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magnetic monkey marketing blogWe know that bad habits exist and we pretty much all have at least one. I know, I know, except you… you’re special. Cue the Jaws theme song and the dramatic flair as reality sinks in. We all do things we’re not particularly proud of and work to change. That’s just how the world works.

Let’s take the moment to discuss some of those bad habits that can cost us our jobs, shall we? We shall:

1. Procrastination: You might be thinking that this only affects you and not your coworkers. You would be wrong. When you save all your work to the last minute, you are hurting more than yourself– you are not the only person in the equation. You have to think about the person (or people) to which you are giving your work. Because you were late– or waited until the last possible moment– that person now has to rush through their part of the work, which could lead to mistakes or even failure. And that would be your entire fault.

2. Negativity: We’ve talked before how positive attitudes and word choices are an absolute must. No one likes dealing with Negative Nancy’s all the time. When you are constantly focusing on the negatives, you are not actually getting good work done. Whining and complaining is not a productive use of time! Plus you will bring the whole team down in the process… then no one wins. Eventually, the higher ups will get sick of your attitude, cut you loose, and find someone with a more positive outlook. Don’t be that guy who get’s fired because of his negativity. No one wants that.

3. Body Language: This is a much more subtle bad habit. Body language can play a huge role in your overall image. If you are constantly rolling your eyes or avoiding eye contact, people will think you are not paying attention… or even worse, don’t care about the topic. It is incredibly rude to appear uninterested in what your boss has to say. Another thing to consider is your handshake. There is definitely a right and wrong way to shake someone’s hand– this means no limp noodles and no death grips. Just keep it firm and professional.

4. Lack of Focus/ Inattentiveness: There’s nothing worse than an employee that can’t seem to focus. If you are always distracted, your coworkers will definitely notice. Also, remember to be attentive to the environment and culture of your workplace. Each one will have a slightly different feel to it, so be mindful of that.

5. Speaking Without Thinking/ General Rude Behavior: Okay, this one should be pretty self-explanatory. Have you ever heard of foot-in-mouth syndrome? Most likely you have. Just don’t let that happen in the workplace. This is not an appropriate time to be saying whatever comes to mind. You must have a filter because saying something inappropriate could cause you your career. In addition to that, interacting with your coworkers is not the time to make rude comments. Once again, just be professional.

6. Inefficiency: It can be quite difficult to focus solely on work for the entire day, but it is important not to spend too much time chatting and wasting time on social media. You are there to work and inefficiency can be detrimental to the quality of your content. Don’t let this bad habit affect your job.

7. Poor Email Habits/ Grammar: Nothing looks worse than terrible email etiquette. Trust us. This can mean many different things: it could be not responding to an email at all or in a timely manner; it could also be misrepresenting yourself or your work. The way you craft your email changes the way you are perceived. You could come off as rude or short-tempered or as long-winded and boring. You should be keeping up with your grammar as well. You are a business professional and should act like it. DO NOT use text speak or abbreviations– write with decorum and intelligence.

8. Tardiness/Long Breaks: It reflects really poorly on you and your work when you show up late. It only makes it seem like you have little to no respect for the company/your boss. Don’t show up late to work and don’t take excessive lunch breaks. Be respectful of your work environment. Our philosophy is 10 minutes early = on time; on time= late; and late= unacceptable. Commit this motto to heart– live, eat, and breathe it.

9. Too Independent: Of course, sometimes we need to work on our own and get stuff done efficiently. Some of us work better alone, it’s true, but if you refuse to be a team player, you’re really bringing down the overall productivity level. You can’t be a lone wolf when you are part of a team. Work together with positivity and consistency and watch your project thrive.

10. Lying: Dishonesty is a terrible habit to get into. Whether you are telling small white lies or huge outright lies, you are hurting both your career and those around you. Forbes put forth a great article on the same subject in which they explained a great quote. Ann Kaiser Stearns (psychologists and author) said, “Whether we work in business or banking, academia or the army, publishing or philanthropy, housing or health care, the marketplace or the ministry, if we lack integrity and betray our employer, we don’t deserve to keep our jobs.”

Of course, these are just ten bad workplace habits when there are many more to choose from, but keep these in mind at all times! It would suck to lose your job or miss out on a promotion/raise because of something that is so easily avoidable.