Posted by On a daily basis, there is at least one bad habit that we are guilty of doing at work. Yet you still can’t help doing them despite knowing they are not in accordance with the policy or etiquette established by the company. Worst of all, you are not worried about the consequences as you viewed these actions to be trivial.
We all make mistakes and violate certain work policies but if your habits start to get the attention of your boss and colleagues, you might just end up getting a disciplinary action or worse losing your only job. These are the most common work habits that Malaysian workers made that could put yourself in a bad light.
Playing the blame game
When misfortunes at work happen to you, what would be your first thought? Do you think about who was at fault, besides you? Or do you accept responsibility for such common mistakes that were under your control? With these thoughts in mind, here are 5 reasons why we play the blame game.
- Blaming works like a defence mechanism. Regardless if you call it projection, denial or displacement, blame helps you to preserve your sense of self-esteem by not acknowledging your own flaws or failures.
- We are not exceptional in determining the cause of other people’s behaviour or even our own.
- Blame is used as a tool to hurt other people.
- It is easier to the fault at someone else compared to accepting your own responsibility.
- People lie and put the blame on others.
Hanging out and not doing anything productive during work-hours
From taking frequent toilet or smoke breaks to taking an extended lunch hour, there are workers out there that would find ways to put their feet up for a break. The need for an occasional break is natural but usually we don’t realise it until our colleagues and bosses notice it first. All these shortcomings can be easily noticed by you by these 4 subtle signs:
- Your Boss does not give you important tasks to lead on
- You frequently overextend your work deadlines
- You make excuses at work on a daily or weekly basis
- You are glued to your phone too often during working hours
Related: Common Habits That Make You Look Unprofessional at Work
Talking too much during working hours
Spending excessive time on talking can disrupt work productivity as well as affecting other coworkers. All of that talking can cost time, energy as well as your credibility at work. Some of the common tropes of over-talking include:
- Talking about yourself
- Talking to show how knowledgeable you are with the tendency of undermining other people compared to building credibility.
- Talking out of nervousness or insecurity
- Cutting in to prevent other people from talking.
- Talking to fill the silence with noise in the workplace.
Complaining about your boss
There is no perfect boss that exist in this world and yours certainly has his/her own flaws that you or any employee can complain about. That does not mean you should talk about it openly. Complaining about your boss when he or she is not around may seem acceptable and your peers might even join in the chat, but if you do it too frequently, it’s just a matter of time your boss finds out.
At that point, you are seen as a negative and deceptive person in the eyes of everyone at your workplace. That is definitely not the type of habit you want to establish for yourself and especially not involving your boss.
Pushing work responsibilities around
A person who pushes off work responsibility may ask you or someone else to assist them or finishing up their work. Co-workers who truly needed support deserve the help, but if the person regularly pushes the work to other people their request should never be entertained. Bottom line only provides an offer to help out when you can, be honest if you are not able to and don’t let it become a common work habit.
Abuse the use of medical leave and absenteeism
It has become a norm that employees incorrectly utilise their sick leave to take a day off when they should in actual fact should use their annual leave instead. Taking unnecessary medical leave not only affects your productivity but adds strain on your co-workers who will have to pick up your workload for not being at the office. The implication of utilising your sick leave can severely affect your reputation in the company unless you are genuinely sick or when a close relative, spouse or child is sick.
Do you have any bad habits that Malaysians have in the workplace? Leave us your thoughts on the comment sections below. Head over to Jobstore.com and unveil your next job opportunity.
You Jing is a content writer who writes career and lifestyle contents to inspire job seekers and employers alike on their journey to work-life balance, empowerment and transformation in their career path.
Reach me at youjing@jobstore.com