Get your note pad. 1. If you're below 40, or a woman, employees default position is that you'll "understand" and not be so uptight and strict about the rules 2. If you're a woman, you're expected to smile sweetly all the time and generally appreciate compliments about your appearance. It's called the "airhead Blondie rule"... Encourage this stereotype at your own peril. 3. If you're 35 and below, New staff always start every conversation with "when I was in xyz company", or "when I used to be head of bla bla bla in 1979". They're trying to remind you that they used to be big shots too and you should give them special treatment 4. If you rose through the ranks at the company you're in, older colleagues do the most to remind you that you used to be one of them. They'll make crude jokes or subtly condescending comments in front of newer staff just to give the impression that your authority does not apply