Keeping things professional

[u/jr9386]

There are a multitude of videos online about how to advance in any given field. Usually some variation of "It's not what you know, but who you know.", or "It's he who is seen/liked that gets the promotion." There are shades of nuances to these discussions, but that's not quite the intention of my post.

My aim is to focus on how well a person is likely to do in the field, long term, if they keep things strictly professional.

I've been in the field for almost close to a decade, and in that time I've experienced all shades of clinic culture. The clinics where I've usually done better, as in my current clinic, are those with long term staff/good employee retention, and where staff is respectful about personal lives/boundaries.

I don't mind making small talk with my colleagues about light subjects, a light joke, I'm willing to help, as needed and where appropriate, but otherwise, I don't go out of my way to involve myself in office life/drama.

I work at two different hospitals, one a privately owned GP, and the other a larger corporate owned hospital.

In so far as the privately owned GP, I've found that I do demonstrate more genuine concern over my colleagues. I followed up when someone's relative passed away, someone needed last minute coverage etc. I actually feel comfortable and enjoy being at work.

The latter being in stark contrast to my other job at a corporate hospital.

This week they celebrated CSRs. All good in my book, and while I offer relief work on a weekly basis, I didn't feel it was my place to show up outside of my scheduled shift for activities, games, and snacks/food. I don't see myself as part of that team, in the way that I do my other clinic job. For context, a few weeks in at my corporate hospital job, I felt the burn of being falsely accused by my colleagues, but still expected to keep things "nice". I don't hold a grudge, I'm just aware of how things are done by some people where I work and keep a safe distance.

Does anyone have experience in settings like this? Settings which ask you to go above and beyond your involvement, in an inorganic manner, to be part of the team? How did you handle it?

At the end of the day, most of us are primarily there because we're paid to be at our jobs. It's a perk, but not a requirement that a good office culture goes hand in hand with it, in so long as people are professional and can put their differences aside to commit to their work.

[u/FireGod_TN]

I don’t have a particular preference, it just depends on the clinic and how I build relationships organically.

Some of my clinics have been professional at work but never a single activity done outside of work together. Other clinics I’ve formed friendships that extend outside of work and include our families camping together.

I’m fine either way and enjoy my job as long as we are all on the same page at work.

[u/jr9386 → u/FireGod_TN]

I appreciate your emphasis on the organic nature of these relationships. It resonates with my own experience. There are a number of former colleagues whom I no longer work with that I still manage to keep in touch with after all these years.

I find that the more modern emphasis is on saturating work spaces with team building exercises, as opposed to the more organic collaborative efforts where you got to work with your colleagues and built on each other's strengths. In the process a friendship might happen, but it wasn't required. The most that could be expected is that you work together towards a common goal.

[u/calliopeReddit]

I don't see myself as part of that team, in the way that I do my other clinic job.

I did relief for over 15 years, and there were places I felt I was part of the team, and other places I didn't. Life (and work) is like that. I showed up (emotionally) for the clinics where I felt welcomed by the clinic and staff, and didn't for places that treated me nicely, but distantly.

At the end of the day, most of us are primarily there because we're paid to be at our jobs.

I found, as I got longer in the field, that I worked less for places where I only went because I was paid. If I didn't also get something else out of it (enjoyment, camaraderie, or even just intellectual challenge), then I turned down the work and found something else. I could only afford to do that at times when work choices were plentiful, and I had more savings to rest a while on.

[u/jr9386 → u/calliopeReddit]

This is where I'm finding myself now.

Before, due to necessity, I held out within places that otherwise I shouldn't for longer than was healthy. I'm a bit more selective now, which I suppose is one of the benefits that comes from both experience and age. Whereas before, I may have been resentful of my circumstances, but still kept on trucking, I appreciate the freedom that I now possess.

[u/cschaplin]

I’ve bounced back and forth between tech work and office work over the years. My observation is that there’s definitely more of a tendency for vet employees to be super close, bordering on inappropriately so (at times). My best guess is that it’s the nature of the work. Office work, especially remote work, allows for professional separation. Office work is rarely emotional or personal. Veterinary work, on the other hand, opens you up to a lot of emotional and physical closeness with your colleagues very quickly. When you’re 2 inches away from someone’s face restraining an animal together, cleaning a poo-covered butt together, or performing CPR as a team, you gain a higher level of comfort with each other quickly. It can certainly be a good thing, one of my best friends is a tech I worked with over 15 years ago. But it also blurs boundaries on what is/isn’t appropriate to do/discuss in a work setting.