Jeremy Kaplan
When you land your first job, it can take a little time to find your place in the company. More specifically, what you can expect from your employer and what your employer should expect from you. Let’s look at what your employer can rightfully expect from you first of all.
The Employee’s Role
Well, first your employer expects you to complete your work to a high quality. They also expect you to be able to do anything and everything that you mentioned in an interview or that is written on your CV. Applying for a journalism job you may mention that you have 100WPM shorthand. But this isn’t just about impressing an employer. If you say this, you better be able to show you can do it once you take the job. Differences between a CV and level of skill is one of the reasons why new employees get fired.
Your employer will expect you to show up every day for work, on time, unless you have been given permission not to. Either due to illness or a personal matter. They will also expect you to act safely when working in the office or the business environment.
Depending on the role in the company, you may also be expected to present yourself professionally. Even when you are outside work. Particularly if your actions could reflect poorly on the business.
Now let’s look at what you can demand from your employer.
The Employer’s Role
First and foremost you should feel safe both emotionally and physically, in the workplace. This means that the office should not have any cases of bullying. There should be no hazards that could cause a physical accident either. If there are, you might be eligible to make a claim if you are injured due to an accident that could have been prevented.
In some cases, businesses outsource employee well being to other companies. EAP services work to ensure that an employee is not alone when dealing with an emotional problem while at work. If this is something to do with their job, it becomes the responsibility of the employer.
You can furthermore, expect a fair level of pay from your employer. This should reflect the amount others are being paid for the same job elsewhere in the industry. If it doesn’t you have two options. Either you can look for a better opportunity elsewhere. Or, you can try to get a pay increase. Though you should be aware, some businesses offer incentives rather than high levels of pay.
An employer should, on some level listen to your views on the company. Not all employers have an open door policy per se. But there should always be structure of rank that you can use to express your views. If there isn’t it’s easy to feel as though your role in the business is significant. This is not acceptable as you should always be able to voice your opinion.
We hope this has made your role in a new business a lot clearer. Hopefully this will make it easier to find your footing when you start work.
