Don't Take These Bad Habits Back to Work in the New Year
I know, I know, no one wants fall into the predictable parroting of “new year, new me”, however, for some of you, a closer look at some of the habits of old you can benefit us all. According to a report from the Center for Creative Leadership, “Problem Employees: Identify and Manage Them Before They Impact Your Business and Career,” the employees with the worst job performance—the kinds of workers that give managers the most trouble—demonstrate some of these “bad habits” . As a manager of a team of 20 and a very reasonable purveyor of good customer service, here are a few bad habits i am hoping (begging) you not to carry on in the new year:
Poor Communication Skills
I continue to be mystified by the level of basic communication that does not happen on a daily basis from grownups at work. If you are running late or cannot make it to work/to the meeting - just say that. Feeling overwhelmed and bit off more than you can chew - ask for help. Swamped with work and can’t immediately respond in detail to an email, just reply to confirm reciept, ask a few follow-up questions on the urgency and readjust your work to accommodate. Oh and while we are speaking on communication through email specifically, please consider using the blind carbon copy(BCC) feature in emails when sending messages to large groups of people. If you have placed a large list of recipients in the To or CC field, all of them will receive the reply. By placing recipients in the BCC field, you can help protect them (and me!) against receiving unnecessary replies from anyone using the Reply All feature.
Apologizing at Work
I have to admit that I am guilty of this one myself and actively working to shed this bad habit ASAP. Experts say that “Sorry” is overused in the American lexicon and many use it to be polite. This is going to sound egregious, but STOP IT! Stop apologizing, especially at work. It gives away your power, can come across as passive aggressive and make your actual expressions of regret and remorse feel less genuine when you slap a sorry on any old thing that happens that people don’t like. Here are some phrase you can use instead:
If you are experiencing technical issues or difficulties - “I appreciate your patience” or “Thank you for working with me”
If you need to join or penetrate a conversation - “ I’d love to add…” or “Here’s a different perspective…”
If you’ve made a mistake - “I take full responsibility” or “Thank you for the feedback - how can I improve?”
Not Working Well with Others
I get it. You’re a “lone wolf” and a “bad bitch”. You just come to work everyday to do your job and get paid. WRONG. This is the wrong attitude and will lead you down a less than favorable path. Nobody is saying you have to be chipper and jolly all the time but it is imperative that you are able to form positive relationships with your coworkers. Your unfortunate clinging to solitude is affecting the dynamics of the team and also encouraging a lack of trust in you. Again, not asking you to be everyone’s best friend simply saying give coworkers praise when its due, contribute to conversations and lend a helping hand where you can.
Giving Negative Attitude
Back when I was in college, my group and friends and I had this saying whenever we went anywhere and recieved poor customer service and negativity from cashiers or servers. We would say, “You are not a tree, you can get up and go somewhere else…” If you are unhappy with your job and it is making you miserable and rude you can and SHOULD leave. No should have to be miserable and you are putting a damper on the mood and days of all those you encounter. Hell, seems like everyone is hiring these days find something with a better fit. We all get emotionally drained at times, everyone is dealing with stuff outside of work but please do not bring that baggage to work. Use that PTO, those vacation and wellness days to pour into yourself - no one likes a grump with nothing positive to say ever.
What are some “bad habits” that you would like to see left behind from your coworkers?
