The working world can be an intimidating environment. Problems may arise with your boss, colleagues, the economy, your company’s strategy or business practices. You may have limited control over the source of the problem and little leverage to resolve it. This post aims to provide you with some guidance on how to approach difficulties in the workplace.
Workplace challenges may emerge early. Your seniors may require you to know more than a fresh graduate could, to deliver on impossible deadlines, or require you to learn things that have no relevance to your career. Use your judgement to assess whether the demands are reasonable. Rank your tasks by priority and communicate professionally with your managers to clarify what you can achieve. Remember that you signed up to make a sacrifice for your professional career, which means showing serious commitment to demanding tasks. However, you have to acknowledge your limits and work within them. If your managers are not willing to meet you half way and to strike a balance between your workload and your capabilities, it may be time to start looking for a more reasonable job.
Building relationships with people is a fundamental aspect of business that can smooth difficulties and aid your success. The larger the consulting firm, the more employees it will have. Although this has the potential to make the work environment impersonal, it also means that you have the opportunity to build positive relationships within a larger network. This has several benefits such as helping you find your feet, discover opportunities, collaborate more easily within and between teams, and getting advice when you are facing an insurmountable challenge. By building relationships you also help to build your reputation, which can increase opportunities for promotion, getting staffed on projects, and avoiding miscommunication and conflict.
Make an effort to stay in touch with current and former colleagues. This does not necessarily mean daily conversation, an occasional coffee chat could suffice. A good rule of thumb is to maintain these bonds at a pace that works for them. If you discover an opportunity that may interest people in your network, share it with them. This promotes good faith, could positively impact someone’s career, and they may do the same for you.
Nobody expects you to be perfect, but this is not a license to act recklessly. Make a serious effort to work diligently and reliably, and be open and transparent about your mistakes. While slipups are forgivable, deceptive behaviour can irreparably destroy the trust your colleagues have in you. Try to foster an environment where mistakes can be communicated and corrected. Hidden mistakes can multiply, and the longer a mistake is unknown the longer it may take to rectify. Forgive others, forgive yourself, learn your lessons, and move forward.
Always be a professional. This means being polite and accepting your responsibilities. This means being genuinely enthusiastic about your work and not showing a fake smile for every task. This means being approachable and consistently engaging with people in a respectful way. Admit to yourself your feelings about the work. This self-awareness will help to guide you towards projects and opportunities that match your interests and abilities. However, do not overshare your flights of fancy or misgivings with your colleagues. People have boundaries. In the workplace, you are a professional first and foremost.
Understand what gets rewarded and focus your efforts in these areas, while at the same time protecting your personal life and staying within ethical boundaries. Observe whether working above and beyond your duties is appreciated by your seniors and colleagues. It is important that you do not burn yourself out by consistently taking on work that should reasonably be done by others and assuming the role of the workplace whipping boy.
By reflecting and being aware of your work environment, you can anticipate or avoid likely problems. No workplace is perfect, and you will not be perfectly suited to every role. If you decide that the problems you face are insoluble or that better opportunities exist elsewhere, there is no shame in switching firms or shifting industries. With a combination of situational awareness and dedication to your commitments it is possible to carve out a successful career.
Rhulani (Ruce) Ndlala is an accounting student at the University of Cape Town, and former President of the UCT Consulting Club.
Image: Pexels
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