New York Lawyer
March 2, 2006

Q:
I am currently seeking my first job as an attorney. In prior employment situations, I have found that I am very uncomfortable in a firm where there is a great deal of cursing and/or sexually oriented jokes in the "office culture." My previous jobs were in law offices where I worked during law school. In the first office, I went to the supervising attorney and spoke to him about my concern and, although I requested that the conversation be kept confidential, it was all over the office gossip the next day and I was the object of jokes by both attorneys and paraprofessionals. I quit. In the next position, four-letter words and sexually explicit jokes were also the norm. I bought a set of noise-cancelling headphones and ignored them for about a year.

Maybe I'm old-fashioned but I've found this type of environment demeaning and embarrassing while others call it informal and friendly.

My question is: How can I find out on an interview what the actual "office culture" is like without seeming hypersensitive or difficult to get along with. I feel strongly that professional should behave professionally. Other than on this issue, I am very adaptable.

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A:

Each person has to decide for himself or herself what kind of environment is ideal in a workplace. So, you are not necessarily right or wrong in your view, you just have a personal preference and that colors your ideas about what makes a good workplace.

First of all, some of these workplaces that you endured sound suspiciously like hostile workplaces, if they let such behavior flourish to the point where people feel humiliated or harassed. So it's not as if your complaints didn't have some solid foundation from a legal standpoint. Supervisors who let abusive environments thrive set themselves up for legal actions.

Leaving that aside, there are things you can do to suss out what's going on in a firm prior to joining. What you would like is a more formal, controlled, polite environment and that's fair enough. Here's a few tips to aid your search:

Network. The most reliable way to find out what firms are like is to talk to other members of the bar. While you are interviewing, call anyone and everyone you know in the community whom you trust and who might be knowledgeable to find out what the reality is at these firms. It is often well known, for example, that a firm is rough around the edges, or tends to be very sociable, or what have you.

Call your friends. You also can consult law school colleagues who have graduated and either gone on to join firms you're interested in, or even more useful, have left firms you're interested in. When people have left, you can often get more candid information, although of course disgruntled people sometimes can give you a slanted picture. To avoid getting an earful, ask specific questions about behaviors (e.g., do people regularly curse? Is there a lot of sex talk?) rather than asking whether the person liked being there or not.

Get a clue: Check out the receptionist. Also, while you interview, pick up on the subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) clues to firm culture. I often use the receptionist as a big tip-off to firm culture. A firm receptionist who is quiet, formally dressed, immediately responsive to your appearance at the front desk, quickly notifies whomever you're trying to reach, addresses you as "Ms." or Mr." rather than immediately going to first names, tends to be the sign of a firm that is more controlled and formal. A firm receptionist who takes his or her time, is more informally dressed, makes personal calls from the front desk, addresses you informally, and generally is taking it easy, is a sign of a firm that is more free-wheeling.

Be sensitive to other subtle clues. There are other subtle clues as well. See whether people seem to be sticking their heads in each other's offices or keeping to themselves, calling loudly from one office to the next or maintaining a hushed quiet. Observe how people are dressed, see whether the offices are neat or messy, look at the decor, etc. You can get a good sense of whether it's a buttoned-up place or one that's more chaotic. Big clues lie in small details.

Sincerely,
Holly English
Principal Consultant, Values at Work