Let’s talk about a few specific ways you can act, and how it makes your boss feel.
- You come in at exactly 08h00, take lunch at 12h30, come back from lunch at 13h30 and leave work at 17h00. This sounds perfect. Congratulations, you can read a watch. You are only paid for the hours on your contract. You are entitled to your hour lunch. Your boss, however, wonders if your job will take preference when you need to meet a deadline. He gets slightly stressed when he thinks of the time when he might have to ask you to put in the extra time to finish that deadline. He wonders what you reaction or excuse will be. You can be sure, if you want an hour off, he might ask you to put in some leave, or ask you to work the time in. Wouldn’t it be nice if you had some credit hours so when you ask for time off, he says: Daniel, I appreciate all the time you put in. Go off, do what you have to do. I know your work is always done. Thank You. I think he trusts you.
- When he gives you a job and has to remind you of the deadline whenever he sees you. In his eyes, you are either a procrastinator, someone who underestimates the size of the job, or someone without the necessary responsibility to finish the job on time. If this is the first job you are doing for him – relax – he is not suppose to trust you yet. Give him your best – he will relax once he can trust you. How do you achieve that? Simple, start immediately, plan the job, estimate the number of hours you would need, multiply that by two and see how many hours you will have to work before the deadline. If it seems impossible, you may not understand the job properly, or your boss underestimated the effort. You should discuss your plan with him to make sure you understand the task. Tell him the amount of time you think the task is going to take you. Your discussion will provide clarity. Once the task is clearly understood, make sure you finish before the deadline. Go and inform him – do not wait for him to ask for it. He will learn to respect your ability to plan and estimate. He will admire your responsibility. He will learn to trust you.
Read the next Post on this subject for some specific things that you can avoid or do.
Lastly, remember, you would want to be a boss yourself one day. You could use these early days to brush up your inter personal skills. Learn how to read people and circumstances. You may even have a youngster like yourself who work for you. How will you get him to make your life easy?
Remember our verse:
1Pe 2:18 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh.