There may be one key factor that is missing in your equation for the perfect job; your attitude! Even if you’re doing your job perfectly, if you have a bad attitude, no one is going to want to promote you. So what makes someone have a bad attitude? Five of the things that can give someone a bad reputation in the workplace are entitlement, a “can’t do” attitude, no drive, gossip,or playing the blame game.
Have you ever been upset when a coworker gets the promotion you felt you were more qualified for? Well you may be exhibiting some of the signs of entitlement. Don’t get upset if this is you, we’ve all been there! The little green monster of jealousy sometimes just latches on and never wants to let go. If you ever catch yourself starting to slip into this, remind yourself that you are doing the best you can do and that your time will come soon. As hard as it is to wait for your time to come, being patient and diligent is the best way to show your boss how much you care about your job.
Having a “can’t do” attitude can also give off the vibe that you aren’t willing to put in the work necessary to excel at your job, or that you lack the confidence to go out of your comfort zone and try something new. The same goes for having no drive. If your boss gives you a project to work on and you give excuses as to why you can’t work on it, then your boss isn’t going to assign you more projects, won’t promote you, and might possibly fire you if you can’t handle the heat of a fast pace job.When one lacks motivation in the workplace, other people notice quickly, and no one wants to be labeled as “the lazy one” in the office.
As much as I love the show Gossip Girl, gossip in the workplace is a strict no no. When gossip starts, all it can do is cause harm to other people and yourself. As addicting as it can be, it will almost always come back to haunt you. I remember when I was on a mission trip in Costa Rica back in 2013, one of the boys started gossiping about one of the leaders on the trip.Once the rumors spread, it created a division in the team that became irreversible. This made our task at hand extremely difficult to do because no one trusted one another and everyone now had preconceived ideas about our trip leader. This made a lot of our mission work hard to do because this person was no longer seen as a strong leader. When gossip starts, it always ends up hurting another person. Gossip creates division, and as we all know, a house divided cannot stand.
Lastly, playing the blame game is never a game worth playing. We all know someone who hasn’t owned up to their mistakes before or who has blamed someone else for something they’ve done. Once we see this side of an individual, we never want to work with this person again. Why is this? Because it destroys any trust or faith you may have had in that person. No one likes the coworker who is out for themselves and willing to put others down in order to build themselves up. Don’t be the one who pulls people down in order to get yourself higher; instead, help lift up other people who can lift you higher in return. Creating good relations and networking with others is one key to success that we cannot afford to leave out.
Now that you understand what not to do in the workplace, go be the awesome #GirlBosses that you are!