Six Things Never, Ever To Do On Company Time

Leadership  #IfIOnlyKnew

Six Things Never, Ever To Do On Company Time

Liz Ryan , CONTRIBUTOR

It’s true that in a white-collar, Knowledge Worker job there is really no such thing as “company time.” You are thinking about your job when you’re in the shower and when you’re folding laundry.

It’s only to be expected that sometimes you will think about your personal life and your to-do list when you’re at work.

We advise our corporate clients to encourage employees to take care of their personal business as soon as they get to work.

If you call your child’s school to set up a meeting or call the vet first moment you arrive at your desk, you’ll be calmer for the rest of the day.

The ten or twenty minutes you’ll invest in taking care of personal obligations the minute you get to work will make the rest of your day much less stressful, because those personal to-do items won’t be nagging at you.

Get them out of the way!

Once your personal action items are put to bed, you can focus on your work. You’ll need mental breaks during the day, and that’s what LinkedIn and Facebook are for (along with many other diversions, from solitaire to Epic Rap Battles of History).

I do not want you to work in a white-collar job at any company that would look down on you for taking mental breaks. You are a person, not a machine!

I have to get up and walk around at least once an hour. My body demands it. Machines may not need stretch breaks, but people do!

Still, there are certain things you cannot do at work and maintain your sterling professional reputation. You can’t plan your wedding or any big, personal event from your desk.

A big project like that is fun to plan, but when you are in  full-on wedding-planner mode it is awkward for your co-workers to interrupt you to ask a question about your day job — the ostensible reason you came to work.

If you must plan your sister’s retirement party and make dozens of phone calls related to it from your desk, then segregate those calls into the same five-to-ten-minute time periods you would otherwise use for mental breaks or a quick walk to the water fountain.

Here are six things never, ever to do on company time.

Financial Affairs

If you have a private office, you’re lucky. If you don’t, please don’t call your financial planner and talk about investments from your desk because it’s impolite to your co-workers.

They don’t want to know where you keep your money and you don’t want them to know. Deal with your finances outside of work, please.

Schoolwork

Don’t do schoolwork at your desk, even if the company is paying for you to go to school. The company pays your tuition and the trade-off is that you do your course work outside of work. Unless you’ve been told specifically that you can study at your desk, don’t do it.

Your Other Job or Your Side Business

Don’t attend to any other job or business you may have from another job! It is impolite and unprofessional to do so. Sadly, I have had to terminate at least half a dozen people for running a side business out of their office.

A side business on its own is a great thing, as long as it is not competitive with your employer — just don’t run the business from your principal job.

Conduct Your Job Search

Do not ever return phone calls from recruiters from your current job. It’s a slap in the face to your co-workers as well as your employer to do so.

Community Projects

It is magnificent when working people are involved in their communities as volunteers, politically active citizens and busy members of their places of worship. However, none of these activities should happen in your workplace.

I have had to terminate two or three people over the years for using the office copier to make hundreds of copies of school fund-raising marketing materials or for running their city council election campaign from their desk. Don’t do it!

Personal Drama

Whatever you do, don’t involve your co-workers in your personal dramas by subjecting them to overheard arguments while they’re trying to get their work done.

Everyone can sympathize with you when you’re going through stressful situations with family members, friends or romantic partners, but you have to conduct those conversations from someplace besides your workstation.

It’s not fair to your co-workers to bring that bad energy into their workplace.

If you are overwhelmed with personal difficulties as all of us are at times, ask your company if they offer an EAP (Employee Assistance Program) for their employees. EAP counselors will listen to your situation over the phone and recommend steps for you to take.

It can be very helpful to talk through your challenges with a sympathetic and knowledgeable person.

Work is stressful enough on its own. Don’t bring personal drama into the mix and make the workday more stressful for yourself and your teammates.

They will be grateful to you for handling personal obligations outside of work – and when you’re at work, for keeping your own and everybody else’s focus on the job!

Liz Ryan is CEO/founderofHuman Workplace and author ofReinvention Roadmap.