My job is to take young adults and give them the training and the tools to become successful employee's but something that we don't teach them is how to behave in an office environment once they gain that priceless employment.
It is something that we probably should because some of the tales i hear about how some graduates with little or no work experience conduct themselves in the office is quite eye opening.
These range from listening to music on headphones, turning up inappropriately dressed (low cut tops and mini skirts for girls, ripped jeans and sweary t-shirts for boys) to constantly being on their mobile phones or turning up late and going home early.
Of course we never had formal training in how to behave in the office, we just picked it up as we went along, but while teaching students how to write a paper or the correct way to conduct a scientific experiment, we should throw in training in how to navigate office life rather than just hand them their certificates and then push them out into the World of work and expect them to figure it out.
It can only be helpful if we, teachers and employers, can give them some pointers on the workplace norms even if on the first day, during the induction process, it is spelt out to the newcomers what is expected of them to co-exist with managers and colleagues in the shared space where they will be spending at least 8 hours a day in.
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