear the noise you do not want to hear yourself!
• Do not ignore a ringing phone. Answer it!
• Do not phone another member of staff who sits 2 yards away!

General behaviour. Do’s and Don’ts which everyone needs to remember:

• Do not moan about your commute to work every day (no-one cares!)
• Do not email everybody when it only concerns a few
• Read your emails out loud
• Bad bathroom habits
• Do not talk loudly
• Do not wear strong smelling perfume/ deodorant
• Do arrive on time to meetings. No-one likes to be kept waiting
• Do not fiddle with the lights/ air conditioning/ heating
• Put rubbish in the bin and not the floor
• Do not presume just because you sit next to the photocopier you are the photocopier engineer
• Do not let the printer run out of paper and walk off when there is an error message leaving it to someone else to sort out
• Do have good personal hygiene

And then finally a point on dress down Friday. They were never designed to be a pyjama party, it was not introduced for you to look like you are part of a girl or boy band or just simply “roll out of bed” because its Friday not even bothering to brush your hair………

Having said the above, we are all different and we are all only human. As you have read this blog you may have ticked a few boxes (without even realising it). Some of them made me chuckle when writing them and some of them made me cringe.

At Nayyars, we are a friendly bunch and there is always good office banter (as well as my laugh which they tell me you can hear for miles). It is important that we respect and appreciate each other as we spend more time at work than we do at home. Thankfully we have the balance right but a gentle reminder always goes a long way!

Carolyn Alcroft

Financial Controller