The employee/employer contract
When you interview for a job, you are questioned about your skills and experience and are finally chosen as the best person for the job over other applicants. That means an employer has invested in you before you even do a lick of work by:

• Advertising the job through newspapers, magazines, and online sites
• Paying headhunter fees
• Putting you on the payroll
• Establishing security passwords and computer access
• Leasing for you the needed equipment such as pagers, cell phones, and cars
• Taking current employees away from their jobs to interview you, answer questions, and give you a facility tour

Then once you begin work, there are the weeks and months of training required to get you up to speed on everything from computers to client relations to future projects. It’s been estimated by experts that you’re not even contributing 50 percent until you’ve been on the job for about twelve weeks.¹ As for the employee you replace? It’s estimated that when a worker leaves a company it costs an employer about 50-200 percent of that person’s annual salary in terms of lost experience and abilities.²

So you see, the boss, from the moment you accept the job, has a big investment in you. He wants to see you succeed not only because a financial commitment has been made, but because your success means his success. Period.

That’s why bosses get more than a little frustrated when employees do stupid things. Like showing up for the first day of work with bright orange hair after being hired with perfectly nice brown hair. It’s the kind of thing, you see, that gets a boss upset with you before you’ve even taken your first lunch break. Further, bosses don’t like it when you get emotional and start crying or yelling when you have a crappy day. Such behavior makes them uncomfortable and bosses eventually get rid of anything that makes them uneasy.

Keep in mind that bosses have bosses. That means they have their own pressures to put up with and the last thing they want to do is stop their own work and deal with an employee problem. Employee problems slow them down, add to their stress, and generally make them cranky. Not the happy place where most people want their bosses to reside.

It’s also important to remember that bosses today must deal with employees who believe that since they aren’t guaranteed a job for thirty years anymore then they aren’t required to have any kind of loyalty to a company or a boss. Bosses face a world where employees are continually lost to competitors, better jobs or self-employment. They often are responsible for far-flung employees, telecommuting workers, and employees who don’t use English as their native tongue.

That’s why they do not want to spend more dollars and time educating you about issues that they believe you should already know (such as orange hair). They don’t have time to write a book of rules such as “don’t wear your pajamas to work,” or “don’t talk on your cell phone during meetings” because they think you should already know that stuff (some of you do, some of you don’t).

But I do have the time to write down the rules. At the same time, I want you to know why the rules are important and why they matter to the boss. I have never liked the “because I said so” response, so in this book you’re going to finally understand and remember not only the rules but why they are rules in the first place. 

It’s time to grab your career with both hands and take responsibility for making it a success. Employers want you to be successful because your success means their success. I want you to be a smart employee, because then you won’t write me those same, sad letters — or end up in my milk crate. And above all, you should want to do well in your job for any number of reasons, not excluding a steady paycheck.

I know that it can be overwhelming to know what to do and when to do it, but that reasoning can quickly turn into an excuse. It’s easier after all to just throw up your hands and admit defeat to information overload. But why ignore information that can help you earn more money, be more successful, be more satisfied, and lose weight (OK, so maybe not that). 

As you read this, remember that knowledge is power. With the right information — information your boss wants you to know and understand – you can be a much happier and productive employee. And the best part? It’s not hard. So, let’s get started!

1 William G. Bliss, president of Bliss & Associates Inc., isquare.com/turnover.cfm
2 Sbinformation.about.com/od/hiringfiring/a/reduceturnover.htm

Excerpted from “45 Things You Do That Drive Your Boss Crazy” by Anita Bruzzese. Copyright ©2007.  Excerpted by permission of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

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