5 Professional Conduct Lessons We Learnt From ‘The Office’
Breaking all sitcom (situational comedy) records in the year that was 2020, ‘The Office’ was widely watched in the United States of America. Here in India too, the show had garnered a lot of popularity and love when it got off the air. The show is essentially a mockumentary that centres around a paper company named Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch. Even though the working environment at a digital creative agency in Mumbai is totally different from that of a paper company in the USA, professional conduct remains the same. Let us talk about some of the lessons that we learned from the show ‘The Office’ and how we can inculcate them back in here in the web development company in Mumbai -
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Promote and encourage diversity and inclusivity - ‘Organisational Diversity And Inclusion’ is a thing. Yes, you can even google it! Diversity training in every organization is extremely important and it should not be just restricted to races or nationalities or colour. It is about the whole spectrum of people and how inclusive one must feel like your colleague, as your fellow worker. In season 1 episode 2 of the show, we can see how Michael Scott (who is the branch manager) trying to make a Hispanic gay comfortable but ends up making the meeting super uncomfortable with his behaviour. The whole ordeal helped us understand that diversity training must be proactive, rather than being reactive.
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Creative meetings with better engagement - How many of you remember sleeping or buzzing through a presentation because it was too bland and monotonous? Well, that is the case with many of us as shown by the show in season 4 episodes 5 and 6. Meetings at digital creative agencies in Mumbai should be interactive and dynamic in order to grab the attention of the onlookers and keep them engaged.
One pro tip - Keep your conference/meeting room minimal, no loud wall hangings or clocks, no designed walls, nothing out of the ordinary. It will help keep the attention on the presenter.
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Form connections with everyone, your team & your clients - Building networks and making connections are extremely important, especially when you are in a digital creative agency in Mumbai. When you meet new people in your office or outside of the office, you must always build a connection with them. Networking is one of the best gifts to mankind and it should not go to waste as you never know how helpful your connection may come to be when the time comes. In season 2 episode 7, we see how Michael Scott manages to win over a client with his easy-going nature and of course his tactics, but on the other hand, he manages to piss off his senior by doing the same.
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Recognize the efforts and appreciate them - This may be popular as the other terminology like a promotion or an appraisal. But that does not happen in the public’s eye, right? One of the good things about the show was the award function where Micheal gave out Dundies to his employees for different categories. Not only does that encourage the employees to work better, but also be engaged in different activities that will get them a Dundie award. Now who wouldn’t love having an award at their homes, decked up on a shelf, right?
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Treat employees like your family - Last but not least, this one is a very well known lesson but it does not hurt to put it here. Employees may be working for you, but the way you treat your employees is how you set the tone of your company. Treating them well, helping them along the way and encouraging them to do great things makes good leaders great.
Professional conduct is what keeps a web development company in Mumbai running. It helps in managing the agency well and runs smoothly. What lesson did you learn from here?
