Especially valid if you are a newcomer. You don’t know your new colleagues yet. Back stabbers lurk, always, and you can consider that whatever you say to someone one-to-one, or in a small group, is now publicly known. You don’t want first impressions from your colleagues, based on your over excited comments, to ruin your integration and create a bad reputation.

So, listen more, analyse how people process, interpret, and reuse information, before you trust someone and share your stories.

Just like point 4 above, if there is a chance that people will notice something you don’t want them to notice, say what’s on your screen, your fatigue, your lack of patience with them, well, that’s too bad because they will. For a long standing employee, every deviation from the everyday standard becomes noticeable. The casual coffee machine the place of your quick and arbitrary trial (in your absence).  That being said, do what you have to do, it’s your life.

Do not eat at your desk

Because it is probably going to be terrible food, unless you brought it from home. But then, it will probably stink for your neighbors. You don’t want to inflict your neighbor something you would not want for yourself, do you. Don’t start that war.

Protect your back

In particular, monitor, check, track, approvals, delays to reply that put you in deep shit, refusals. Track everything, everyone does. It could help you some day.

Stay away from company jargon

While you think that sounding like a management book, a marketing guru, or a pilot manual for fighter jet makes you sound cool, it will certainly make you sound like a totally brainwashed jerk.

Don’t be that guy, especially with new comers who have not yet been exposed to the tribe’s lingua. Acronyms are killer. Buzzwords are shallow. Email habits should be carefully checked too. Be human.

Stay yourself, Stay awesome!

A big problem in large companies is that there is a lot of self censorship. And whilst one could argue it is a necessary evil for maintaining a livable atmosphere in a group, it also slowly kills the vibes for everyone. You’re not sure that joke will pass with your colleagues? Go ahead and crack it anyway.

Like Limp Bizkit’s singer Fred Durst would put it, never mind the “he-says, she-says, bullshit” and have a good time. If you are to spend 8 hours a day at a place with some people, make them laugh, have a laugh, and be real. If you can’t be yourself at your workplace, why are you there?

Time flies too fast, man.