Managing Conflict

There are times when work stresses us out beyond belief and we don’t conduct ourselves in very flattering ways. We get angry, petty or confrontational—in other words, unprofessional. The key to keeping your cool is being prepared. Mentally preparing yourself for workplace stress can be a boon for your career.

We all know that a big part of being an office professional is being able to get along with others. You are respectful, polite and reliable, yet inevitably you will encounter people at work who simply don’t like you for one reason or another. Don’t take it personally.

You’re going to have good days and bad days at the office (and in life). The trick is to have more good ones than bad ones, and this begins with having the right attitude. When you’re having a bad day at the office, remember that life is all about the big picture and to give yourself a break when you feel frustrated or lost. Effective leaders know this is true for themselves and everyone else.

Remember when your boss thought you had great potential? Perhaps they even thought you would be a rising star. Most of the time, there’s a honeymoon period right after we start a new job where our bosses have great hopes for us—and we go out of our way to make a good impression.

Inevitably, though, things start to become more relaxed after a while and you either prove that your boss was right about you, or you leave them disappointed.

Office professionals are human beings and therefore they are likely—no, destined—to make mistakes. Eventually, you are going to upset a client. Eventually, you are going to disappoint your boss. Eventually, you are going to botch a project or presentation. And when mistakes happen it is important to keep your cool.

It’s hard to escape reality TV these days. And if you are like many people, you might find yourself addicted to at least one reality show (although you may be too embarrassed to admit that). And while this may seem like a mindless escape, there may actually be some work-related lessons you can learn from studying reality shows.

This article shares some insights. Among the takeaways:

• From Jobs to Roles: Who We are at Work is Changing [Recruiter.com]
• How to Get a Job in the App Industry [MainStreet.com]
• Anger Management: How to Keep from Losing Your Job [Glass Door]

Being an experienced office professional means shedding one’s innocence regarding workplace realities. This includes losing one’s faith in the vetting process, where intense screening of resumes, cover letters and subsequent interviews supposedly keep undesirable, inane or just evil people outside of the building. The crazies and jerks do make it through, and sometimes into management positions. Perhaps your boss is one of these people.

Nobody wants to be a tattletale. Telling on someone you work with can make you uncomfortable, and the thought of telling on your boss can be especially scary. So should you ever do it?

That really depends on the situation. In general, it’s usually a good idea to mind your own business and worry about your own actions at work. But there are times when the actions of a boss or co-worker can have negative ramifications for you and the whole office, and in that case you may need to weigh what to do.

Many office professionals feel as though they are in a rut at least once in their careers, and it’s not fun at all. The feeling of being in a rut stems from the slow impact of routine repeated over and over again. You wake up, you go to work, you come home. You do this day after day, year after year, until that one afternoon when you stop and say to yourself, “What am I doing with my life?”