Seniors Site

Basic Office Etiquette for Seniors

Since the last time’s post garnered favorable response from seniors-site.com’s visitors, we would assume that most viewers of this site come from the senior workforce. Actually, this data should be expected since most seniors today still belong to the office-going group and 9-5 jobs. Although at this point in one’s life when freelancing must be the most suitable considering health and comfort, you’ll notice that there are seniors—and that is, a significant number of them—who prefer to stay within the confines of offices where they have spent almost all their lives. Adaptability, however, has nothing to do with it, but loyalty appears to be a great factor affecting their choice.

For the young and restless, this must be a little hard to understand since their life’s choices heavily depend on primal instinct, wherein when faced with office conflicts, instead of dealing with it in a mature, business-like way, they tend to “fight or flight”. Due to this attitude, it is 100% possible for offices to undergo changes from time to time, such as recovering from an office conflict, calm before the storm and of course, the main event. During these office episodes, it is best if you always know where to stand or how to react THE RIGHT WAY just so you prevent getting into unnecessary trouble. Here are some basic office etiquette for working seniors:

·    Even if you are already starting to look like a carved ornament in your office due to your extensive working years with the company, it is still not nice to act differently when someone new comes around. While your position in the office structure has long been established, just consider how the newbie might be feeling right now. Instead, as the “senior”, you must act as the welcoming committee of your team and make the new recruit as comfortable as can be.
·    Learn to modulate your voice when talking. No need to shout when you need something or when conducting business. Never when calling out your office mate’s name, not when talking over the phone, not even in emails (It’s possible to shout there. To prevent this, stay away from the Caps Lock button). When you feel that everyone around you is starting to talk in hushed tones, then it’s time to have your own ears checked.
·    A healthy, working environment is when everybody is helpful and workers are willing to share their expertise. Since by now, you must be “the expert”, the best thing you can do is help others make the work easier for them rather than just watch them wade helplessly through tasks.
·    Humans make mistakes. It is part of the growing process and you should allow it. Sometimes, hardcore office bodies—such as you—tend to be hypercritical when it comes to the work done by beginners. So what if they made a mess with the task assigned to them? Maybe you weren’t guiding them enough.
·    You have come this far. It means you got enough office experience under your belt and most probably, you are the most favored person in the office. Please don’t use this advantage for power-tripping and such. It is not nice. Give others a chance to grow and see where their talents lie.