3 Negative Habits that May be Hindering Your Career
This is a Guest Post written by Samantha Peters, an avid blogger who enjoys writing about various career and job related topics. Sam manages The Education Update and lives in beautiful San Diego, California.
Most employees within a company have some habits that could be considered negative or counterproductive. There are some habits that are so negative, however, that they actually prevent employees from advancing through an otherwise good career. It is not always easy to break these habits and some employees attempt to justify the behavior. Accepting a work situation and changing these top negative habits can help an individual to progress forward in the workplace.
Refusing Unexpected Work
This habit is often seen from professionals who feel overwhelmed or who feel underappreciated. One example of this is when an employee declines to perform a task because it is not part of his or her normal daily workload. It can also occur when an employee constantly states that there is no time for any additional tasks. Employers dislike this type of behavior because it shows a disregard for the success of the larger company and for immediate co-workers.
Refusal To Change
It is not uncommon for a company to change internal policies or procedures more frequently than would be expected. One habit that can prevent a career from advancing is when the employee refuses to keep up with changes or refuses to actually perform according to the new guidelines. This frequently occurs with employees who have some seniority and who feel that they personally do not have to follow the new rules. Employers dislike this type of attitude because it substitutes personal judgment for a decision that was usually carefully crafted by a group of managers or team leaders.
Unreliable Performance
This is consistently listed as the top bad habit that holds people back from moving ahead in a job. Unreliability can be caused by many reasons. It could be an inherent personal habit that is difficult to overcome. Unreliable performance means that new tasks cannot be easily given to the employee because there is no guarantee that the results will be satisfactory. Researchers seeking to advance in careers in life sciences can be restricted to lower-responsibility positions if research data is not consistently recorded according to strict guidelines.
There are many negative habits that can really stop a career from advancing. Many of them can be changed by the employee with some effort while others might be more job-specific and could indicate that a certain profession is not correct for that individual. Most employers will want to make an effort to help an employee overcome negative habits and advance within the company.