The first thing you’ll have to learn is that if you’re any age under 30, you will get called a millennial at least once a week, so you better find out what it means.

Aside from that, here are some office do’s and don’ts for the Snapchat generation.

DON’T

Take selfies in the office. I know it’s tempting (especially if the lighting is really good) but it’s pretty unprofessional, your hands should be occupied with work.

Every single time you have your phone in your hand I can guarantee someone in the office thinks you’re texting bae.

Complain about work on social media. Girl (or boy), I don’t care how bad your day was, you better be tweeting out company content, motivational quotes and articles from the blog you created to comment on industry trends, Monday through Friday.

Your colleagues see your posts more regularly than you think, because most of the time they don’t actually post or follow many people, so you’re the only one they see on their feed.

Network aggressively. I know you’re new and want to get ahead, but don’t see every single person you meet in the office as a potential source of information or a promotion, let conversations flow naturally and make genuine connections (the kitchen is a great place for this.)

Get ready for a night out in the office bathroom. I know you have to be at pre-drinks from 8 but your boss does not need to see you mid-contour. You want to create the impression that your mind is on work from 8:45 until at least 5:30.

And don’t wear clothes to work that you’re going out in that night. People *always* notice, no matter how low key you think your wedges are.

 

TRY NOT TO 

Get involved in office politics. You probably haven’t been working there long enough to really know the backstory to half the gossip you hear, so just don’t get involved. Smiling and nodding is the best response.

Eat lunch at your desk. It’s such a bad habit left over from the older generation, let’s not make it a thing for this generation too.

Also, how much work are you really doing with a box of meatballs between you and the keyboard?

Go up at the end of your sentences and say ‘like’ a lot. It really unnerves people and makes you seem less intelligent than you really are. 

Form a millennial clique. Only hanging out with people your age at work means you miss all sorts of things like what’s actually going on in the company that no one talks about in meetings, what spiralising is and where the good wine bars in the area are. 

 

DO 

Go to lunch with your colleagues when they ask you. This also goes for after work drinks and office parties too, getting to know your colleagues outside of work is a great way to make those genuine connections I was talking about earlier, and find out more about how they got to where they are now. 

Work harder than everyone else. Oh, you thought this was going to be easy?

Some people think under 30s are entitled, lazy and arrogant, hard work and consistency will not only disprove that but help you get ahead too. 

Wipe down your desk with a dettol wipe. There’s this weird rumour going around that young people aren’t clean, not sure if you’ve heard it? Let’s combat that where we can. 

Bring in gifts when you go abroad. This is such a nice tradition, it gives you a chance to speak to people in the office and people get to know your name pretty quickly if you give them free stuff (not tiny bottles of vodka, I’m thinking more Italian biscuits or Swiss chocolate.)

Bonus round: For extra credit say ‘Good morning’ and ‘Have a nice evening’ to people around you when you come in and leave the office, it’s this old-fashioned thing people used to do all the time which is kinda nice.

 

What’s your top office survival tip? Let me know in the comments.

 

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“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves” – Philippians 2:3