At Local Eye Site, we enjoy providing you with the tools necessary to find a job, ace an interview, or build your personal brand during the job search process. Occasionally, however, we feel the need to stray from the normal configuration of blog posts and bring you something totally different. In today’s post, we’ve listed out the 10 things we feel will help your employer relieve you of your duties (and subsequently burn a bridge on your resume). Here are the things you should probably avoid doing in the workplace, no matter how much you want a new job. Enjoy!
1. Don’t Show Up On Time
Alright, so you slept in that one time or you had to run an errand or two on the way to the office. No sweat, right? While being late every once in a while is perfectly normal, excessive tardiness can be detrimental to your professional reputation and create animosity from your coworkers who do actually make the effort to get there on time. Although every office is different in how much tardiness is tolerated, showing up consistently late is one way to get on the nerves of your coworkers and supervisors over time. Believe it or not, things like punctuality are noticed - regardless of your office’s policy on the matter.
2. Regularly Engage in Conflict With Your Coworkers
Talking behind backs, excluding individuals from lunch for no reason whatsoever, and spreading rumors throughout the workplace are all great ways to end up on the naughty list in your workplace. If your goal is to be the single most annoying employee in your office, then these tactics will help you tumble down the corporate latter faster than you can say “give me a pink slip”. Remember this: nobody wants to keep negative people around the office, especially if that person is the source of tension or conflict in the workplace.
3. Constantly Complain About Your Salary or Hours
If “Long Hours, Short Pay - That’s The Way I Feel Today” is your daily motto (and everyone knows it), then step right up for your fast pass to unemployment. We’re not saying you shouldn’t question your compensation or working hours if you feel the need to do so. In fact, it’s often recommended that you speak to your supervisor if you ever feel those types of conversations are necessary. What we’re getting at is simple: if you complain about your compensation or hours more than regularly, it is quite possible your coworkers will start to become annoyed or your supervisor will begin to question your happiness within the company.
4. Demonstrate Inability to Follow Directions
Wandering aimlessly around the office may be a good way to get exercise during the work day, but doing this type of activity all day, every day can have adverse effects on your performance review at the end of the year. If you’re not one to follow directions, or do the job you’re supposed to do in the first place, then it may be about that time for you to hit the ole’ dusty trail to another job. Although creativity and breaks are both highly encouraged in the workplace, not listening to your supervisor or underperforming in your daily duties are two ways to expedite the job loss process.
5. Don’t Be A Team Player
Selfishness in the workplace is something we all struggle with - especially on days when we’re bombarded with items to get done before the end of a shift. It becomes a problem, however, when that selfishness counteracts efforts from other members of the group to work together to achieve a common goal. Not being a team player not only makes it harder to get something done, but it begins to stir emotions within the organization that create conflict in the workplace.
6. Don’t Be Open To Learning New Skills or Technologies
If you choose to keep your rock and chisel close by rather than learn the new system corporate decided to upgrade to at the beginning of the month, then you may want to hop in your Flintstone mobile and paddle home. In this age of technology, the workplace is subject to significant technological changes that will eventually require everyone to learn some new form of technology in the near future. By choosing to opt out of learning new systems, you’re creating a technology gap between yourself and your job, which could eventually lead to termination or demotion depending on the demand for your job and the supply of people who are willing to adapt to the changing environments.
7. Tell Your Supervisor “That’s Not In My Job Description”
Nobody is above dusting off computers or changing the water cooler, but if you think you’re education and experience places you beyond these types of duties, then you’re walking on thin ice in the workplace. Carrying a sense of superiority - even if you’ve worked hard throughout your entire career - can limit your potential with any organization. If your supervisor asks you to do something outside of your normal job description for the good of the organization overall, refusing to do it won’t necessarily get you fired, but it can demonstrate your reluctance to “go with the flow” and work as a team player in times of stress and chaos. We’re not saying you should do everyone else’s work, but we are stressing the importance of being willing to go outside of your specified duties to ensure the success of the business when asked to do so.
8. Be Rude To The Customers/Patients
This one is a no-brainer. If you’re rude to the people who make your business what it is, you’re probably not going to last very long at that organization. Employers won’t tolerate employees who cast a shadow on the business, so take check your bad attitude at the door if you want to keep your job.
9. Refuse To Be Creative
Creativity is key to being successful in any occupation. Refusing to be creative in your role, regardless of how boring and non-creative it may be, can leave you vulnerable to termination the minute someone comes along with a fresh, creative perspective. We know that not every job is creative in the literal sense, but maintaining some level of freshness in any particular role can prevent it from going stale and keep a termination letter out of your inbox.
10. Lie To Keep Up Appearances & Avoid Criticism
Lying to avoid problems in the workplace is extremely problematic in and of itself. Although lying may seem like a good idea at the time, we all know that it never works out in the end when it comes to professional integrity. Lies always have a way of coming back and biting us in the rear, so its best just to avoid them altogether. Unless your idea of lying includes a nap and a pillow, its best just to avoid telling lies altogether.
Overall, the items listed above are things you should probably avoid doing in the workplace if you want to stay gainfully employed. We’re not saying that by doing any or all of these your job is at significant risk per se (each workplace is different and some of these may not apply), but we are saying that doing these things in excess could result in undesirable actions that would be career limiting moves on your part. Conversely, NOT doing these things does not guarantee an employer will decide to keep you. The best thing to do is to try and be the best employee you can within the constraints provided to you by your employer. If you’re ready for a change, simply exit with grace and professionalism to avoid burning a bridge in the process.
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