Why Your Personal & Professional Standards Need Not Be Opposed

Pexels – CC0 License

It can sometimes feel that when we arrive at work, we have to don a different mask to who we actually are. Sure, we might not be as friendly or as intimate with our colleagues as we are with our friends, but that doesn’t mean we can’t bring part of ourselves to the job role we’re part of.

That said, it can sometimes feel as though this is an impossibility, especially if we work in a relatively strict environment, or if it seems that needless rules are in place to prevent us from being a human being in our professional environment. 

For this reason, it’s important to remember that your personal and professional standards need not be opposed in almost any way. As companies understand the benefit of treating their employees like human beings, as communication has gotten better, and as the world looks forward to a new and better tomorrow, it might be worth enforcing some of your former standards on the latter and bridging that divide as necessary.

In this post, then, we’ll discuss exactly how to do that, and to what degree it could help:

Your Social Standards Still Apply

It’s important to note that at work, your social expectations should still apply. Some people allow their bosses to yell at them, or for inappropriate jokes to be made, or have developed a kind of thickness that allows them to take clients or customers treating them in terrible ways. It’s important that we do not allow this behavior to continue when it emerges, as we wouldn’t in our personal lives. This means putting your foot down appropriately, and reporting issues where they appear.

You Have A Right To Safety & Respect

It’s important to note that you have a right to not only feeling but being safe in your job. This might involve reporting safety equipment issues to your manager and expecting them as a matter of course to replace it before putting you in harm’s way. Being able to use hand sanitiser and face masks at your will should also be accepted no matter what, and worthwhile bosses should provide this to you. With that in mind, you can demand the treatment you deserve to be given.

Saying ‘No’ Is Perfectly Acceptable

In our personal lives, ‘no’ means ‘no.’ This is for good reason. That said, at work, it can be hard to tell the person who is paying us ‘no,’ even if that means going against their judgment. Sometimes, however, you do need to put your foot down. For instance, if you constantly accept overtime even though you don’t want to do it, saying ‘no’ to the next request when they depend on you is much harder. Whereas in this light, someone coming in to do overtime who rarely asks for it somehow seems more impressive than you. Don’t be afraid to make it clear when boundaries have been crossed. It helps grow respect, but more than that, you respect yourself further.

With this advice, we believe your personal and professional standards need not be opposed, as it may seem like they should be.