When I was younger I worked for a company that has a great reputation for being condescending.
One of our biggest complaints with other employees is that they don’t always know how to communicate. That’s a big reason why we’ve recently been hiring a whole team of interns who are just going to communicate in a way that makes other people a little uncomfortable. We’re not just going to give them free pizza and a soda, or anything like that. They will learn to communicate in a way that makes other people feel good about themselves.
Its hard to be a condescending person in a way that others are comfortable with. I mean, if you are the type of person that believes that you are superior to everyone else, you will always know when youre wrong. Especially with people you dont like.
The best way to communicate with people you dont like is to put them in a situation where they feel like they have to prove a point to you. Youve got to believe you are the one who is smarter and more important so you can convince them that youre right. If you dont like the way someone is looking at you, give them a chance to ask you something before you change the topic.
I don’t know about you, but when I work in a team, I will almost always give a few hints about what I feel is a good idea and how people can do it, then let it go. If someone asks me to give specific instructions on how to do something, instead of telling them what I think they should do, I usually say that I’ll get back to them if they don’t like it.
While I never like to give anyone specific instructions, it is possible to keep your own opinion about something to yourself unless you want to hurt someone or someone else. I am just going to let this one pass.
Sometimes it’s just a matter of asking people for directions. Other times it’s really important that they take the time to explain things to you. If you’re a new employee or employer, I’m not just saying this because you asked me to, I’m here to let you know that I think you should give specific instructions to others, and if you don’t, then you should.
For a long time I’ve been a fan of the way the office space of a small business feels like a big home-away from home. If you have good employees, they’ll happily accept a space that’s as big as your home. Afterall, a company has employees for a reason.
To be fair, the way this works is that if youre a small business just starting out and you dont have a lot of employees then you dont have a lot of employees that really need a space too. So when you start out, you might need to look for one of those employee-centered spaces (like this one). If youve got a few employees, you might as well work in that space because its just as good.
This is another great example of a coworker who can’t do anything but be a condescending asshole. I cant even think of a more obvious example of this scenario. Even if youre a new employee with no clue about your coworkers, having everyone come to work everyday to be your boss is a surefire way to get your coworkers to work for you.