Nobody’s perfect and we all come chock full of our own personal bad habits. But what if your undesirable habits are piling up and creating a case against your work success?
If you think you might be committing some office faux pas and are interested in making some small steps to improvement, ask yourself if any of the following bad habits ring true for you:
Exaggerating the Truth
You may feel you need to “prove yourself” at work and talk up all of your achievements, but are you sure you’re being 100% honest? Misrepresenting your credentials, accomplishments, hours worked, or actively plagiarizing won’t bode well for you once coworkers and bosses start to catch on. If your teammate had a big win, did you take credit for it? Have you been misusing expense accounts? These are questions to ask yourself to ensure your integrity remains, because without it, your road to success will be a bumpy one.
Negativity
Are you the person in the office that constantly bats down ideas, talks about coworkers behind their backs and complains about the tasks you are assigned? If so, you’re contributing to a diminished office morale. Whether or not your colleagues recognize you immediately as a source, eventually it will become clear that the negative energy in the office is stemming from you. Not only will you lose the trust of your peers, you’ll lose the respect of your boss. When the time comes for a promotion, your negativity won’t get you ahead.
Not Being a Team Player
Networking with your colleagues, sharing ideas and working together on projects is an important way to grow, learn and get ahead. If you’re finding that you seclude yourself from group scenarios, avoid office social events or act too independently on your tasks, you’re sending some powerful signals to those around you. Those that aren’t team players tend to get less support when issues arise.
Here are some other bad habits to be on the lookout for:
- Procrastination
- Addiction to Facebook/social media
- Inefficiency
- Rudeness
- Inattentiveness
- Tardiness/Excessive Absence
If you find yourself guilty of more than just a few of these, you may want to consider what effect your behavior, whether unintentional or not, is having on your chances of success. You may think you’re getting away with your actions but it’s only a matter of time before they start holding you back.
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