It’s always hard to identify our own bad habit, especially in the workplace. There are 5 common bad work habits that can be solved relatively easily once you acknowledge them.
1. Mixing Work and Pleasure
Meeting a partner at work may seem like the best thing ever—until it isn’t. While dating a colleague doesn’t always turn out badly, things can turn bad quickly and immediately affect your work life.
2. Gossiping
Gossip often occurs in the workplace when morale is low. When people are unhappy at work, they want something to talk about other than their own dissatisfaction with their job. However gossiping at the watercooler can quickly make its way to your boss. Constant gossiping can distract from your tasks and often result in lower moral.
3. Showing Up Late
Coming to work late sends a message that your job is not a priority for you. Depending on where you work and what the company culture is like, this can be a major problem. When it comes to meetings, it’s particularly important to be punctual and respectful of other people’s time.
4. Complaining
It happens…it, sometimes you have to do things at work that are less than ideal, but complaining won’t actually fix anything. Instead, constantly griping could make your coworkers see you as a negative person.
5. Being Too Chatty
Whether it’s chatting with your co-workers directly or using messaging apps or texts, chatting with your friends all day is a surefire way to make sure you’re not reaching your full potential at work. If you’re always making small talk with your coworkers instead of actually getting work done, you lose a lot of time. Overtime your boss can also notice.
If you’re struggling to balance your work and personal life, chances are, your manager or direct boss is contributing to these issues. Does you manager constantly give you work over the weekends or ask you to work late? Do you get in trouble if you’re a few minutes late? If so, it’s time to do something about the issue.
Step 1: Recognize the Problem
If you don’t have any balance between you work and personal life, first look for the reason why. Are you pushing yourself too hard and constantly competing with your co-workers? Or do you feel pressured by your boss to go above and beyond every day? Try making a list of the projects your boss has given you that are causing you the most stress. Then, think of some ways you could help yourself. If you try those things and realize your boss truly is the issue, it’s time to call a meeting.
Step 2: Honest Conversation with Your Boss
Arrange a time to meet with your boss to discuss your concerns. Professional honesty is the best tone for the meeting. The focus of the meeting should be on your position and the responsibilities. Focus on the nature of your position and your ability to accomplish your tasks and goals with working flexibly.
Step 3: Know When to Go To HR
First, make sure you understand your company’s guidelines and policies because every workplace is different. However, if you have meet with your boss and the problem persists, it’s probably time to go to HR. Meeting with HR is a great way to understand your organization’s experience with and overall openness to work-life balance. Doing so will help you understand how the company tries to help its employees and getting this background information will help you determine if there are organization barriers or if the challenge really is just dealing with a reluctant manager.
It might seem like a big, scary decision to make, but you’ll be much happier when you have a boss who understands you have a life when you leave the office!
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Before grabbing your laptop to edit, follow these five steps to make your resume really shine:
Making the decision to quit a job is almost never easy. Deciding to quit your job is a personal decision often based on your career path and career objectives. However, actually quitting a job is never easy. Follow these 7 steps with help you quit your job with grace:
Speak to your manager face-to-face and give two- to three-weeks’ notice. This shows respect is advised unless your employer suggest you leave immediately. Often positions that include personal or confidential information end immediately at the company’s request. This is usually for security reasons only.
Come in after hours to pack your desk and box up your personal items. The goal here is to not disrupt your coworkers.
Keeping others in mind, don’t rub it in people’s faces that you’re leaving. Whether you’re departing for a higher-paying job or an entrepreneurial venture try not to show your glee.
It is easy to feel like you can slack off once you give your two weeks’ notice. However, continue to attend meetings and maintain. Additionally, focus your work time on tying up loose ends and transitioning responsibilities to colleagues.
Often managers will request you create a transition document. This document should outline the projects you’ve been working on, key information and important contacts to pass along to your team or the person assuming your duties. This transition document is a great way to transition out of a role without burning bridges.
No matter what the circumstances are of your exit from the company, thank your manager and colleagues for the years of collaboration, hard work, and achievements. Being appreciative when you exit a position will back off in the long run.
While it may be awkward to leave, you must stick by your decision to quit. Therefore, say your goodbyes and leave. Your former team needs to get back to work and you need to move on to your next role.
Delta Computer Consulting, Inc. is certified through the WBENC (Women’s Business Enterprise National Council) as a woman-owned and woman-operated business.
