Topic2 on 3/26 "Work habits that make people hate you"

Work habits that make people hate youEveryone's office has that one person who just doesn’t seem to play nicely with others.   Unless you happen to work on a ship, your colleagues are going to mind if you make the entire place smell like day-old fish. — Dr Travis Bradberry   Most of us worry about making big blunders at work, but it’s often subtle habits or behaviours that are the most damaging to our reputations. Some people learn the hard way and others never quite get the lesson. It’s a topic several LinkedIn Influencers weighed in on this week. Here is what two of them had to say.  Dr Travis Bradberry, President at TalentSmart  “No matter how talented you are or what you’ve accomplished, there are certain behaviours that instantly change the way people see you and forever cast you in a negative light,” wrote Bradberry in his post The 9 Worst Mistakes You Can Ever Make at Work.  What are those mistakes? And what’s so awful about them? Among them:  “Backstabbing. The name says it all. Stabbing your colleagues in the back, intentionally or otherwise, is a huge source of strife in the workplace,” wrote Bradberry. “One of the most frequent forms of backstabbing is going over someone’s head to solve a problem. People typically do this in an attempt to avoid conflict, but they end up creating even more conflict as soon as the victim feels the blade.”  “Gossiping. People make themselves look terrible when they get carried away with gossiping about other people,” he wrote. “Wallowing in talk of other people’s misdeeds or misfortunes may end up hurting their feelings if the gossip finds its way to them, but gossiping will make you look negative and spiteful every time, guaranteed.”  “Announcing that you hate your job. The last thing anyone wants to hear at work is someone complaining about how much they hate their job. Doing so labels you as a negative person and brings down the morale of the group,” Bradberry wrote. “Bosses are quick to catch on to naysayers who drag down morale, and they know that there are always enthusiastic replacements waiting just around the corner.”  “Eating smelly food. Unless you happen to work on a ship, your colleagues are going to mind if you make the entire place smell like day-old fish. The general rule of thumb when it comes to food at work is, anything with an odor that might waft beyond the kitchen door should be left at home,” Bradberry offered.  “Telling lies. So many lies begin with good intentions — people want to protect themselves or someone else — but lies have a tendency to grow and spread until they’re discovered, and once everyone knows that you’ve lied, there’s no taking it back,” Bradberry wrote.  Clinton Buelter, entrepreneur, founder of HardToFill.com  If we’re lucky, learning from our mistakes comes easy. More often, however, those lessons are rather painful. Recruiter and entrepreneur Buelter wrote that he “made a bunch of mistakes working as a recruiter” which that took years to spot and fix.  He offered up the most important lessons he has learned in his post, 12 Things I Learned the Hard Way. Among them:  “Open up. Stop spending 80% of your time worrying about how someone is going to put one over on you. Quit being a skeptic and a pessimist,” he wrote. It’s important to remain open, no matter your career path. “Figure out who you want to help and build your network around. Make yourself accessible to them.”  “Casual wins. After college we feel the need to sound and write fancy. This is what the corporate world expects from us, right?,” Buelter wrote. His advice: “Cut the crap. Cut it out of your conversations, emails, and daily life. When you message a friend or family member you don’t sound corporatey do you? No. You use a casual tone in your message and they respond. It’s a tone that people relate to.”  “Leave your desk. It’s easy to get stressed out and frustrated at work. You’re sitting there grinding away, losing sight of the bigger picture with each minute,” he wrote. “Schedule a time to stop. Then, get up and leave your desk. Don’t go slack off somewhere. Instead, keep this time focused and make the most of it.”       WHICH OFFICE PERSONALITY TYPE ARE YOU?  The Ball Breaker  These guys are the ones who will stop at nothing to become successful; they’ll sell their own mothers if it means they’ll get ahead,' said Scott. These guys are low on the agreeableness scale and very high on emotional stability. They’re low on empathy and mildly extraverted, meaning that they’re out for solo success and not really a team player.  Mother Hen office  'Guy or girl, they’re the ones you can always rely on for a pick-me-up chat and a cup of tea. 'They’ve been in the business for years and are probably in a support or admin role. They never socialise with you but subtly know all the gossip in the office.'  The Socialite  Always booking after-work drinks, will be thinking about the Christmas party in July and seem to know everyone around the office,' explained Scott. 'They appear to do minimal work but everyone still loves them.'They are high on extraversion, low on emotional stability and high on openness. Socialites are 'the life and soul of the party' and will want everyone to join in.   The Guy with 'Bernard’s Watch'  Bernard’s Watch was a British TV show in the late 90s and early 2000s in which a young boy could stop time using a magic pocket watch. They’re the ones we’d all like to be. They’re in the office first and leave last and according to Scott this type have 'already been to the gym and done the school run, but still look amazing.' They’re able to be in a thousand different places at once. They are motivated self-starters and full of energy; nothing is too much for them and they’ll take anything on. They’re low on detail and will figure things out along the way.  The Creative'Think ‘Apple tech geeks’ and you know who these guys are,' said Scott. 'Their hair is messy; they probably have a beard and wear flared jeans and their desks have seemingly unrelated knick-knacks on them.' They are high on openness and low on conscientiousness. They’re unlikely to conform to conventional rules or working practices and thrive in teams that go against the grain. .              Discussion questions  1. Do you have any experiences of your co-workers with any bad work habits listed above that disrupted your working? If so how did you cope with those situations?   2. What are any other certain bad work habits that drive your or your colleagues crazy?   3. What are the most important factors in keeping good business manners?  4. what is your own way of relieving stress and frustration from work?    5. Do you agree or disagree with the 5th paragraph from the article? Which type of co-workers would you prefer to work together?　1. a man with good working ability but has those bad habits    2. a man with poor working ability but has no bad habits. 6. Which type of an office worker would you describe yourself to be according to the 2nd article ?