If you just fit the Office not in

3:00 PM office No Comments

Three and a half years Forbes editors and we merged his dotcom and magazine magazine editors have a dose of culture shock. We have been to the come and go as we pleased. We had just a few sessions. Especially in the ranks of the middle and upper level, we socialize much. The independence and freedom of the place my career at half-time of a nightly TV show where I loved the need at the hip was joined with my colleagues, here I moved.

Well, I suddenly had a larger adjustment to make. The dot dot-commers were a lot more Dick friends pair. Group e-mails flower box constantly around. Announcements come from birthday parties, it seemed every day. That meant that we leave our desk in the afternoon, set in a windowless Conference room and sing some colleagues at the nibbling on cupcakes and sipping cheap champagne. Call me a Curmudgeon, but I detested forced the moments of happiness and collegiality.

This brings me to the subject of this column: what do you do if you notice, they of course your Office culture do not fit?

Flesh-eating bacteria victims meets the public after Rehab friends and supporters came out, Aimee Copeland, the inspirational 24-year-old doctoral student from Georgia to meet who lost l...

Kate, William file complaint to the French magazine top photo slideshow released without: supermodel Mamas what your shoes about you today, 25 years say 10 moments from the weekend
My situation was pretty mild. I wanted to not my new colleagues, I liked them, so that I, me forced to show up on a portion of the cupcake happy and made a point about the young or girls best congratulations, offer especially if he or she was on my team to think. I accustomed that faster by the dot com schedule, and I much more meet visited. In addition, the Office culture has moved here since then. We're back to the less sessions, no birthday parties, and more independent.

But for some people, the wrong Office culture can prove really burdensome or even she cost the job.

A customer had worked Anita Attridge, a career coach in New York City as Vice President for a large pharmaceutical company in Europe. The woman had to travel once in a month for three or four exhausting days abroad. Tired and jet lag, prefer the head she refused dinner and drinks invitations first routinely by their European colleagues, back to their hotel and crash. Then she got bad news: she was perceived as a strong leader and was not their role to do part of the team. "she was scared," Attridge said. "she had not good do no idea what it was." It turned out that she makes not only everything in the Office, but also on their commitment to their company to demonstrate, by you with their superiors and colleagues after hours socializing was expected.

"It was to comfort zone do not, in their" Attridge said. But Attridge advised her to socialize itself with the need: "I told her, that go out to dinner as much a part of the job was to make." "It is a job requirement, which is not listed." Attridge also pointed out that a lot of informal, but significant changes hands at social functions of Office information.

Attridge learned about the importance of the Office culture first-hand at one of own first jobs 25 years ago. She worked at the sales staff at Xerox in Rochester, New York. They worked hard all day, and they each form of Office socializing - avoided, until their Manager sat her and asked whether she wanted to have a career at the company. ""He said,"If you do not start, change what you're doing, you're never going to move forward." "He was very explicit." Attridge began to lunch and participation in ongoing remote parties.

Attridge and other career experts agree that job seekers should recognize that Office culture can be just as important as the workload and responsibilities. "It is very important for the culture consider before you start the job," says Sarah Stamboulie, a career coach, had two very different cultures at a crossroads in her own career to confront. Had two job offers, where the atmosphere, formal and detachable down was one of Morgan Stanley and the other to a Japanese insurance company. When she took the insurance place, it, approved says "I, that sooner or later I would say the wrong." She went with Morgan Stanley.

Sometimes an Office culture can so dysfunctional, you find it impossible to do your job. PAM Lassiter, consultant in Boston and author of "the new job security: the 5 best strategies for taking control of your career," a customer had the in business development for a three-year-old energy technology company worked. Managing Director of the company, scared that competitors would steal his ideas an Office culture promoted corroded by fear, suspicion and secrecy. Lassiter client, outgoing and enthusiastic was, felt that funding venture start after a year its own energy so stymied, exit. Lassiter, says, "If the CEO does not, at any time quickly change and your values or practices are different, then you should develop an exit plan."

Culture can make a difference where you can expect at least, Lassiter points out. One of their clients started a cell phone marketing business from home. It has many businesses and a stable income but grew also lonely. Lassiter says, "was not clear how much they enjoyed the camaraderie of the teams, the comfort of the water cooler and the pleasure, informal chat with the same people." The client set up agreements with customers who had their spending longer in Office settings found her, she was much happier.

© 2012 Forbes.com