- Get to know your boundaries (and stick to them).<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
This is deliberately number one. It\u2019s good to reflect on this right now, and carry it through the rest of your career, whether you\u2019re just beginning your career, or in the final stages of it. It doesn\u2019t matter how junior or senior you are, you need a lunch break. Every day. Depending on the work it may be a split one, or a short one, but you are entitled to it by law, and you need to take it. Ideally take it away from your usual workspace, and make sure you eat and drink \u2013 we all know the advice, but if you\u2019re anything like me you\u2019ll be a nicer colleague and more productive for the afternoon if you do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Get to know your moral boundaries \u2013 what will you not accept? Is it lying, or being nasty about others? Be conscious of each of these things \u2013 in some workplaces you won\u2019t come across these things at all, but in others you may have to consciously remove yourself from situations. There\u2019s a quote that says<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018What you allow, you accept.\u2019 <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
So start right, from right now. If you allow people to push you around, they\u2019ll think you\u2019re ok with it (even in the most non-malicious way). Work needs to be done and if you stay working until 8pm each evening, the work gets done. However workplaces need to be able to see the gaps in work, so don\u2019t let your conscientious working take the slack to save hiring more people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I feel like this point also needs a \u2018what am I NOT saying?\u2019 \u2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am not saying you should be inflexible. I am not saying you should walk in with your list of demands. I am not saying you should never stay an hour late\u2026 I\u2019m just saying it shouldn\u2019t be every evening. Work is like a relationship \u2013 it\u2019s about negotiation, give and take, and working out who needs to lean in and out at different times. In the lead up to a deadline, it may be absolutely key for you to be really flexible to join your team in getting the work completed, but then perhaps in a quieter period, you can take some time back. Always remember to be good to your workplace. You never know when you might need them to be kind to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because the reality is, we work for many years. In that time, we may experience sickness, or bereavement or hard times. Obviously this isn\u2019t nice to think about, but if you show that you\u2019re willing to work your socks off, then if things become difficult for you, your workplace may be able to lean in and give you some support. Work hard. Be kind and conscientious, but don\u2019t let yourself be taken for granted. It\u2019s a fine line, and sometimes you\u2019ll get it wrong. Be prepared to apologise, and ready to forgive. We are all human.<\/strong> But a work\/life balance is important, so make sure you maintain a good one. If you don\u2019t have one right now, take this as your personal tap on the shoulder as a reminder to reassess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What\u2019s the point in boundaries? Saying no to one thing, so you can say yes to another. Saying no to overworking, so you can say yes to being well-rested or taking up hobbies. Saying no to working all evening, so you can say yes to quality time with family and friends. Saying no to doing too much, so that the things you complete can be done really well\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"I](\"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/staffdevelopment\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/602\/2020\/09\/Boundaries.jpg\")
Image borrowed from Pinterest<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n Sometimes people use work as an escape when life stuff goes wrong. Don\u2019t be that person. The life stuff will still be there, and will still need dealing with, you\u2019ll just be exhausted when you get to it. Be kind to yourself, and if you\u2019re facing tough stuff \u2013 ask for help, don\u2019t hide under a mounting to-do list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Find yourself some winning colleagues.<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
This follows on nicely from #1, but is also quite different. When I joined my current team (Employability & Skills) last year, we went into a month of award acceptances. The team are literally winners. I was learning quickly about them as individuals, but also about how they worked together for common goals, which was clearly working. So yes, literal winning colleagues are good. But I mean colleagues that win at sticking together through the good and the bad (and a global pandemic\u2026)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At CCCU, in many teams colleagues have now been separated for six months. People feel very far apart. I had no idea just how much it meant to have those passing two minutes. Turning to my neighbour colleague to ask how to do something, or walking past another and just noticing when they\u2019re not their usual self. Covid-19 is teaching me to be deliberately vocal about such things. You can\u2019t glance across and see when someone\u2019s not ok \u2013 so you have to check in via email. You can\u2019t give them a sympathetic look or be there in person, so it\u2019s about showing you care in other ways. They say a picture speaks a thousand words, and I miss the many words my colleagues can\u2019t always say. <\/strong>My colleagues have been a treasure to me. They even arranged to hijack a meeting with fun virtual backgrounds, hats, fascinators and drinks to raise a toast when I got married a month ago! We check-in together during meetings, and my line manager has created virtual Pomodoro (google it!) slots so we can all be doing work \u2018together\u2019 whilst apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My colleagues are also all at different stages with lockdown easing. Some will be first in line to get back into the office, others are sick with anxiousness at the concept. Some are shielding, some have children and some have grown to enjoy working from home. But in that, there\u2019s an innate respect for our differences, and an understanding that whilst we\u2019re all diverse, that\u2019s what makes the team work at its best. Last Thursday, I met up with a colleague for the first time since before the pandemic. I suddenly remembered so acutely that I usually spend so many of my waking hours at work with colleagues, and I get the honour of being welcomed into their lives, to get to know their hopes, dreams, and what brings them joy. Reconnecting with work friends feels amazing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Susannah](\"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/staffdevelopment\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/602\/2020\/09\/d7886757-293f-4736-aa37-7208d3a7cca0-1024x769.jpg\")
Colleagues reunited!<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve had experience in the past of encouraging and proactive colleagues, and colleagues who aimed to shame, tear-down and tread on others to reach for the top. I always try to be the former, as I know what it feels like to be on the receiving end of the latter. I have some winning colleagues, and hope you do too. They really can make or break how you feel about your work. Be a winning colleague in your team, and be known for being a joy-bringer!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Love your work (even if you don\u2019t).<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
Google reassures me that love can be defined as \u2018like or enjoy very much\u2019 (it doesn\u2019t have to mean the romantic sort). You may be in a role that\u2019s easy to love. I hope if you\u2019ve found that, you grasp it with both hands, and enjoy every moment. Or you may be in a role that\u2019s really hard to love. But it can be a decision, and a choice. It can be really hard at times, but even if you don\u2019t like it, you can love it. Bear with me on this one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I think some people \u2018live to work\u2019 and others \u2018work to live\u2019. For some, work is their passion, their vocation, their goal. For others, work enables them (via money, or flexible hours or any other means) to give energy to their vision outside of work. Sometimes we love the work itself, sometimes we love what the work allows us to do. Somewhere in there is a deep gratitude, especially at the moment in these challenging times, that we have a job. It may also be gratitude that we\u2019re well enough physically or mentally, or in the right stage of life to be able to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Venn](\"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/staffdevelopment\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/602\/2020\/09\/Passion-Mission-Profession-Vocation.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nPeople are so easily defined by their work; \u2018Hi, I\u2019m Susannah, and I\u2019m an Employability & Skills Officer\u2019. We use it in our opening statement to get to know new people \u2013 it\u2019s at the top of our professional CV and LinkedIn, and for many it\u2019s even the top of personal social media on facebook etc. In the tone of your voice and your facial expression, and the very words you use in that first line, someone can tell immediately how you feel about your job. It doesn\u2019t matter what the job is, they want to know how to react based on how you express it. Are you proud to be doing what you do? Do you enjoy it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At one stage, I noticed that for a little while it was \u2018\u2026and I\u2019m just an Administrator\u2019. JUST?! Administrators are key, they make stuff happen! And what did I administrate? I was Personal Assistant to 3 Directors part time, whilst studying\u2026 but you wouldn\u2019t have known it from my sad little opening line. How we see ourselves, how we see our role, how we see our impact\u2026 it makes a difference. \u2018I\u2019m just an administrator\u2019 shuts down the conversation, and feels very different to \u2018I\u2019m a personal assistant to three Directors part-time, whilst studying as well\u2019. Tell me about your studies, what\u2019s the dream once you\u2019ve completed them\u2026 see where I\u2019m going with this? Like me (in hindsight), you have so much to offer. Choose to love, learn to love, where you\u2019re at right now. You owe it to yourself. And if you\u2019re some one who uses \u2018just\u2019 \u2013 catch yourself and stop it. You\u2019re great, and your work matters, and we\u2019re thankful for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The other part of this relates to #2. A lot of how you feel about work will depend on how things feel socially. You may need to be the culture shift your team needs. You may need to be the one who encourages, who builds up, who celebrates others. Or you may just need to slot into what\u2019s already there and continue bouncing it around. I promise that as you walk through the office doors (or switch on from home) that if you decide you\u2019re going to have a great day, it\u2019s a lot more likely that you will. On those days, it\u2019ll shine through in the work you produce, and the ways you relate to colleagues, and it may rub off on them too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In these uncertain times especially, let\u2019s each aim to check-in with our boundaries, and to see the value in the work we do \u2013 both the work itself, and our work in looking out for one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Susannah Gilbert, Employability and Skills Officer<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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- Love your work (even if you don\u2019t).<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
- Find yourself some winning colleagues.<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n