People you shouldn’t piss off at work
My grandmother, and for that matter all the adults in my life as I grew up, told me it is easier to be nice to everyone than it is to be rude or mean. This is true in the workplace as well. While we all know we should be nice to our co-workers, bosses, customers and for that matter everyone we encounter at work, there are four groups of people you especially don’t want to annoy. What is amazing is that these very same groups of people are the same people I have witnessed professionals being rude to time and again. Below is my list of the four groups of people you should never be rude to, why you shouldn’t and guesses on why some professionals think it is ok to treat these people poorly.
Group 1: The people who clean the bathroom
Or the people who fix the air-conditioning, or the lock on your office door, etc. It may be because I come from a blue collar family, or maybe it is because my grandmother would throw her shoe at me if she saw me being rude to anyone, but I am shocked at how people treat maintenance and facilities staff. Does it make these people feel good about themselves to look down on or be rude to someone who makes a living with their hands? I refuse to look down on anyone who takes pride in their work, even if that work means climbing into an air-duct every once in a while. Witnessing this type of rudeness is one of the few things that can get me angry enough to tell someone off. Besides, who in their right mind thinks it’s a good idea to be a jerk to the guy who fixes the toilets? They have the real power in a company.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen someone being rude to a maintenance person only to need something (like a new chair or their air-conditioning vent fixed) five minutes later. The response “yeah – I’ll get to it”. I’ve also seen it go the other way. If you are nice to the facilities staff and treat them like the human being they are, I bet you’ll see your requests move to the top of the line. Like I said these people have power you can’t even imagine. For this reason alone you should be nice to facilities staff, not to mention that being rude to these people is just plain mean.
Group 2: the CEO’s assistant
Or any other assistant to an executive. Once again, being rude to the CEO’s assistant baffles me. There is no one – the me repeat, NO ONE, at any company who has as much access to the CEO as his or her assistant. So why in the name of all that is holy do people write off the assistant. They’ll stand outside the CEO’s office waiting for a meeting and not even talk to the assistant, as if she isn’t there. Yes, he or she is busy and doesn’t want to debate politics with you, but it can’t hurt to ask how this person is doing and say hi. Again, I think this might have something to do with some professionals thinking they are “better” than others because of their profession. Let me tell you, the assistant to the CEO has one of the most challenging jobs you can imagine. This person has to mange a hectic schedule; plan trips for the CEO cater to their every need and in some cases produce presentations and other materials for important meetings. So why look down on them. Plus the moment you leave the CEO’s office the assistant will say something like “wow that person was rude”. Often times CEO’s value their assistant’s opinion higher than anyone else’s – especially if they have worked together for several years. Why would you want the extension of the CEO to dislike you? Being pleasant with the CEO’s assistant has always served me well. Because the assistant likes you, the CEO likes you. Plus, these people have a stressful job, they don’t need grief from you.
Group 3: Human Resources employees
Employees in the human resources department make hiring decisions, proceed over the review process, the vacation and time off policies and many other decisions that impact your daily life. At larger companies you may only see the HR department twice; when you are hired and when you leave. But at mid-sized and smaller companies this is different. You’ll probably have to put in vacation requests with the human resources department and they can deny requests. Also, they can make your life difficult in other ways. If you leave early one day they can tell your boss, or they can monitor when you come and go. If you are friendly with the HR staff they are more likely to let little things go.
Group 4: everyone else
The law of the universe dictates that if you are rude to someone, you are guaranteed to need something from them in the near future. Besides, why be rude? Life is so much more pleasant for everyone if we treat each other with respect – no matter what our positions are. When I see someone being overly rude or even mean my first thought is that they must be insecure about something so they are over compensating by being a jerk. And no one wants to work with a jerk. If you have a reputation of being rude and thus difficult to work with your career will suffer, and no one will mourn your loss when you are laid off during the next “work force reduction.”
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