Navigating the Dos and Don’ts of Workplace Culture (Second Edition): Flip-Flops and Microwaved Fish by Peter Yawitz

In the complex world of workplace culture, understanding the unwritten rules can be the key to success or failure. “Flip-Flops and Microwaved Fish” by Peter Yawitz dives deep into the dos and don’ts of office etiquette, providing invaluable guidance for professionals at all levels. Discover the essential insights that can transform your career trajectory.

Unlock the secrets of thriving in the workplace by exploring the eye-opening revelations in “Flip-Flops and Microwaved Fish.” Don’t miss this opportunity to elevate your professional game and navigate the complexities of office culture with confidence.

Genres

Business, Self-Help, Career Development, Workplace Culture, Etiquette, Professional Development, Communication, Leadership, Success, Productivity

“Flip-Flops and Microwaved Fish” is a comprehensive guide to navigating the intricacies of workplace culture. Peter Yawitz draws from his extensive experience to shed light on the often-overlooked aspects of office etiquette that can significantly impact one’s professional success.

The book covers a wide range of topics, from dress codes and communication styles to cubicle etiquette and managing workplace relationships. Yawitz provides practical advice and real-life examples to help readers understand and adapt to the unwritten rules of their work environment.

He emphasizes the importance of self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and the ability to read social cues in order to thrive in any professional setting. Whether you’re a new employee or a seasoned executive, this book offers valuable insights and strategies for navigating the complexities of workplace culture.

Review

“Flip-Flops and Microwaved Fish” is a must-read for anyone seeking to excel in their professional life. Peter Yawitz’s engaging writing style and relatable anecdotes make the book both informative and enjoyable. He tackles sensitive topics with tact and humor, making the lessons easy to digest and apply.

The book’s structure allows readers to easily navigate to the sections most relevant to their needs, whether it’s dealing with difficult colleagues or making a positive impression on clients. Yawitz’s advice is grounded in real-world experience, and he provides actionable steps for overcoming common workplace challenges.

One of the book’s strengths is its emphasis on the importance of adaptability and the recognition that workplace culture can vary greatly between industries and organizations. Whether you’re a recent graduate or a seasoned professional, “Flip-Flops and Microwaved Fish” offers valuable insights that can help you succeed in any work environment.

Recommendation

Adjusting to a new job, learning the workplace culture, and trying to get along with new co-workers brings unique sets of challenges. You may ask yourself what to wear, who to befriend,or how to create good working relationships with your new colleagues. Luckily, helpful dad Peter Yawitz – despite his book’s somewhat opaque title – offers a comprehensive go-to guide to proper workplace etiquette, including fitting into the culture, paying attention in boring meetings, and asking for a raise. Yawitz illuminates the unspoken rules of the office and draws on his years of experience to provide handy advice. His basic rules will help any newcomer master life in an unfamiliar workplace.

Take-Aways

• Get to know your co-workers.
• Present yourself professionally.
• Use small talk to avoid giving away too much information.
• Write clearly with good grammar.
• Organize your material before meetings and take notes.
• Practice and prepare to deliver impressive presentations.
• Value diverse teams.
• Muster your best manners at shared meals.
• Respect personal boundaries and privacy.
• Remain professional in any conflict.
• Know when you need to take a break or quit.

Summary

Get to know your co-workers.

A fresh start at a new workplace comes with challenges, such as learning the organization’s culture, figuring out how to blend in, and navigating new relationships with co-workers who are strangers to you. Take the time to learn about the people you are working with and the way they like to do things.

“Most people are reasonably friendly and receptive at work.”

Typically, businesses prefer employees who are direct communicators, people who want to get right to the point and not waste time. Don’t take this abruptness personally. Instead, come to each conversation prepared with summarized, clear, and concise talking points.

Becoming accustomed to directness can take time, but you may find you prefer it over dealing with passive co-workers who have difficulty making decisions or giving clear directions. Their tenuous responses may require you to support or encourage their ideas, regardless of whether you concur.

Alternatively, you can opt to use a firm approach when you encounter passive-aggressive colleagues. These people avoid directness, though they often expect direct results. For example, they might say, “Get it done whenever you have the chance” when they really mean, “Get it done within the hour.” Asking for clarification after every conversation will save you from having to guess what they need or struggle to fill in the gaps in their instructions.

Present yourself professionally.

Apart from dealing with new co-workers, focus on presenting yourself professionally – no flip-flops! – since that can determine how your new colleagues and boss assess your value in the office.

“We can control some things that make our voices compliment and enhance what we’re saying.”

For example, if you show up late to your first meeting, others might see you as sketchy or unreliable. To avoid being judged in ways that can hurt your career or working relationships take these measures:

1. Ask around and observe how others function and interact.
2. Speak clearly and stick to the point.
3. Cultivate punctuality.
4. Dress appropriately based on the company’s policies.
5. Maintain a relaxed but confident posture.
6. Make eye contact.

When speaking, avoid filler words such as, “um, ah, or you know.” Your speaking skills can make it clear that you’re a potential leader or leave you sitting in the back of the meeting room as others ignore you.

Use small talk to avoid giving away too much information.

On your way to your cubicle, you may find yourself in an elevator, slowly ascending up to the 40th floor with a co-worker, your boss, or a higher-up executive.Standing there in silence or mindlessly checking your phone can be awkward.

“You don’t have to build a social wall around yourself.”

A little small talk reduces everyone’s anxiety in such situations and makes you appear more approachable and interested in other people. Small talk can feel challenging at first, so follow these hints to avoid social blunders:

1. Talk about the weather – Hot, cold, rain, or shine, asking about conditions outdoors establishes common ground.
2. Ask about their trip – If people traveled to your office, ask them about their commute.
3. Bring up sports or hobbies – Talk about the latest game or ask people what they like to do for fun.
4. Avoid close-ended questions – Don’t try to spark a conversation by asking a question someone can answer with one single yes or no.
5. Avoid certain topics – In a business setting, keep politics, sex, religion, or ethnicity out of the conversation.

As you start talking with your co-workers, remember to modify – while always being truthful – what you say and the way you speak depending on your audience and their responses. You can rephrase certain details or curtail the length of your stories to remain appropriate or to hold people’s attention.

Write clearly and with good grammar.

Speaking succinctly should carry over into your writing. Communicating with co-workers happens on a variety of platforms, such as email, text, Zoom, or Slack. To be sure you’re on the same page as your co-workers, develop an agreed-upon system – such as texting for quick updates or emailing for longer explanations, for example.

Before you start writing, organize your data, focus on your target audience, clarify the context or background of your message, and lay out what you need to say. When writing, stay mindful of your tone. Phrases such as “We need to move forward ASAP” can feel demanding and will make people reluctant to do as you would like. Alternatively, avoid over-apologizing, which distracts from your point. Remain polite, helpful, specific, and kind.

“Although text, tweets, and IMs encourage shortcuts in writing…never forget the basics of English grammar.”

Write utilizing proper grammar. Keep your sentences simple, and use active voice for better flow. Making all forms of communication clear and concise will help you perform better in meetings and presentations.

Organize your material before meetings, and take notes.

Frustrating meetings happen, especially if people don’t start on time or arrive unprepared or if nobody understands the agenda. Often people leave meetings feeling they’ve wasted their time and thinking that the information they gleaned could have been conveyed in an email. Improve meeting productivity and efficiency by adhering to these rules:

1. Avoid meetings unless absolutely necessary.
2. Create a plan with deadlines and assign tasks to specific people.
3. Don’t cram too many items into a meeting.
4. Moderate to make sure everyone has a chance to speak, sticks to the agenda, and ends on time.
5. Agree on a set of conduct rules so everyone feels respected and heard.

Remember to arrive prepared, ready to listen and take notes. While many meetings happen in person or on screens, conference calls take place over the phone, so participants can’t see each other’s visual cues.

“Bring coffee… to make sure you don’t become known as the meeting hibernator.”

In this case, use people’s names frequently and speak clearly so each person knows when to pay attention and won’t miss or mishear your message.

Practice and prepare to deliver impressive presentations.

Eventually, the time will come for you to give a presentation. Start by preparing your materials, and define a clear goal, setting out what you want to accomplish and why. Your goal gives you a guideline when you are organizing your presentation’s content and helps you stick to important facts. Center your speech around your specific audience and their needs. Keep your content relevant, and include stories that connect audience members emotionally to your message.

“Your audience will be more likely to remember your presentation if they can visualize a practical application of your message.”

Begin with an introduction; avoid jokes or distracting language that could detract from your argument. Keep your message simple; know what you want, how to get there and what result you need. If you come from a technical background, avoid terms or jargon that nontechnical people may not know.

In the end, people will have questions. Anticipate the most likely questions and prepare appropriate answers.

Speaking in front of people for the first time can produce anxiety. Take deep breaths to slow yourself; trust in your memory of your rehearsed material, and remember that you judge yourself more than your audience will judge you. The more you present, the easier it becomes, and then you can move to the next office challenge – working and presenting as a team.

Value diverse teams.

Often, your manager may ask you to lead a team or assemble one for specific projects. Although many variables go into making a team successful, include these core factors when creating your group:

1. Have a clear objective – Avoid vague goals like “increase profitability.” Use more specific measurements so people have a metric against which to assess their progress.
2. Use a variety of personalities – Your members should include at least one organized person, one with a large network, and one who handles conflicts well. This prepares your team to handle a variety of issues.
3. Don’t micromanage – Let people do their work without watching over their shoulders.

Muster your best manners at shared meals.

When working on a team, you may have to share close quarters. This often involves eating together. Sometimes your manager may order food for the team, or everyone might go out to eat together, or you could find yourself eating your lunch from home in the breakroom with your colleagues. In such cases, be aware of using good table manners, like chewing with your mouth closed, never double-dipping, and using a clean napkin.

“Free food is a wonderful gift for everyone, so be thankful.”

While eating, avoid gossiping about other co-workers. When you eat in the breakroom, do the dishes, and help clean up at the end of the meal. Keep in mind that everyone uses the office kitchen, soavoid food that has a strong aroma – for example, don’t microwave frozen fish.

If you go out to eat, don’t order something expensive or so time-consuming to prepare that it creates a delay that affects everyone.

Respect personal boundaries and privacy.

Another aspect of working closely with other people is deciding how to blend your personal life with the office culture. The advent of social media makes maintaining personal boundaries and privacy seem tricky. Keep certain online accounts private for your family and friends, and make others public for work. This draws a line about how much you want to share.

“You can tell a lot about people by what they choose to place around their offices or workspaces.”

Divulging too much information could affect the way people treat you at work. For example, you may not want others to know that you belong to a certain political party or received a huge Christmas bonus. Avoid discussing religion, sex, politics, marital issues, or finances. Don’t talk behind anyone’s back, and remember that you never know what tidbits people might repeat to your boss.

Similarly, remain careful about what you say at office parties. While these events offer opportunities to network, get to know your team better, and socialize with your boss, don’t overdo it with alcohol and have people remember you as the one who got sick in the supply closet. Avoid problematic employees who may generate difficult conversations or situations.

Remain professional in any conflict.

Workplace conflicts happen for a number of reasons, such as co-worker competition, messy workplaces, too-tight shared quarters, or disrupted meetings. Problems can escalate quickly if you don’t keep a level head and hold your emotions in check.

“Stick with the rules of basic human kindness, where taking the high road is at the top of the list.”

Ideally, companies should post a set of rules of conduct. However, many don’t, which leaves you and your colleagues to create a standard of conflict resolution you can turn to if you have to deal with difficult behaviors.

Start with sticking to facts involved in any problem. Look for ways to compromise within the situation. Try imagining the conflict from the other person’s point of view and work toward a solution that benefits everyone. For example, if your office neighbor speaks too loudly on the phone, ask him or her to move to a quieter office to make calls or buy yourself noise-canceling headphones.

Addressing conflict as it arises helps you resolve touchy issues and create better relationships. Don’t involve yourself in any conflict you can avoid. Choose the issues that matter most to you; learn to live with minor annoyances.

Some conflicts may require involving the human resources department. If someone sexually, physically, or verbally harasses you; if you experience discrimination; or if your physical or mental health is affecting your ability to work, ask for HR’s attention.

Know when you need to take a break or quit.

Sometimes dealing with difficult people or conflicts can leave you needing time off or feeling drained. When asking for a break, approach your boss or HR with a list of reasons why you need time off and let them know when you want to return. Don’t leave your company without a plan, or it may replace you.

After successfully battling various challenges, you may feel that you’re due a raise. Check your company’s policy to see if you are eligible, then go to your boss with a clear list of your accomplishments and the reasons why you deserve a salary increase. Have actual data to present, such as statistics showing how much you increased sales. When you ask for a raise, you want to forestall others picking a number.

“If you feel you deserve a boost, be smart about what you say.”

Some conflicts or difficult corporate cultures prove unfixable, so you may decide to quit.Avoid being rude or cutting ties abruptly because you will need references and you want to maintain the networks you created since they will prove useful later. Quit as gracefully as possible, in a way that reflects your professionalism and charm.

About the Author

Peter Yawitz heads Clear Communication, hosts the podcast Advice from Someone Else’s Dad, and stages the annual “Broadway’s Got Guts” fundraiser for the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America.