Ways to Gain the Respect of Your Coworkers

Being the youngest in the office means that you've got to build up your credibility and prove that you're more than just a kid fresh out of their starter job. Despite that your job may be to build out social media channels, which is a medium most don't value because social media is for millennials, it would be nice to get a bit of respect from your coworkers. Here's how to go about building that respect and credibility as one of the younger, but equally important, members of the team:

"My mother told me to stop picking on my coworkers."

I was convinced that this guy at work had the same jacket that my mom had, straight out of the 90's. It was totally distinct, as it was a dark sea foam green windbreaker with navy blue fleece lining. So I did what any normal coworker would do, and snapped a picture of him and sent it to my mom to confirm that she did in fact own a similar one. Her response was that he had a nicer brand than she did, but that I also should stop picking on my coworkers. Of course I came back from lunch and yelled this across the office, so not only did I announce that I thought this guy and my mom matched, but then everyone knew my mom took everyone else's side. And it was basically me tattling on myself. Plus one for professionalism.

Can you say 'Mittens'?

I like to think of myself as geographically neutral in that I don't have a strong Northern or Southern accent. My "t's" give me away, apparently though. I slur them a bit, or probably even ignore them outrightly. So instead of "mit-tens," I say "mii-eeens." And for that, most of what I say gets repeated. Then I go back and over-pronounce the T's.

For the record though, it's way more efficient spending less time pronouncing T's than it is exaggerating them (like they do in the South), so I can't help that my speech habits are more proficient.

Viewing Party in the Kitchen at 5.

This one time, Cazey and I were invited to speak on local TV about online dating. Silly me thought that no one I knew would see it because everyone worked at 5PM. Yes, everyone's at work at 5, and lucky for us, we have a TV there. There's nothing like sitting in a meeting and getting invited to a viewing party for your TV debut. And then watching your TV debut surrounded by your coworkers while you talk about your love of puppies and height.

Oh yeah, add on top that you got flowers delivered that day, too. Welcome to my personal life, coworkers.

Drool on the Keyboard.

I get a little loopy by Friday afternoons, and this one time was particularly bad. I had worked pretty hard that week, and I was hitting my wall. I'd tell you more about what exactly I was working on, but I think I sort of blacked out a bit. All I know is my hand was under my chin with my elbow propped up on the desk, and then my hand felt a little wet. I had drooled a little bit on accident.

What would you do if you drooled a little bit? Tell everyone? Because that's what I did. The only thing that can be worse than drooling a little bit at work is drooling a little bit at work and not admitting that it happened, but someone noticing that it did. They you'd just look crazy.

Take your Birth Control Unapologetically at 10:30 Every Morning.

I take my birth control at 10:30am, regardless of where I am. And I have a tendency to fist pump when good things happen. Sometimes both happen at the same time and my coworkers believe I'm really that excited about birth control.