The, Rules of Work, 4th Edition

RULE 66

Know the rules about the office hierarchy

This Rule goes hand in hand with the previous one. You have to know who has the boss’s ear and you have to know who runs the office. You might be quite senior but you won’t get the key to the stationery cupboard no matter what, not unless you speak nicely to Mark first. And your morning tea is going to be delivered cold if you upset the catering staff at all by wandering up to the canteen and ordering your tea without going through the office manager first.

Office protocols and hierarchies are old fashioned, petty, small minded, outdated, and yet still very much with us. It wasn’t that long ago that I worked in an office where you had to take your typing to an office manager who then handed it ...