In approaching the new person at work there are a few do’s and don’ts and above all you must be welcoming and polite and keep all the office politics and any of your own frustrations to yourself for now. Be yourself and don’t show off, but at the same time don’t retreat to the privacy of your own office chair and leave the poor newbie all alone!

Here are a few, surprisingly common, do’t and don’ts of the office:

•    If you put on your shades, plug in your iPod, and merely twitch a slight nod to the trembling recruit whilst demonstrating that you are cooler than cool, slouching in your office chair, it’s not a good look.
•    Worst of all, is a person who suddenly reinvents themselves for the new recruit. Hanging off the office desk partition and trying to be smooth. Don’t be one of those people who act like you’re very busy and important running to and from your office desk to the printer or filing cabinet, when the truth is you have only slightly more standing than the office junior. Putting on the smooth moves and sliding across the office desk at the newcomer is bad news.
•    Don’t try and impress the newbie when your distinct lack of flirting ability and seduction methods are only matched by your horrific dress sense that is currently stuck in the office desk drawer.
•    Don’t start pretending that you’re all friendly and welcoming when actually you’re anything but, and you’ve trained your eyes to size up a target over the top of your computer desk from many feet away.
•    The most important thing is to remember that if you’re going to hang around the newbie’s office desk and start gossiping you should maybe leave it a week or two. Be sure he or she doesn’t already have any old friends sat at an office desk near you first.

So welcoming a newbie to the office can be a really tense time for all parties concerned at first.