7 вещей, которые я ЗАПРЕЩАЮ тебе делать на работе. Я сделал все семь

Summary

The presenter shares seven workplace mistakes from his experience at companies and startups. His central lesson is to build professional relationships with clear expectations, preserve independence, address problems directly, and take responsibility for your choices without becoming cynical.

Seven lessons

1. Set clear boundaries with management. Agree on responsibilities, expectations, and what success means—ideally in writing. Vague directions such as “work hard” or “build a great product” invite shifting expectations.
2. Be friendly with colleagues, but keep some distance. A good team atmosphere matters, but private conversations and criticism of managers may be repeated. Let trust develop over time rather than assuming it from the start.
3. Avoid workplace romances, especially with a manager. The speaker says his relationship with a boss became entangled with work and ended badly, including his dismissal.
4. Don’t treat work as family. Over-identifying with a startup made its successes and failures feel personal and encouraged him to seek a manager’s approval. Colleagues and employers do not owe the personal loyalty he imagined.
5. Plan for your future and maintain financial independence. He regrets spending his salary without building a financial cushion and turning down attractive job offers out of loyalty to a startup. Savings and alternatives make it easier to choose a job rather than feel trapped in it.
6. Don’t waste time trying to prove colleagues or managers wrong. Raise a problem directly, discuss it again if needed, and leave if nothing changes. If the company’s direction is not right for you, move on instead of staging a dramatic confrontation.
7. Don’t become embittered. Recognize that managers and colleagues may have made mistakes, but also examine your own decisions and boundaries. Taking responsibility can help you avoid repeating the same patterns.

Frameworks and actionable advice

• Clarify the work agreement: Define responsibilities, expectations, and success criteria before or early in a role. Put them in writing where possible.
• Turn vague goals into measurable outcomes: Ask what “growth” means. In the speaker’s social media marketing example, a salon owner wanted a VKontakte group to grow but could not say whether the priority was gaining followers or attracting customers.
• Use a direct escalation sequence: Raise an issue with the person involved; discuss it again if necessary; if nothing changes, decide whether to leave rather than prolonging the conflict.
• Maintain optionality: Save money, consider outside offers, and keep interviewing when appropriate. Financial security can give you the freedom to choose where you work.
• Keep relationships professional without becoming hostile: Aim for warmth and cooperation without assuming colleagues are friends or an employer is family.

Examples and metrics

• In one small company, the boss clearly explained the expected earnings plan and what would happen if it was missed. The speaker says this clarity supported a good working relationship.
• In another company, leadership’s goal was to make a “great product,” but no one defined what that meant. The speaker warns that unclear goals can lead to constantly changing expectations.
• The speaker calls clear boundaries “99%” of good relationships with management. This is a rhetorical estimate, not a measured KPI.
• No formal performance targets, revenue figures, or business KPIs are provided.

Presenter/source: Nikita (referred to as “Nikitos” in the account), from the channel Грязный Базар.