Culture - not just about taking in museums.

It has been slightly longer than I had hoped between posts. Believe me, this has been more down to the fact that I have been busy than a lack of things to say (ask my flatmate - he hears allot of my comments that don’t make it as far as this blog!). Anyhow, I wanted to make a few comments about culture.

First of all, living in London, a city of culture, I have begun to feel very lucky. Lucky that I have the opportunities to visit all these wonderful places like the imperial war museum, the Tate modern and even Westminster - what ever floats your boat. So, that’s great! There are so many places to go, so many places to see... but do I have the time to get to them all?

You see, this is the double edged sword that is culture. The culture of work.

Having moved out of the retail network and into a more office based position, I have become involved in a different environment. This different environment brings with it its own unique set of unwritten rules, behaviours and expectations. And what is a "culture", in the business sense, except rules, behaviours and expectations.

This 'office' environment seems to me to have some very specific, and perhaps specific to it, cultural idiosyncacies. I thought I'd briefly discuss a few.

1. Look, but don’t touch. Of course, it’s a slight metaphor. In an office, it’s totally okay to look, or rather, not look but listen carefully to other interactions that are going on around you. Indeed, feel free to eavesdrop on people. In-fact, you may not even be eavesdropping - you may just be listening to a conversation people want you to hear. Or, to take this to a greater extreme, you may be able to see / hear that a conversation is taking place, without being able to hear the details. In this case it is obvious that its okay you see these two people are having a conversation, but you must not enquire as to what it is.

For them, it is a "private conversation" that they are having in public - so never ever interrupt. Or, better still, look at your emails and sigh - that way it looks like you have been asked a difficult question that requires your full attention, but really, you are more interested in the type (if not the detail) of the conversation.

2. NEVER and I mean NEVER, go home. It is a total mistake to be the first to leave. Woe and betide the gent or gentlewoman who leaves early. In-fact, even if you are doing something you could do at home, it is better to get a coffee (that you wont drink) at 455pm and spend 20 minutes doing it in the office. It’s better to be seen working in the office, than be working unseen (but twice as hard) at home.

3. Sell yourself: I am not endorsing some sort of prostitution, but every opportunity for discussion, even if it is about how many pens you need for an afternoon meeting, are an opportunity to display your social networking and self management skills.

4. The train was Late: If no one else gets your tube in, there were always delays on that line. It does not matter that you were technically early, if you arrive between0855 and 0920 without reason, there were delays on the tube. Any longer, and you are into the realm of major delays, but this time period is small enough to account for a "random" delay. Of course, those extra 5 minutes in bed were worth it.

5. Status please! There is literally never a dull moment. It is inconceivable that you may actually have a free moment. A free moment is merely an opportunity to find more work. If you are not working or seeking work, you are wasting time and not adding value. The same goes for lunch, if you are not working lunch; your lunch schedule is not working. And of course, people should know that you are seeking work, email as many people as possible and ring someone for a status update. OR, better still, ring your flatmate and talk crap with him that sounds like business.

Okay, so these were 5 things that leapt out to me. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of hard workers in the office, but I wonder about the culture. If our culture is to behave in this fashion with the goal of being perceived to work hard, are we maybe missing the point?

Is it okay to leave 20 minutes early to catch a faster train home where you will work harder? Is it okay to see two people having a "private conversation" and comment on it? To be honest I don’t know.

I guess the reality is that perception matters, culture does not.

Or rather, business culture is fundamentally a perception of performance. And in our business reality, performance is everything.

For me, there is more to life than performance, but one thing I do know is that all this 'culture' is causing me to miss a hell of a lot of 'culture' in London.

DD