Peergroup influence - writeup by Sundaram

Almost 70% of the effective living time is spent at office with the peer friends, thus selecting and managing the groups would make 70% of your life happier. A brief introduction to the topic have been presented by the author with the a highlight of issues that creep in and some simple solutions to overcome the situation.

In this page you are going to read about something for which we all spend almost 70% of our life. Yes you are right. It is for employees (even a sole proprietor is employee for his business in true sense) & about the employment. As Mr. Howard Roark, the hero of Ayn Rand’s novel “The Fountainhead”, rightly said “I have, let’s say, sixty years to live, most of that time will be spent working. If I find no joy in it, then I’m only condemning myself to sixty years of torture.” So be sure of the job you are planning to join.


The start up…
When we join a new company, everybody first plan to get friends(?) in the company, many of us don’t know that they are going to influence more on our future both in that company and outside the company. This being crucial decision care needs to be taken during the selection process and deciding our peer friends. Similar to the saying that, “You don’t get a second chance to make the first impression” it’s equally applicable for deciding the peers as well. Of-course you can change the circle of peers over a period of time but that would take lot of efforts more than taking the call during the initial days.


Building a good relationship – the rapo, with the superiors, subordinates and peers warrant significance in creating a conducive environment and work culture. Its easy to speak conceptually / theoretically but how do you make things at ground level – the execution. A summary of issues that an employee would face from the peers is summarised for ease of understanding the relationship complexities and some suggested solutions for the hindrances.

Practical tips to make office a better work space

Building relationships with your boss / subordinate create a better environment for work.

Make them understand that you really care for you.

Don’t speak about the personal and irrelevant information or comments about any one.

Don’t reveal any of your private information to your office friends – in cases of any little hitch this would induce others to act against you.

Never ever compliant about anyone to anybody. This not only decreases your value and also increases the risk of being backfired.

If you have any issues to be solved, find the person who has the authority as well as ability to solve and discuss with him. Unnecessary discussions with others will only make the issue more complicated

Behavioural tips for new joiner’s in an organisation

If you see anyone carrying an armload of files / folders extend a helping hand,

While getting into or out of a lift, always remember it is ladies first,

Hold the door open for anyone following you,

Don’t try to speak when food is in your mouth,

You always eat with your mouth shut (and not wide open)

Request your fellow diners to pass the dishes to you; never lean over,

If you have the habit of backslapping your friends to express your joy / enthusiasm / etc., you would have to overcome it. Very few people will be able to accept it on face value,

Make sure everyone understands the language in which you speak, avoid using ethnic languages,

Lister! Listen! Catch the nuances of all that is being spoken and how it is being spoken. Language can be a big barrier especially if you are a little shaky with the lingua franca of the office.

Managing the peer group and become a role model is not an over night affair but can be achieved with a conscious and continuous efforts. Thus the techniques of managing people are nothing but simple common sense. Its commonly said that “It’s the common sense that is soo uncommon”.