On the Job by Anita Bruzzese Why it Pays to Be More Popular at Work

On the Job by Anita Bruzzese Why it Pays to Be More Popular at Work Does any of this sound familiar? You have to introduce yourself to the security guard every day to gain entrance to your office, and youve worked at the company for three years. At last years holiday gathering, the office manager mistakenly thought you were the Federal Express driver and handed you two packages instead of a glass of wine. You were out sick for nearly a week before anyone noticed you were gone. Such treatment may frustrate you, or you may care less. But unless youve been wearing Harry Potters cloak of invisibility, you need to be concerned with such a lack of popularity. While being unpopular in school may not have mattered to you,being unpopular at workcan mean you earn less money, arent considered for promotions and may be thought of only when the company is putting together a layoff list. Toiling in obscurity may seem ideal to you, but it can be devastating to your career. It also can lead to less satisfaction at work, as research shows that strong social connections on the job canimprove productivity, make you more passionate about what you do and less likely to quit your job. A Gallup Organization survey found that having close friendships at work can boost employee satisfaction by as much as 50%. So how do you boost your popularity at work? Think about: Listening better.When was the last time you had a conversation with someone who wasnt tapping away on a smartphone, glancing at email or appearing distracted? If you offer your undivided attention to someone, you convey the message that you think theyre important. If you become a good sounding board, others are more likely to seek you out more often. Using good manners.Teenager Maya Van Wagenen was new to her Brownsville, Texas , school and wanted to be more popular. So using a 1950s etiquette book called Betty Cornells Teen-Age Popularity Guide, Van Wagenen began to follow advice such as being yourself, not putting on airs and treating everyone with the same kindness. The advice not only helped the teen become more popular, but the chronicling of her efforts garnered her a $300,000 book deal. DreamWorks has optioned movie rights to the book. Ifbeing nice and politecan make a teenager popular and successful, why not you? Offering compliments. Compliments are a great way to make others feel good about themselves, and that can help them feel good about you. Just be careful of what you choose to compliment. For example, You look sexy in that sweaterisnt(read more here)