How much of a distance do you keep between yourself and people you work with and your boss (es)?
I’ve heard numerous times, and also from my own experience, that one needs to be social at work. Small talk is great. You need to be friendly, make yourself look trustworthy, a “Friend”, etc.
But how close is too close?
I find that sometimes getting too close makes for a bad working relationship, because if time comes for firing or criticism, its hard to take and give.
But at the same time, you don’t want to come across as anti-social. But at the same time, you don’t want to reveal too many personal details.
From my last work experience, I was told to keep socializing to a minimum. Therefore, I've realized it's best to keep my mouth and only talk business. Socialization in my case has to be done only once in a while and not on a regular basis.
I listened to a talk this morning from one of the company's directors who expressly said that one of the best things that you can do for you career in my company is become close friends with your co-workers.
This is not about the distance in feet or bla… you can divide 8 hours accordingly. Reserve 23 mints for socializing… 19 mints for romance, 9 mints for hi and hello bye shy x’s and o’s, remaining 6 mints for anti-socializing and 3 mints for criticizing.
The more distant you are from your co-workers and boss, the more they respect you. Period !
The only thing I discuss with my 2 Bosses (besides work related stuff) are cars. That's it !
That’s precisely why I want to work in music industry. I hate office politics, and I try to mind my own business, but sometimes it is unavoidable. Mostly however, what I have noticed is that no matter where you work, you always end up trusting some of your colleagues more than others. It is fairly normal, and organizational structures dictate what sort of relationships people will form.
But I feel what PCG says, it is always good to keep a nice and professional distance from your colleagues.
