How To Thrive In Your First Office Job

When you’re making a transition from service work like retail or hospo into office work, it can feel like a totally different world. There’s different lingo, different expectations and different hierarchies that you’ve got to wrap your head around. I’ve been working in office-style jobs for a few years now, and have definitely made some mistakes along the way. Here’s my take on what you should keep in mind when you’re working in an office environment:

Let people know what you want

In school, you’ve got people who are assigned to check in and ask you what your ambitions are for your career - but once you’re in your first job, it’s really up to you to forge your own path. If you’ve got a great manager who wants to help you develop, you’re going to have to tell them what you want to do in the next few years - even if that’s just exploring your options. Big companies often have loads of departments, and budgets for training, but if you don’t ask for it, you won’t get it.

Going over someone's head is a last resort

Going over someone’s head in a work environment means trying to resolve an issue by talking to someone’s boss instead of the person creating the problem for you. It’s basically saying to that person that you don’t think they’re doing a good job at resolving an issue, and you’re going to point that out to someone else who could play a big part in their career - so it’s going to annoy some people.

Always do your best to sort out the issue with the person at hand. Even better, get your issues with them in writing so you can refer back to it later (see Rule #3). If you’ve asked them a few times and it’s still not being taken seriously, then you can start getting managers involved - but but keep in mind that you might not get the result you’re hoping for.

This of course doesn’t apply if they’re doing something illegal or against the company policy (like harassment of any kind). You don’t have to go that alone, so you should contact a trusted manager, someone in HR, or even organisations like the Fair Work Commission

Get stuff in writing when you need to

There’s a time for a quick convo or in-person meeting, but a great thing to do is follow up with an email or two just to get the record straight. If you have a meeting with someone important like a manager, a client or someone from HR, you can just write something like:

Hey (name),
Thanks for our chat earlier. Just to recap some of the action points:

Point 1
Point 2
Point 3

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
 

Cheers,
You

The great thing about emails in particular is that you have a copy, and the other person has a copy of it too, so it can remove ambiguity. It’s great for complaints, 1:1 meetings, or even saving great client feedback and results to use next time you ask for a raise.

Don’t gossip on your work chat

I’ve heard plenty of horror stories about people sending messages to the wrong person, someone forwarding screenshots or even a friend who just happened to walk by a co-worker’s desk as they got a message about how annoying the friend was. Not to mention that your bosses can access your private messages on platforms like Slack.

If you’re going to complain about someone, a lot of the same rules from the outside world apply in the office too. Be very trusting with who you complain to, keep it IRL, and don’t say anything about them you wouldn’t say to their face. Also look out for people who try to rope you into saying something you might regret - if they’re telling you someone else’s secrets, they’ll probably do the same thing with yours too.

You’re not going to be monitored 24/7 (at most places)

My first experience of a job was working in hospo, where they had the classic saying ‘if you have time to lean, you have time to clean’. While I don’t completely agree with that saying, it makes some sense in a shift-type environment where you’re there for your time and service more than a certain amount of product being made every day.

In the office world, you’ll  be set tasks, but more or less as long as you get the work done that you’re supposed to, you can take as long or as little as you need. This can be a little confronting for people when they’re doing their first office job, but don’t worry. You can use this extra time any way you want - maybe if you’re starting out it could be a good idea to take on some extra work, do some shadowing with another staff member or learn more about the company. Doing extra work (in a smart way) can be a great way to prepare yourself for a change in department or a promotion.

By the way, these tips aren’t just useful for how you can conduct yourself - they’re also a great way to get a feel for the office culture. If you notice that loads of the staff engage in some of the no-nos on this list, it might be your sign to look for a less toxic workplace ASAP.