Tend To Personal Matters During Work Hours
Going to the bank, paying school fees, a doctor's appointment, renewing a membership, paying bills…the boring administrative part of living is something all of us deal with. Trouble is, schools, clinics and other offices will typically open at 9 and shut at 6 (or earlier) – which clashes with your own workplace timings. Likewise, going out for personal work during office time is often unavoidable. With some negotiating, though, you can make everyone happy.
Contents
Steps
- Know your boss's travel schedule and choose days when he/she is not around. Watch out for the boss' boss! He or she may drop in more often when your boss is away.
- Check if the place is open. Some offices close for a couple of hours during lunch (true for readers in Europe). Some close on specific days of the week. So check if the place you need to go to is open during your lunch time, else you will end up with a wasted trip plus a glaring boss.
- Be casual. Do not take your handbag/briefcase. If you will need it for your errand(s), lock it in your car's trunk when you arrive in the morning. Whether you are going out or just for a smoke or to the toilet, should remain ambiguous to an observer. So stroll out casually and attract minimum attention. If you need to take some papers, put them in a separate plastic folder or brown envelope and hold it unobtrusively.
- If you are making a quick stop at the grocery store, don't buy anything that needs refrigeration. Leaving a bag of perishables in the break room fridge will give you away.
- Choose your time wisely. If you have lunch everyday with a bunch of your cubicle mates, then your absence would be conspicuous if you disappear during lunch. In such cases, the late morning coffee-break time might be a good idea, as this is when many people step out and no one will notice your exit. This would again depend on how your office is constructed. If they all line up on the corridor holding coffee mugs and chatting, then striding past them may not be a good idea. You are better off leaving when your colleagues return and get busy staring at their monitors.
- If you are in marketing or sales and your work involves being outdoors a lot, then smartly weave your personal commitments around your sales calls. For e.g. Combine a dentist's appointment with the client calls in that area. If the boss sends you to the office supply store, stop on the way to pick up your dry cleaning.
Tips
- Check with a neighbor or a friend if they can help out- For e.g. pay your kid's school fees when they pay their own.
- Try to reduce your going out during work hours as much as possible by using means like internet/phone bill payment. See if paperwork can be faxed instead of hand-delivered.
- Be honest. Step out only if there is real work which can't be done at any other time. Playing hookie to go hang out with a friend or a date is pushing it.
- Split the work with your spouse/partner. You might end up doing more than your share of running around without realizing it.
- Don't close up your office when you slip out, as that is a dead giveaway.
- If you always park in the front row, your boss and colleagues know to check and see if your car is there. Start parking elsewhere.
Warnings
- Be aware that someone who doesn't like you may tattle to the boss if they discover you are A.W.O.L.
- Don't make it a habit or you will definitely come under scrutiny.
- If your boss calls on your cell while you are outside and asks you where you are, tell the truth. Say you've stepped out for some personal business, without sounding apologetic. If you lie that you are somewhere in the building and a car screeches next to you, you won't live it down.
