The work environment is very much different than the environment that we’ve ever been in. The work environment is where we put ourselves at another new level in our life. Although in a work environment it is very much rewarding, exciting, and the people are friendly, collaborative, and supportive, sometimes it can be more complex and challenging. When you enter a work environment, everything is different. The activities are different, many people are from different backgrounds, how we dress is different, especially how we communicate and the ethics of the workplace are different.

Every workplace has its regulations. Some companies are more formal and more casual. A certain workplace even made a regulation about how their employees should dress in that company.  According to the interview that has been conducted, Saras Claudia (23), works at PT. Victoria Rakasha Mandiri as a Staff Accounting mentioned that in her workplace the employees must dress nicely. “In my company, it’s because it cooperates with the TNI, so our company applies a very formal ethic. There are also sanctions if, for example, we don’t dress casually or formally.” Claudia mentioned.

On the other hand, Raditya Mirza (25), works at PT. Accel Lentera Indonesia as Team Lead Video editor mentioned that his company is more casual. He also mentioned that the company he works at emphasizes kinship in the workplace. As Mirza mentioned. “In my company, we’re more casual. We just choose to be family, so relax. We don’t need to be very formal, nor very casual. Just relax. In terms of clothing, it’s also casual. You don’t have to wear a formal shirt.” From this comparison, we can see that each company has its characteristics.

The work environment is very different from the school and campus environment. We need to be able to act professionally in front of everyone in the work environment. Communication is also very important in the work environment. We need to be able to communicate with others, professionally. Both interviewees mentioned that professional communication is very important. Especially working as a team, Claudia mentioned that we need to be able to communicate properly as a team so we don’t experience miscommunication. Mirza also mentioned that it is important to help each other so there will be no mistake.

In the workplace, certainly, problems or conflicts often occur. This is where employees’ skills are highly tested. Every employee needs to be able to solve the problem professionally without getting emotions involved. Both interviewees mentioned how they solve their problems is to communicating them with others. But Claudia mentioned that how the company she works in handles the problem is based on how big the problem is. “For example, when the problem is fatal, we usually have small meetings. Now that’s where we find out first what the problem is. So, usually from our teams we give solutions and continue to give different points of view. Now, after that we just evaluate, what’s wrong, what’s the best solution from our team, then take the action and get to a good bright spot. But if it’s just a small problem, at most we are helping each other.” she mentioned.

Related to how to solve the problems, in every discussion there must be a difference of opinion. It is also very important for every employee to respect those differences. We need to be able to accept and be open about opinions and solutions that have been given by others.  If the bickering starts to happen, every employee needs to be able to handle the situation in a professional way. Claudia has a principle, “I have to be professional where I am wrong, I’ll confess, and where I am right, I am right.”. For us to handle this kind of situation, we need to lower our egos. As Mirza mentioned, “Usually there are those who are selfish, who stick to their opinion. So yes, we need to lower our ego a little bit to receive input and we also need to remember to give feedback to each other.”.

Applying professional communication is very important and it certainly has a positive impact on each individual. It also will help improve ourselves to be better people. This statement is supported by Claudia and Mirza’s opinion, both of the interviewees mentioned that applying professional communication made difference in their personal life. Applying professional communication makes ethics in everyday life better than before. There is also no negative impact coming from applying that type of communication.

References

Dan Harris, P. (2018, March 13). 20 Words that Describe the Best Work Environments. Retrieved from Quantum Workplace: https://www.quantumworkplace.com/future-of-work/20-words-that-describe-the-best-workplaces

By: Gendis Saviera | 2201792464

This article is based on a PR Lab practicum project for the Workplace Ethics & Behaviour course