Your career does more than simply provide you with an income and experience in a field you may or may not care about. You can learn valuable life lessons in your workplace. You’ll make memories (good and bad) that will shape who you are.
Here are 6 things that you pick up on when you start working full time:
- Safety Rules are There for a Reason
If there is a warning sign saying not to touch something, best to abide by it. For office workers, it is often recommended to give your eyes regular breaks from staring at a monitor and to get up and move around to increase your circulation.
If your work requires a lot of heavy lifting and machinery, your safety precautions will obviously be much different than someone with a desk job. You need to be aware of everything going on around you in order to protect yourself from potential injuries. Wearing the proper gear is crucial, such as protective eye equipment and safety shoes. There are many kinds. Check out some of the different options available online, because you don’t have much choice but to shop online during a virus induced lockdown. Informing yourself properly before making a footwear purchase, goes a long way in preventing discomfort and injury.
- You Have to Deal with Failure
You’re going to make mistakes – that’s a fact of life. Even as you strive towards your goals professionally, there are inevitable setbacks and challenges that create bumps in the road. You cannot be successful in every little thing you do. What you can do is to not dwell on these failures – use them as opportunities to learn.
- You Need to Ask Questions
Once you’re comfortable in a workplace environment, it’s easy to get caught up in a routine and operate like a machine with no questions asked. You get used to how things are and stop thinking about alternative ways to go about them.
Try going into your next meeting with the mindset of a newbie. Ask the basic questions and ask the hard questions. Ask all of the questions you can think of – you may not see a productivity issue until you reexamine the basics. Verbal communication is essential.
- Receptionists Love to Gossip
There is always the exception, but 99% of the time you can count on your receptionist to be the office gossip. It’s hard to blame them, they are in a position where they have the opportunity to get to know each and every person in the office while you may only know the name of the gentleman who sits next to you, because sometimes you bump into their desk and have to uncomfortably apologize.
Receptionists have dynamic duties that allow them to interact with the world and even meet new people, so it can be fun to chat with him or her and form a friendship. Just be careful how much you share – you never know who has a stronger bond with them than you, and you don’t want to speak poorly about anyone just to have that come back and bite you in the bum later.
- Work Friends are a Necessity
Having friends at work is very common and even encouraged in some fields. You don’t have to be best friends with your desk buddy, but you should strive to find ways to make your time spent at work as personally enjoyable as possible.
Workers in London often receive as many as 9,000 employment related emails a year. It doesn’t hurt to have a few of those be inside jokes from an office buddy. With as much time as you spend at work (and how much work time bleeds into your personal time), having someone whose company you enjoy around you at work is a significant improvement to your quality of life.
Keep an open mind and talk to all of your different coworkers. Strike up a conversation with John from accounting next time you cross paths in the hallway or at the water cooler – you may find that you share a common sense of humor. Take advantage of work-related events to socialize and get the ball rolling with coworkers.
- Staying Active is Harder than Ever
It is common knowledge that the more you work, the more you sit. When you get wrapped up working 40-60 hours a week, you may find that you are sitting in the same spot for more hours at a time than ever before.
Sitting too much will have a poor impact on both your mental and physical health. To combat this, make a conscious effort to stay active at work. Stand up every 30 minutes or so, go for a walk on your lunch break, or look into joining a nearby gym. Even something as simple as taking the stairs instead of the elevator can be a small but positive change for your day to day life.
The Takeaway
If you’re about to begin a full-time job, good for you! You have a whole new world at your feet, which will hopefully be as much fun as it is challenging.
Bear these points in mind, from those who have learned them from their first workplace experiences!