Have you ever fallen into the youtube hole of the American 50's life tutorial video? I have. And I enjoyed it so much. I found gems like 'how to better use your time', 'telephone courtesy' or 'dinner party' lol.
It is fascinating at first because these kinds of tutorials or topics are not really been talked about anymore lately. It is almost like you are expected to know things suddenly. So when I found that in the 1950's they have this kind of 'tutorial' to teach to the young, it kinda makes sense to me. In a way, it can be seen as 'propaganda' but regardless, I think it is pretty useful for clueless young people who are entering the society who are expected to know better.
Between dozens of videos, there is one topic that I think was quite insightful. The 'Office Etiquette'. There are 5 rules in the video and I'm going to talk about them a bit more.
- Know your worth
- Enjoy your work
- Enjoy the people you work with
- Treat others as you want to be treated
- Be considerate of your employer
If you read them, they are actually pretty basic, but I know these are good basic.
The first one, know your worth. Know your worth can be meant as always appreciate your time and your effort. But it is also about separating your individual self and your work result, when you encounter a problem, it is best to admit your mistakes respectfully and to accept criticism as a means to improve your work. Criticism in your work is not an attack on your personal and not knowing something is a part of growing, so ask, instead of wild guessing.
Enjoy your work. Don't forget this one, I know working is actually just a means to provide a living, but ---hey we are modern people who are pressured to have passion for the work (and while making some real meaningful impact to humanity)---challenge yourself in your work to make it more fun and enjoyable. Find small happiness in the things you do, for me, appreciating the time I talked with the users and learn something from other people's lives.
Enjoy the people you work with. Don't forget to socialize with your workers, get involved not only in work-related matters but in doing some fun. In the end, most of the time, they are the people you spend your day with the most, so enjoying being with them will also improve your day (not to mention the obvious 'improving work-life')
Treat others as you want to be treated. How important. Mind your own business, but while you can, help others. Most of the time, they will return the favor, 100 times more. Been there. I mean, my co-workers are the best at helping each other. This also applied when somebody else's makes mistakes do not push them over this, instead, give helpful feedback, and just think about how do you want to be treated when you make mistakes. You might want to have a chance to use it as a learning, to be forgiven, to use the situation as a way to do better, so be the person you want to have beside you when you make mistakes.
Be considerate of your employer. When I heard this one, I was like, yeah...this is the proper sentence, the conclusion. How often do you play with your phone during working hours? or chatting with friends? or take a nap? (uhm hi nursery room, I kinda miss you) or doing your personal stuff while you are supposed to work?. Of course, a little distraction here and there is fine, as long as you finish your work, right? but I think to think from the perspective of your employer is really useful. Be considerate of the company that hired you and your time to help them with their matter. If you are a company, would you like to see the people you hired to help you doing their personal stuff in the promised working time?. Okay maybe no company is very strict about it anyway and people be minding their own business, but you got the point, just be considerate of your employer. Think of them in your supposed working hours.
So these are the five principles of office etiquette from the 50's that I find interesting and still relevant to this day.
May our working life be blessed with lots of happiness and great pay! hahah
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