Our office is the one place that plays a crucial role in shaping us professionally. It’s where we practice our profession, work with our co-workers, network with clients, make mistakes and learn lessons from our seniors. It’s a place where we grow professionally. Developing toxic workplace habits in such an environment can harm our career path immensely.
Picking up toxic workplace habits is easy and often goes unnoticed. Some also choose to turn a blind eye to these toxic workplace habits thinking it’s not a big deal. However, they do have an adverse impact on our careers.
Here are some toxic workplace habits you must give up immediately if they have become a part of your work life, in order to achieve success in your career life.
Running late for work almost every single day:
Punctuality is the first step toward success. Today most of us run late for work quite often due to incorrect lifestyle patterns. This has a direct and negative effect on not just your work but also your overall image. If your boss or colleagues spot you entering office late almost every other day, you are going to be tagged as unprofessional and compel them to question your ability to work efficiently. This can result in many opportunities in the form of responsibilities or assigning assignments/projects, slipping away from your hand. So make sure you are punctual.
Indulging in gossip and chatting with colleagues:
There is no harm in making colleagues your close friends at work. It’s only natural to do so since you spend the maximum hours of your day at work. Nevertheless, you must not indulge in unnecessary and futile gossip about other office co-workers. The more you gossip about your colleagues, the more negative image you create about yourself at the workplace. Besides, the time you spend gossiping can be better utilised in either completing your work or upskilling. You can utilise your lunch and tea breaks to chit-chat with your colleagues to refresh your mind instead of eating up work hours.
Criticising your boss or superiors unnecessarily:
We all experience clashes with our boss or superiors at some point in our workplace. That does not mean we must constantly keep criticising and complaining about it. Rather, find solutions to deal with the issues you might be facing with your seniors. Acknowledge them in the right way. Further, though some bosses do have a tendency to be toxic, not all seniors are similar. Figure out a way of working with them in peace and find new things/qualities to learn from them.
Don’t be laid back:
Don’t restrict yourself to doing only that which is mentioned under your job role and duties. Be open to working on new things that might not fall under your area of expertise. Be enthusiastic to assist co-workers from other departments. Be open to taking extra effort once in a while. You might know which new avenue might open up for you, leading you to a higher ladder of success. Show willingness to learn new things and take on new challenges and responsibilities.
Never accepting your mistake:
This is the worst habit to feed. Always learn to accept your mistakes and own them. Shed the self-righteous attitude. It can do more harm than you can even imagine. Accept your mistakes, learn to apologise and be willing to rectify and improve them. This will also help you to sharpen your qualities. Remember, mistakes are the best teachers in life.
Overworking:
Most of us are workaholics, but that does not necessarily make us productive. Take frequent breaks, and refresh your mind to be able to work efficiently. Overworking can lead to burnout which will negatively impact the quality of your work. Overworking increases the chances of errors in work. This won’t do you any good. Take breaks and ensure work-life balance.
These are some toxic workplace habits that are easily manageable. Make sure you deal with them before they get the best of you.
