AT WORK
Start the New Year with a better perspective on your work

By Chad Graham
The Des Moines Register

It's time to start forming those workplace resolutions for 2004. Here are some nuggets to help you in the coming year.

• Many times, work is a dysfunctional part of life. Do your best to deal with it. You're not always going to get what you want.

As recent graduates, many twentysomethings assume their professional lives will be drastically different from high school and college.

They believe offices will always be professional. People will always advance because they deserve it. The boss will never play favorites.

Not.

• Most of us spend eight or more hours a day in a work situation. If something bad happens at work, step back. Take a deep breath. If necessary, make a list of the positives in your job and life.

Sorry to sound like Oprah here, but it's critical to see the forest through the trees.

That mental approach will keep you from unnecessary temper tantrums and increase your ability to cope with a less-than-ideal situation.

• The grass is rarely greener. Find the best pasture and stay there as long as possible.

Twentysomethings got into a habit of switching from job to job during the boom years of the late 1990s.

It's a trend that seemed to continue during the last recession, although jobs were scarce.

Often, it is a wise career move to follow new opportunities and challenges. Experts predict that workers will stay with jobs for shorter and shorter periods. The days of being at one company for 30 years are finished.

However, that still doesn't mean you should be a job hopper, someone who believes his or her life is going to be instantly bettered by that new job. Pretty soon, job hoppers find that they list 53 jobs on their résumé in 15 years — a bright red flag to human-resources departments.

If you're following this pattern, look inward. Is there something deeper happening that you need to resolve before deciding to move on? Some experts say this could be a sign of depression or anxiety. Maybe it's time to visit a therapist.

• Don't send e-mails with messages you wouldn't want your boss — or mother — to see.

At a job a few years ago, I meant to send an angry instant message about my boss to a co-worker. Like an idiot, I sent it to my boss. Luckily, I was able to sneak into her office and delete it before she found out. Had I been caught, termination would have followed. No matter how much you delete, some computer geek can probably retrieve. Be very careful.

• Don't gossip. This is terribly difficult. Rumors can be fun, especially at happy hour. Before you decide to spill the beans, imagine the subject finding out what you've said and confronting you about it.

• At the same happy hour, don't get wasted with co-workers. Don't hook up with co-workers. It doesn't matter if they were also drinking too much or if other people have had affairs in the past.

People will begin to form perceptions of you in a social setting that are difficult to change in a work setting. They might start to think you're immature, can't set borders, have a substance-abuse problem or are unable to juggle responsibilities.

If need be, sip a Diet Coke. It's less fun, but will save your reputation in the long run.

• Don't take yourself so seriously.

A hundred years from now, no one is going to remember that project you toiled 1,000 hours on. It's important to sneak an extra long lunch on a Friday or take a long walk to get some fresh air. Try to laugh at co-workers who seem intent on sabotaging your good mood.

There are very few things worth getting bent out of shape about.