Bad work habits can have a negative influence on your working environment and also set a bad impression on your clients and seniors. You need to make sure that you try to get rid of your bad work habits before it is too late. Bad work habits can cost you your job and you don’t want to risk anything when it comes to your job, especially considering the job market at this moment. Whilst this article is written for the employee … business owners shouldn’t be falling into these habits either.
Read Sales is NOT a dirty word!
Also, there are great tips on what you shouldn’t be accepting from your team. However, rather than berate them for doing the wrong thing, instead, right up front, be clear about what your policies and expectations are … come from a place of education, rather than correction.
Let’s take a look at 10 of these bad work habits that you NEED to drop in the year 2018:
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Not responding immediately
In the technologically advanced era that we live in, taking 24 hours to respond to an email maybe extremely unprofessional and even rude. There is no excuse when it comes to responding promptly to your emails. One thing you need to always make sure of is that you reply to your emails and text messages promptly. Situations may come up when your team members will need to consult you, you need to be available at these times to be able to support and help out your fellow employees. Your lack of communication can sometimes be misinterpreted as being disrespectful or that you don’t care, even when you don’t mean to be.
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Taking many breaks whilst working
Avoid taking breaks way too often. Eventually, people will notice this, and this includes the higher management. The more breaks you take, the higher your chances of being fired as the higher management may assume that they are paying you for doing next to nothing. This is why you need to try to take minimal breaks and spend more time completing your work and submitting it at the earliest. This will help you remain on the good books of your boss.
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Poor planning strategies
When you step into your workplace, don’t be lazy by sitting around and killing time. You need to plan out your priorities for the day to make sure you have a productive day ahead. This is the first thing you need to do when you enter your workplace in the morning. Just responding to emails is not enough. Talk to your boss or plan out your work. Schedule your times and work productively.
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Don’t abuse your privileges
Much of the time, offices offer employees the work-from-home privilege, wherein employees get to work from home instead of commuting to work. This should be taken as an opportunity for you to showcase your best instead of abusing this privilege. Very often, employees given this privilege abuse it thinking that they are not being watched over. However, it directly affects your work when you don’t work properly or give it your 100%.
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Texting while working
Being on your phone all the time is a bad, bad work habit. You need to stay away from your phone as much as possible whenever you are working. Texting while working tells a lot about your working habits. When you are in a meeting, avoid using your phone completely. This may seem to be extremely rude and offensive to the ones conducting the presentation or anyone who is talking to you. The same applies to hanging out on social media; work is not the place to be doing that – unless it’s part of your job, in which case, stay focused on work-related social media.
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Don’t be late for meetings
Don’t be late for your meetings no matter what. It leaves a really bad impression on your colleagues and even your boss. The same applies for turning up to work. Don’t show up for your meetings 10 minutes late and come up with some lame excuses. In fact, try to make it to your meeting early. Be seated and ready for the meeting to begin. This leaves a lasting good impression on your boss and showcases your professionalism and ability to be organized. And yes, your punctuality demonstrates respect for the others in the room.
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Complaining far too often
If you find yourself, always complaining about something or the other – being sick, being tired or taking leave for a break, then you need to stop. Building yourself the title of ‘whinger’ or ‘Mr. Negativity’ or ‘Ms-No-One-Else-Is-Good-Enough’ only shoot you in the foot career-wise. Yes, you will be noticed, but those who whine, complain, find the fault in everything and generally lack positivity rarely are promoted. In business, people are not attracted to that person, so it will affect business also.
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Not caring about your work enough
Always take interest in your work. Show your boss that you are determined to get the work done and are enthusiastic about your work. Show that you take pride in your work and enjoy what you do. Present yourself well at all times and communicate with your colleagues whenever necessary. Address issues when you feel like a situation can be handled in a better way and give your opinions wherever and whenever necessary. When you give an opinion, do so in the correct way and in a productive and constructive way. Management and business owners appreciate initiative done with authorization.
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Interrupting when others’ speak
When someone is speaking, don’t interrupt in between, especially if the person is someone from the higher management – but really anyone. You need to wait till they are done speaking and then speak up and voice your opinions. Interrupting while others are speaking is demeaning and really shows that you are not listening to them, and possibly don’t care what they are saying. I know when you get an idea you are excited about, you just want to share it – but hold, wait and then offer that thought up. Always look for the perfect opportunity to speak. Don’t speak anytime and every time.
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Using inappropriate humor
It is OK to make jokes to lighten the environment but don’t overdo it. Making jokes all the time, especially making inappropriate jokes may make your co-workers uncomfortable. This is a bad sign because your boss may get complaints from other co-workers about you. As a general guideline, a joke should not be ‘at someone else’s expense’, sexual, about religion, derogatory of a certain group (blonds may take offense at the often used ‘dumb blond’ jokes). If in doubt, don’t use it. A little fun is great, but if you see others look uncomfortable (even if they don’t say anything), look down, walk away … you’ve probably gone too far.
Thus, these are 10 of the worst work habits that you need to avoid in the coming year. This will help you maintain a good impression on your boss and the senior management. Remember as business owners, especially if we have staff, we should be leading by example so make sure you not only educate your team as to your expectations, YOU personally set the bar high.
For more business coaching tips, call me on 0411 622 666. Have a great year ahead!
