OFFICE HOUSEKEEPING

Aside from office demeanour, good housekeeping is another office etiquette that the employee has topractice while inside the office premises.  When working inthe office, you should use your right discretion in arranging your work station to suit with the nature of your work environment.Office, no matter whathappens will always be office – you should write a border line between your office and home when it comes in appearance of your work station.  Although there is prerogative allowed to every employee, the employee himself however has to keep his workstation bounded with the decorum of standard office environment.

The desk is the most visible and the very first territory of the employee which will tell his the owner.  That is why you should manage your area; keep your desk clean and neat.  Personal thing should as much as possible be limited, if cannot avoided, however you should be careful when displaying personal items.  In posting and displaying paraphernalia, you have to be sensitive and responsible in considering the nature your colleague.  Some things may just ordinary to you but offensive to others, especially if these are religious, political, cultural and sensual materials that can be foul to your co-workers.

Some workstation looks either messy or over-decorated desk, or both.There are desks flooded with papers on it that are sore to the eyes like correspondences, rims of papers, folders, pieces of different envelopes, reference books and business magazines, and other paper works that are mixed in its stack.  There are also different print outs such as lists of information, reminders and signs that seem to be a wall paper or tablecloth.  If it is really necessary and inevitable to have these things on your desk, then finding a better way of filing should be practiced.  Unending messages written in Post It Note pads (symbol) posted in desk, wall, and in any visible surface will look vandalism.  Do not create more contributors that will just add the clutter like printing various documents to be posted on wall as reminder, be it business or personal.  Use one calendar only since all calendars have the same dates.  Using creativeness, if you can make a “master list” of all important information you need in one sheet only instead of making different list separately, like list of key persons, contact numbers, location, email address, etc.  The more prints mean the more clutter in the space, double the work that becomes redundant, and make your office a room of garbage or junkshop.  Some employee may purposely let their desk to look mountain of paper works to construe their huge volume of workload and busyness however, this can be interpreted as tardiness, laziness, and unorganized.  Clean and neat desk doesn’t mean lack of work but instead can be meant of fastness and being organized. 

Also, the employee should impose self-restrain in decorating his work station that will overshadow the very purpose of the table.  Workstation is not photo-album, but some employees are more than excited to post their friends’ group picture, different family pictures and children’s school activities, etc. be it hanged in the wall or simply placed on top of the desk.  Others are fond with pictures of flower, scenic places, and arts materials.  While there are also interested in posting various proverbs, poems, greeting cards, and posters.  Office should not look extension of your convenience in your living room by displaying promotional items from their favourite food chain and restaurants, collecting novelty items, gifts with sentimental values and trinkets like tiny stuffed toys, miniatures, figurines, flower vase.  How about excessive ornamental plants that dim the surrounding, desk lamp, pencil holder, etc.?

Every employee must understand that office is a communal / shared area that over-decorating it may not acceptable to other users.  The ability to organize self-premises and being systematic are important.  Respecting your colleague and courtesy in the office are signs of professionalism.  Linked to responsibility, keeping a good housekeeping is a reflection of attitude that can inspire your peers.

Alex Villamayor

July 17, 2012

MARITAL STATUS

For some, marriage is the crowning glory in our life's journey and putting period on it is symbol of big failure.  To look still successful, some couples are playing the role of ideal parents to their children and neighbors while in fact the relationship is torture when no eyes are after them.   It is in this situation the couple is caught in the bound of responsibilities that they cannot deserve.   And the core essence, importance and purity of love are then at stake and questioned.

When marriage gets on the rock, it really puts you in a very difficult situation.  Being in the hot seat of weighting the pros and cons is a matter of make or break.  It involves sensitive personal concerns and differences of the two individuals that should meet in a common solution.  When not resolved, it collapses that so called everyone’s ultimate dream.  And it is hard to accept that the dream you’ve prepared for long will just mess up and turn unsuccessful.

Marital status has been always the barometer of success regardless of your position, personality and belief.  That is why when your marriage is failure, you are then tagged bad or poor.  Especially in a conservative culture, we have this reputation that broken family is not good example of legacy.  The society has easily label the product of broken marriage to be incapable of building relationship and family.  This prejudice inflicts stigma that is so unfair for the whole family.

When one is trying so hard to save the relationship and yet it seems doesn’t work, fixing up is bigger than life to handle.  Communication matters.   In relationship or anything else, there is always room for improvement.  Find the root-cause.  Sit-down, lay all cards on the table and come up with agreed arrangement.  Do not walk out the door without mutual agreement, be it nice and favorable or the otherwise.  It is not an overnight process, give each other space for self-reflection.  Then if both cannot meet half-way after several sits, call it pessimistic but the couple has to put period on their relationship.

While it is true that there is no perfect relationship, but if marriage becomes burden for the whole family, if misunderstanding is actually incompatibility, if petty quarrels are not really petty as they are, and if despite the attempts to save the marriage but things have just turn even worse, split-up is the last resort.  Especially when physical, moral and verbal harm are involved, it is better to keep the respect of both spouses by taking each ways rather than inviting the worse comes to even worst to devastate the whole family.  Nobody wants failure and every parent’s utmost wish is to give their children a happy and complete family.  But it is not right to raise your children in an infernal environment.  And it is unfair too for the couple to insist doing the task that they cannot perform well anymore.

“To each his own” should not use as antagonism.   It is just the needed chance to start again and live the learned lesson and maturity.  Separation is just the time for both spouses to move on.  You need to grow after failing the marriage.  Closure is very important and it really needs to have, it frees whatever life the couple has to choose for their growth.  In the end, it will be more complicated if issues are not completely and properly settled.  Just keep in mind that you are putting an end not for any hidden interest but to pick up your pieces and re-build everything first and foremost.

Broken marriage should not be categorized loss, weakness, defect and disgrace.  On the other hand, it could be the experience you need to become a person you want to be.  Dispel self-pity.  Do not regret of failed marriage and feel guilty of not been a good husband or wife.  Maybe you are really not meant to be a couple but instead the best of friend only.  You have to accept the outcome of the relationship.  Why don’t you just think that maybe you will grow well if without each other?  Life is certainly will not stop in separation anyway.

By Alex V. Villamayor

July 13, 2012