Going to Work Is More Than Work

It came up the other day. A friend was telling me that she was unhappy with an employee. “Is she not doing her job?” I asked. No, the problem had nothing to do with the basics of doing the job. It was all about how she fit into the job environment — the culture.

Sometimes it’s being too social online or in person. Sometimes it’s being anti-social in the workplace. It could be any number of other reasons. My personal, unscientific observation is that a major reason for issues at work has nothing to do with the work itself. It’s often all of the things that happen around the job: the cultural fit.

What’s the career lesson here? Going to work is more than work. It’s fitting into a culture of work. If the culture is collaborative, it’s about doing your job and being collaborative about it. If the culture is quiet, it’s being quiet about your work. If the culture is about having fun — however that’s defined — then have some fun. As long as the culture has integrity and is lawful, then work with the culture. Is there a perfect culture? No. Is there one that will fit you? That’s up to you.