You've aimed for that coveted post at work and you've been working hard at showing your boss you deserve a job promotion. But despite all the efforts, nothing seems to impress the big guy.
So, what is the problem? It may not be what you need to do to achieve your goals that's missing. It's possible you may have to stop doing certain bad habits at work to get the boss to notice you in the right way.
1. Skipping sleep to do more work. Some eager beavers may think that foregoing sleep to finish a project could win brownie points with the boss, so they do too much overtime. On the contrary, the boss may see this a productivity killer. It may tell them you're not mentally strong to handle stress.
"The short-term productivity gains from skipping sleep to work are quickly washed away by the detrimental effects of sleep deprivation on your mood, ability to focus and access to higher-level brain functions for days to come," said Travis Bradberry, author and CEO, via LinkedIn. "The negative effects of sleep deprivation are so great that people who are drunk outperform those lacking sleep."
This habit isn't only bad for your career, it's also bad for your health.
2. Not being a team player. How good at you at working with another person? Do you prefer to do things all by yourself rather than collaborating? Do you even socialize with the rest of your co-workers? Being socially-adept can define whether or not you'd make a good leader yourself.
"The people who are both smart and socially adept earn more in today's workforce than similarly endowed workers in 1980," according to a study done by economist Catherine Weinberger from UC Santa Barbara. "In 1980, there was no additional benefit to having both skills; today there is."
3. Becoming defensive about your work. Receiving feedback about your job helps you grow as a worker and if you're the type to dismiss criticisms or get defensive when you're told to do things differently, it may tell your boss you're not willing to listen to anything else. Some criticisms may be unfair, but acknowledging the slip-ups will make you look better than being defensive, according to Metro News.
4. Coming in late. Being occasionally late might be excusable, but making a habit out of it ultimately affects your overall performance and productivity at work. It shows your boss you don't know how to manage your time. It also shows you have no respect for other people's time, especially if these are the people that expect you to be in a meeting.
5. Keeping ideas and opinions to yourself. Perhaps for fear of fanning the flames, you tend to keep quiet about certain concerns at work, especially when these are opinions that go against the boss' ideas. If your boss is gracious and indeed a good boss, he or she will appreciate you more for speaking up, according to The Observer.
