Press Releases

Advice From A Workplace Expert to the Graduating Class of 2008: Do Not Rate Your Boss as Hot or Not - and Other Words of Wisdom to Help Launch Your New Career

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 23, 2008

Media Contact:
Rebecca Peterson, 415-962-3414
rpeterson@elt-inc.com
www.elt-inc.com

San Francisco – Workplace expert Shanti Atkins offers real world advice to the graduating class of 2008 – a group celebrated for their technological savvy but woefully unschooled in the customs of the corporation. As President and CEO of ELT Inc., Atkins' company provides online ethics and compliance training used by millions of employees across the country. www.elt-inc.com

"Today's graduates will yield unprecedented power in the workplace when they start their first corporate job. It's important these stars-in-the-making are prepared for the profound differences between work behavior and school behavior," Atkins said. "For example, do not rate your boss as hot or not," she joked, referring to the popular college pastime of rating professors, friends and random faces and bodies on social networking sites.

"More seriously, expect to be rated and evaluated in ways that had little relevance in school – like your ability to follow policies and codes of conduct ranging from how you behave at business parties with alcohol to what you wear to work every day," she said. What college graduates lack, Atkins says, is a sense of how to work and play on their new stage, the corporation. To help students navigate the transition from college life to corporate America, Atkins offers the following advice:

Technology is your best friend and worst enemy. In matters technological, you rule. Your ability to communicate and network goes far beyond anything previous generations have ever seen. But here's the rub – the rules are different in the workplace. Everything you do on company time and company equipment can be considered work product and is subject to standards of professionalism you might not be used to. Every email, voicemail and text message you send could someday be used for or against you in a work dispute or performance evaluation. Even if you are blogging about work on your home computer on your own time, say, about a great new project or a hard-to-work-with colleague, you could be violating company privacy policies or other standards. Yes, it is a brave new world when you are used to few boundaries and endless creativity in communication. Your job is to maintain and even increase your technological edge on the job, but learn to keep the power professional, not personal.

Quick tips:

Do not rate your boss as hot or not. You rated your professors, you rated your friends, you rated random faces and bodies on numerous online communities. Be warned, "hot or not" is no longer the appropriate question of the hour, if the hour is between 9 to 5.

Online communities are not like Vegas – what happens there definitely follows you back to work. Remember, you have "no expectation of privacy" in almost all types of workplace communications. And that doesn't just mean e-mail and Internet use – it can cover instant messaging, handheld devices, blogs and social networking sites.

More and more companies are monitoring employee communications, so be professional at all times. What was humorous and "edgy" at school may be a costly violation of your company's anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies.

Share your ideas with the boss about how to use technology more effectively – you're the expert!

Your underwear is entirely your business. Keep it that way. Transitioning from college garb to professional attire requires a new mindset as well as a new wardrobe. Remember that favorite T-shirt picturing a male chicken emblazoned with the four-letter-word for rooster? What was clever and fashionable in school is a definite foul at work. In fact, sexually explicit or suggestive clothing on the job can land you and your company in legal hot water with sexual harassment concerns. Chances are, that's not the response you were going for. While it can be tough figuring out the boundaries in America's increasingly casual workplace, the best sartorial advice is still: when in doubt, play it safe. But if that crushes your spirit of self expression, how about this: play it subtle, like a movie star ready for your close-up. And unlike movie stars, make sure you can bend over to pick up a paperclip and still be business appropriate, front and back. Low rise pants can be an office hazard.

Quick tips:

Beware the provocative T-shirt slogans exploring race, religion, politics and sex.

Casual Friday does not mean Sexy Friday or Homeless Friday.

You can wear any underwear you want, top and bottom, because you should be the only one who sees it.

After-hours business events can be perilous parties. It's a dream come true! Not only are you getting paid to travel and stay in hotels, there is "free" food and drink everywhere you go. But don't be tripped-up, it's not actually an endless party. If you are on the company dime, you aren't off the clock in terms of business behavior. Yes, such events are designed to help people connect socially, but only to the extent that potential business ties are strengthened. So keep your eye on the ball, not the open bar, and you can shine at these events. How to be yourself and still connect socially with company bigwigs? Act as if you are meeting your significant other's parents. Politeness and respect never go out of style.

Quick tips:

Binge drinking and professional performance don't mix. Learn your limit, and stay well under it at company events.

Think twice about alcohol during business lunches or dinners, even if your boss indulges. And don't make a point of eating the left side of the menu just because you're not paying.

Hookups at the office party or while you're traveling for business never make a great impression. And however subtle you think you're being, people will notice – and talk.

No one ever forgets the company fool at a Holiday party. Don't let it be you.

While it's great to make friends at work, your managers aren't your friends. Friends forgive and forget. Managers make constant judgments, and express their opinions in your pay and performance reviews.

Office romances aren't all that. An office romance may be tempting, but there is lots to recommend against it. The distraction to your work performance is the least of your worries, so let's talk bigger picture. Be aware that peer to peer romances can have a toxic effect on the work environment for everyone, thanks to public displays of affection, intimate text messaging all day, private jokes and leave-us-alone "couple" behavior. However, manager/subordinate romances are even worse, casting an appearance of favoritism on everything from work assignments to job evaluations to promotions for the entire team. In fact, lawsuits from co-workers not involved in the relationship are on the rise, claiming the manager's romance with someone else is creating sexual favoritism or a hostile work environment. We haven't even mentioned messy breakups, unwanted flirtations or downright sexual harassment! Realistically, many people find love in the workplace, but if you understand the possible downsides you can avoid trouble. Learn your company's policies about employee dating. And if you are considering involvement in a manager/subordinate relationship – please think again, at least until one of you is transferred to another position. At the end of the day, it's better to get your money and your honey from different places.

Quick tips:

Don't be a player at work, you stand to lose professionally if not personally.

Mind your personal technology – text messaging, blogging, social networking and deeply personal YouTube video diaries can all circulate like wildfire among employees and add serious fuel to the gossip mill.

Ethics – The Silent E? Not Me. As a new college graduate, your sense of fairness, justice and right and wrong have never been stronger. But as you to begin to make your name in the workplace, you will be exposed to normal workplace pressures to get the job done faster, cheaper and with the highest profit. Will you cut corners, bend rules, lie to make things fit? Turn your idealism to your own realm. Will you adjust your timesheet, exaggerate your expenses, abuse office privileges? You are on an ethical journey, and ultimately, the ramifications of your actions can affect nations. Think of Enron, for example, and imagine the long chain of invisible ethical lapses that lead to such a tragic corporate scandal.

Quick tips:

Find an experienced mentor, someone you respect, to act as your ethics advisor. Ask the big questions outside of the work environment and don't be surprised at shades of gray, they are everywhere.

Learn to trust your superiors, and if you can't, start job hunting elsewhere.

You are not the office cop, but be aware that there are "whistleblower" laws that protect you from retaliation if you raise complaints.

There's no such thing as a small lie, or a minor financial irregularity. That means following one of your mother's first rules in life – tell the truth. And when it comes to spending your company's money, never take liberties. Fudging a line item on your expense report is stealing – plain and simple -- and your employer will see it that way.

Learn the Rules. No doubt about it, you could probably tell any freshman you meet exactly how to succeed in school and where they might go wrong along the way. You know the rules of school. By the same token, you need to learn the written and unwritten rules of your workplace, well beyond your daily hours and rate of compensation. What exactly are the rules of engagement regarding technology, after hours business conduct, office romance/sexual harassment, ethics – and many more corporate cultural and employment issues that will define your work experience? Your best bet is to make a friend in the human resources department and show your boss you are committed to learning and living by the rules of your new organization.

Quick tips:

Read everything in the orientation packet. Separate out the benefits portions (health plan, retirement benefits, etc.) from the Employee Code of Conduct and Employee Handbook, and give the Code and Handbook as much attention as the former.

Ask your boss to identify a contact for you in the Human Resources department for routine questions.

Seek out a well respected and trusted mentor, and model his or her behavior.

Be a leader, not a follower when it comes to employee education. Always complete your assigned training – especially on compliance topics like harassment, discrimination and ethics – and put your knowledge to practice!

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ELT provides employers of all sizes and across multiple industries with online compliance training of unparalleled quality. Featured in the New York Times and Fortune Small Business Magazine as one of the premier online training providers, ELT's programs have been used by more than 2 million learners in more than 800 leading organizations across the United States. ELT's courseware is built upon the renowned legal expertise of the global law firms Littler Mendelson and Shearman & Sterling, using Legal EngineeringT to help establish invaluable defenses to workplace litigation. Programs also feature cutting edge instructional design to provide a training experience that educates, entertains and engages. Demos of ELT's courseware can be found at www.elt-inc.com.

For additional information, please contact Rebecca Peterson at rpeterson@elt-inc.com or 415-962-3414.