Learning how to manage yourself on the job should be easy, right? (Muffled laughter in the background). Okay, so we know that we all have room for improvement. But what needs improving? And how do we go about doing that? Shala Marks gives us four work blunders to start fixing.
Profanity. Who doesn’t love the immense satisfaction that comes with dropping a good, hearty f-bomb on the job? However, you never know who may be listening. What you may think is a private muttering session may actually be overheard by somebody who it affects. And using profanity in conversations just flat-out is not professional. You can get your point across in cleaner ways. Profanity doesn’t make you a bad person, but it can reflect poorly on you and possibly your work.
Bias. We all have biases, strong and weak. But when and where we voice those biases is crucial. Whether they’re okay to have is a totally different conversation. Racist comments are a highly effective way of landing you in scalding-hot water, but there are plenty of other ways to piss people off as well. Even jokes should be used with caution: your sexist one-liner is still sexist, just to name one example.
Leisure. Everything you do online is traceable. Everything you do online at work is monitored. You know where this is going. Leave the “fun internet stuff” for your personal time. Use work resources to work. This isn’t just the inappropriate stuff. This is also recreational social media =, gaming, chatting, etc.
Unpreparedness. We’ve probably all had that anxiety dream where you show up to school or work or some other function and have to present something, and you have prepared absolutely nothing. Not being prepared is a nightmare for everyone. Being organized is the first step. Keep good records. Don’t be too messy. Always being prepared will allow you to do better work.
Published by Conselium Executive Search, the global leader in compliance search.
