Bringing Home The Bacon
(When You Don’t Work At Home)

by BeansTalk’s ME

When you’re working from home, there are all kinds of things that can create a potentially toxic environment. For us, it was being distracted by our bossy fuppy (that’s a fluffy puppy; our furry old man turns 12 this summer), the temptation and lure of our awesome bed (to sleep in!) and the bevy of yummy snacks that fill our pantry and freezer.

Oh, alright, we’ll admit the television/DVD/DVR (and not things we’re actually supposed to be watching) has tremendous seductive powers.

But all in all, if we were to get enough work to make this a truly viable alternative, we would still be operating out of our cozy (translate: cluttered) home office.

That said, we were compelled and seduced by the notion of regular pay and health insurance. We wish we could say it was the challenge of the daily work and the camaraderie among colleagues, but there you go.

So what, then, constitutes a toxic work environment? There was a very well-written and informative piece done recently by someone way more qualified than we are, that was on MSN or Yahoo News or one of the on-line sites.

What we got out of that is that don’t beat yourself up – don’t hang out past last call/when the bell rings/when it’s time for you to go. Don’t show up early and stay late. Why spend more time than necessary? You're not proving anything to anyone and selling your soul, to boot.

For us, the bottom line should be (and we are totally acknowledging that a brief stint as a temporary employee in a human-resources department in the early 1980s doesn’t constitute any expertise at all) – does the toxicity of your work environment affect your ability to work well, to do your job as required?

If that is the case, then you need to find a higher power (and we mean your immediate supervisor).

The next step is the state of your mental health: Are you miserable? And what constitutes miserable? Do you dread going to work? Do you lie in bed and have to force yourself to get up, shower, do perfunctory toiletries, grab a 90-calorie Kellogg’s breakfast bar and leave, heaving a big sigh? Are you always running late? Are you always looking for excuses to not go into work? Have you checked your company’s policy for extended leave?

Why are you miserable? Find the source. If you are doing a job that requires skills that you are qualified for, in an industry that interests you, let’s assume that what makes you unhappy is actually not (actual) work related.

Your supervisor (the person who does your performance reviews) probably has a great deal of (unwitting) responsibility. Is your supervisor supportive? Do you respect her/him? Do they respect you? Are you doing the job you were hired for? Are they giving you the responsibilities they promised?

There are numerous aspects to just this faction alone. You cannot, under any circumstances, loathe your supervisor and not have an escape route planned. If you’re the mercenary type (of which we are not remotely), then you may gun for their job. But bear in mind, that whoever is their immediate supervisor will be yours, too.

For us, it has to do with the entire work environment experience. Since we are of a certain age, we remember what it was like to work without computers and without the internet. At any lull in work, there’s always email to answer, Ebay to troll, Weboggle to play. In many ways, these types of activities can keep you out of trouble.

Let's use an example. In our (clearly fictional) situation, let's take an office job in which there is a very small staff.

Before a former-work-at-homer (admittedly) reluctantly leaps into a full-time, they're likely to take nearly everything into consideration -- and that involves who they'll be sharing their office space with. In every industry (we're aware that we could encounter the same personnel problems at Three-Day Blinds as we would as the second-in-command at Paramount; trust us, there are definitive archetypals who stand out in any work environment)

By the time you reach our (golden) age, you're probably in an industry where people rotate around a lot. That said, rumors may abound about a potenial or new co-worker. Having worked a tabloid, we know that there almost (almost) always is kernel of truth. Say someone in the office, male or female is diva, a very superfically friendly, even falsely affectionate, but truly self-serving....That situation although not always easy, is doable in many ways. Hiding in your pen helps. Being polite also helps.

A common "surprise" could be a co-worker you didn't know existed until you start/started your first day. Of course, we’re not talking about anyone in particular.

Our point here is that one singular person or small coven can create a toxicity (perhaps this is amplified by the fact that our "sample" office is a very small one).

How? This can happen in numerous ways. What if that person was always on the edge, the kind of person who the slightest thing set them off? What if swore frequently (but out of the boss' earshot)? Had phone fights? Made endless personal calls that you're subjected to, because you sit in extremely close proximity? But what if it wasn't so blatant? What if one person repeatedly refused to respect your mutual supervisor? What if that co-worker daily comes in up to an hour late or always leaves an hour early? What if that same co-worker felt themselves far above the fray? What if they had tantrums in the office?

What can you do? Or, what should you do?

Bearing in mind that we are not an authority of any kind: Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

The only recourse you have is to focus and worry only (and only) about yourself. Sometimes when things are so very obvious, it’s hard to ignore and you can lament and whine to yourself about the unfairness of things, but it’s really energy expended that doesn’t ever come back to you.

What if you worked in a satellite office and the big bosses are across the country and there was another co-worker who stole your work or took credit for what you did? Now this is a situation that takes careful consideration. Each person’s issues are relevant only to themselves, so you have to evaluate the best way to handle it. We can only say this: don’t back down. Fight the good fight. But only the good fight.

We try to be glass half-full about it all. The money. The fact that the work is good. All of that.

But we want you to be able to acknowledge that there is an issue. And remember these are not your friends. These are colleagues. Colleagues. Unless you are in your 20s, as we once were, oh so long ago and culled your friends from this pool, look elsewhere for socialization.

Just like you shouldn’t frt about colleagues (and what they are and aren't getting away with), you shouldn’t be worrying about establishing a “relationship” with everyone at work.

But the high road is called that for a reason – by being a good person, you genuinely benefit. The receptor of all this may not even realize it, but if you can be a good person without subjugating yourself (because that would make you feel yuckier), it all becomes better in the long run. It really does. We have come a long way to come to this conclusion.

By all means, a seemingly friendly environment always makes it easier.

You have nothing to prove. Except to yourself and the people who write your paycheck.

(Images: The Office (US/NBC) and The Office (BBC))