Annoying Office Habits You May not Know You Have
A huge part of almost any job is getting along with and working well with others. That can be hard to do though if there is a member of staff or two that simply drives everyone else nuts. It’s easier than you might think to rub people the wrong way at work so take a look at this list and if you recognize any of these annoying traits in yourself it’s time to put a stop to them before your bad habits earn you the “office nuisance “label:
Lack of Preparation – You show up for meetings on time alright but you always seem to be missing one little piece of information, one spreadsheet or one memo that is crucial to your participation and the meeting is held up for ten minutes as you dig through your desk to find it.
This kind of behavior not only demonstrates to your coworkers that your organizational skills leave a lot to be desired but to many it may seem to be a mark that you really do not respect your coworkers time. Take an extra ten minutes (even if it means coming to work early) to make sure that when you walk into that conference room you are ready to go.
Bad Phone Etiquette – Your phone conversations are so loud that they can be heard all the way across the office and everyone knows that you have a hot date tonight/ your spouse is an idiot/ your cat has flu. People who spend too much time on personal phone calls tend to be resented by their coworkers (its wasting on the clock time) and when those details have to be shared with everyone else because you can’t keep your voice down the resentment doubles.
Keep personal calls short and sweet and if you really must leave your cellphone on (if you are allowed) put it on vibrate; you might think your latest ringtone is the best ever but everyone else might not agree.
You Love to Play the Walking Wounded – You may think that you are doing everyone in the office by dragging yourself to work with a 103 degree fever and/or a somewhat unusual rash but it is unlikely that your coworkers will agree. Instead they are likely to be locked in their offices frantically covering everything (including themselves) with Lysol spray and cursing about your sickly presence under their breath.
If you have anything more than the sniffles stay home, your coworkers will pick up the slack while you recover and they will thank you for not sharing for once.
You er..Smell
Not the “hasn’t had a shower in a month” kind of smell but the “oh my gosh did he bathe in a vat of Drakkar Noir” or the “smells like a ten year old ashtray” kind of smell. Your scent is important, especially when you’re working in a small, poorly ventilated space with lots of other people around, so be considerate of other people’s noses.
If you must smoke “air” yourself out before you come in, save the fancy cologne for date night and don’t eat boiled eggs or onions for lunch, it tends to put everyone else off theirs.
Learning to Let Go – Leaving the office Behind when you go on Vacation
Your vacation plans have been set for months and you should be as excited as a little kid at Christmas. Trouble is you are still checking your emails as the plane is taxiing and there is that nagging feeling at the back of your mind that your assistant will forget to call that client if you aren’t there to remind him.
Sound familiar? Most of us have a really hard time letting go of the office and actually enjoying the vacation we waited all year long for. Here are some really good reasons why you should make that extra effort to disengage though, since it will not only benefit you but your company as well:
Time to Recharge your Mind – Stepping away from the everyday pressures of your job you will actually find that when you return you will have a better perspective of many of the everyday issues at the office, just like you did on your very first day when everything was still shiny, exciting and new.
Let Others Step Up – if you are a supervisor chances are you got to be one because someone else once gave you the chance to step up and show the world (or the company at least) what you were really made of. Keep this in mind when you are tempted to check in with the office every fifteen minutes from the beach. Step back, sip another pina colada and let your team cope alone, they can.
Your Family will be Happier – Most of us occasionally neglect or spouse or children when back at home in favor of the office. It’s not the ideal scenario but it is hard to avoid sometimes. Don’t do it to them when you are all supposed to be on vacation though. Your vacation is a chance to atone for all those occasions when dinner was a lukewarm burger special from the drive thru and you missed the first three innings of your kid’s ballgame so take it.
Outgrown your Job Description? How to Get the Recognition You Deserve
So, you have been in your new position for a while now, you are settling in nicely but it seems that you are handling duties that go well above and beyond your original job description. The problem is that nobody – especially your boss- has seemed to notice or acknowledge all this extra effort. You are now simmering with resentment and you are determined to gain some of the recognition you deserve, preferably with a new title and a raise. But what is the best way to go about doing so? Some advice:
Make a List – Before you do anything else make a list of all the extra responsibilities you have taken on and all the time that you are putting in on these new projects. Perhaps you have begun orientating new employees and that is taking up a certain amount of your time every week now. Calculate how much time that is exactly and note it down. You should also get down on paper the amount of time you spend performing the tasks you were originally hired to do.
Invent Your New title – Have a second look at your list of extra responsibilities. Does it look similar to that of a fellow employee who has a “higher” title than the one you have? If so, you should note that down too. If you do not see anybody else with remotely the same responsibilities as you currently have invent a title that you think might be appropriate to more accurately describe your real roll in the company.
A Word about Money – A new title is great, but with it should come a new salary structure as well. Have a look at a few job classifieds or salary comparison websites . How much more does your desired new title make you worth?
Taking it to the Top – Once all of this preparation is complete the time has to come to request a formal meeting with your boss to discuss it all. Let her know in advance what you propose to discuss so that she can allot you a reasonable amount of her time instead of fitting you in between phone calls.
In the end it is up to you, and you alone to look out for yourself at work and take the initiative to ask for the recognition you deserve. Chances are that your boss may be so busy herself she has barely had time to notice how far your job duties have expanded. Present your case in a clear, calm manner and you should stand a great chance of getting what you want.
Will Going Back to School Really Help your Career?
College is four of five (or maybe even twenty) years in the past now but you have been thinking about returning to school to pursue an advanced degree to boost your earning potential even further. This however is a bigger decision than you might think and there are some points you should consider before you return to the academic world:
Why – Exactly what are your motivations for returning to school? Do you want to earn more money in your current profession or change gears altogether? Either option can be a good reason for resuming your education, as long as you have thought it through. If you are pursuing an advanced degree to further your current career make sure that the program you choose will actually translate into a real job in the future. Ask the admissions counselor about previous graduates, how many of them did land the kind of position you are looking for?
Is Working From Home Right for You?
Over the last several years the world of telecommuting has exploded. More and more businesses are offering their employees the chance to work from home (at least part of the time). Additionally, some companies are simply looking to the growing pool of home based virtual assistants to outsource tasks to. If you have been offered the chance to telecommute, or are considering becoming a virtual employee you do have to be aware of the pros and cons before you take the plunge:
On the Upside
Freedom – No boss looking over your shoulder, no one criticizing your choice of outfit today, no one is monitoring your coffee breaks.
Tips for Happiness at Work
How happy you are at work depends largely how much you actually like your job. But even those who love what they do have a bad day once in a while. There are some simple things you can do to make each and every day a little brighter and more productive:
- Get a good desk chair and sit up straight – A comfortable place to sit can make a huge difference to your day and sitting up straight is an instant energizer and motivator.
- Get a headset – Yes, you may feel silly at first, especially if everyone else around you still cradles the receiver against one shoulder but within a few days you will wonder how you ever lived without it. Read more
Best Holiday Gifts to Give a Job Seeker
Most of us would love to say that we have all of our holiday gift shopping done by now but the fact is that most of us don’t. If there is a job seeker yet to be crossed off your shopping list why not consider giving them something that can be truly useful to them this year instead of just that jumbo tin of popcorn? Here are some great gift ideas, inexpensive and not so, for meaningful gifts to brighten a job seeker’s holiday season;
- A stylish briefcase or portfolio. Something that matches their style without being too outré.
- A serious, expensive looking watch. The keyword here is expensive looking. It does not have to be a Rolex, just a timepiece that looks like it means business. No more Mickey Mouse.
- A gift certificate for a hair salon and/or a spa. Pamper them and improve their image at the same time.
- An upscale looking pen. It makes a terrible impression on an interviewer when an otherwise impressive candidate fishes their sister’s well chewed Jonas Brothers pen out of their bag because it was all that they could find before leaving the house.
- A gift of an hour with a career coach, or a professional resume rewriting.
- An offer of a lunch date with you and a friend who happens to work in the very field that your gift recipient is in searching for a position in.
- Another invitation, simply the offer of a sympathetic open ear and a broad shoulder to cry on when the job hunting all gets too much. The holidays can be really rough on a job seeker, emotionally as well as financially and sometimes just knowing that they have people in their corner, cheering them on can be the best gift of all.
Handling Holiday Time Off Requests
As the holidays roll around human resources departments have to invariably start dealing with an increased number of employee requests for time off. With all the hustle and bustle, all the shopping to be done and party arrangements to be made it is natural for workers to want to use their vacation days at this time of year.
Although you may feel that you should honor these requests in many cases doing so would leave the company critically understaffed. Here are a few hints for administering a holiday leave policy that is fair for all parties involved:
Is Work/Life Balance Really Possible
The expression “work-life balance” was first heard in the 70′s to express the relationship between private life and a person’s working life. This concept, which was first used in 1986 in the United States, has increased in importance as the separation of the private and professional sectors of life have continued to grow.
