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How well you perform your job description certainly pertains to work success. However, there are many other things that influence work success. All employees have bad habits, many of which they may not even know about. Here are a couple of these habits. If you are honest with yourself and see yourself reflected in any of these, think deeply about changing them. They may be the difference between the work success you think you have attained and the work success others see you as having attained.
Seven Bad Work Habits That Undermine Work Success
Smoking
Smoking outside your place of business is bad optics no matter how you cut it. If there are not strictly enforced workplace breaks, co-workers naturally begin to wonder how many minutes a day a smoker spends smoking instead of working.
A study revealed that smokers earn an average of 20 percent less than their non-smoking co-workers. This discrepancy is likely due to the educational differences between smokers and non-smokers, but nonetheless, do you want to be part of this demographic for any reason?
Workplace Romance
At first it seems like the best of both worlds. Someone goes to work to make money and work with his/her romantic partner. Dating a co-worker does not guarantee bad results, but there appears to be a correlation between dissatisfaction with work and office romance according to research conducted by Glassdoor. This dissatisfaction could occur for numerous reasons, but it is an element of which to be aware. Another consideration is distraction. Does the boss see this as a distraction for which one’s reputation can suffer?
Reluctance to Go Above and Beyond
Do you ever reference you job description in order to see if you are paid to perform a certain function? Would you be in line at the punch out clock waiting for 5:00 to appear on the digital readout? Don’t think for a second that your co-workers and managers don’t know you are exactly this “type.”
You will find that those who are very successful are never standing in line to punch out. They are looking for new tasks in which to excel—tasks that are not anywhere in their job description. They seek out things they can do.
Non-Assertion
Are you one most likely to keep your head down at work? Do you say little or nothing during meeting? Do you believe that remaining quiet benefits the workplace overall? You are not annoying. You do not create static. Right?
Well, being unassertive is more likely to hurt you. If you never speak up, managers and co-workers begin to question your passion, your ability to share good ideas, or worse, perhaps you have no opinion. If you have a difficult time speaking up, remember assertion does not equal pushiness.
Pessimism
A very common habit that dampers work success is the tendency towards pessimism. If asked to take on additional work, do you groan or roll your eyes? When managers or co-workers dread requesting things of you, this undoubtedly hurts your chances for raises and promotions.
Avoiding Workplace Social Events
By the letter of the law, after work, work-sponsored outings, and social gatherings are not included in your job description. By the spirit of the law, these occasions can be considered very important. These outings provide opportunities to show your support of the company and bond with co-workers and management—the very people that may help you boost your career in the future.
Are You Always Overlooked
If it seems that you have been overlooked for promotions or for raises, look beyond the quality of your job description work performance. Look at yourself from the perspective of the work habits that you have slowly started to accumulate over time. You may be the individual holding yourself back from work success in ways you may never have anticipated before.
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