12 signs you are a bad employee

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

It is worth paying attention to so as not to be fired for professional incompetence.

1. You are constantly late

If you show up at the office later than the start of the working day more than once a month, you already have something to think about. If you regularly run into your office under the condemning views of colleagues who have been working for a long time, you need to start changing right now. If there is a question about reductions, they will definitely remember about delays.

Why is that bad

Punctuality begins to teach us in kindergarten. If by your age you cannot cope with such a trifle as the correct timing, can you be trusted with serious matters?

How to fix

Find out why you are late. If you can't wake up on time, go to bed earlier. If traffic jams are to blame, leave with a margin. Emergencies are also extraordinary because they happen rarely and unexpectedly. Most of the difficulties on the way to the office are quite predictable.

2. You execute orders mechanically

There is nothing to reproach you with, because you are not messing around. But, unfortunately, there is nothing to praise for, since you do exactly as much as is necessary so that you are not fired. Each additional assignment is annoying. And you do your usual business, as they say, without trying to optimize the process.

Why is that bad

In such a position, there are many disadvantages not only for the company, but also for the employee. On the one hand, the employee does not learn anything, needs constant control and instruction, sabotages everything new. On the other hand, you do not develop in any way, which deprives you of prospects in the future.

How to fix

If you are not interested in working, it may be worth considering changing the area of employment. Or just try adding fire to your current tasks. For example, it is in your best interest to think about how you can get the job done faster. This will free you up time at least for tea drinking and talking with colleagues. Or you can take on additional tasks and qualify for a higher salary or promotion.

3. You work much slower than your colleagues

Everyone in the department has approximately the same responsibilities, but you always submit reports later than others and generally lag behind in terms of indicators.

Why is that bad

In any team there are very fast and smart people who do everything faster than others. You don't need to focus on them. But if you are far behind the department average, then you are the weakest link in the chain.

How to fix

If you are new to the department and have not yet entered the work rhythm, no one expects you to be as fast as experienced colleagues. But if the probationary period is long over, but you did not work faster, it is worth finding out the reasons. You may be distracted a lot or lack knowledge. Accordingly, you have to either study or master time management.

4. You promptly reply to your friends on social networks

You are responding to messages on social media less than five minutes after they arrived.

Why is that bad

Prompt responses indicate that you are constantly browsing your pages on social networks. This can take hours of working time.

How to fix

Set aside a few short breaks throughout the day when you check out social media. And open the pages strictly on schedule.

5. You constantly ask for time off

During working hours it is difficult to find you in the office: you are having your teeth treated, you went to a matinee with your child or the tax office, ran to the pharmacy “for five minutes,” but returned an hour later.

Why is that bad

With piecework pay, the employer does not incur any losses due to your absence: you will receive money only for the results of your work. If at least part of your salary is a salary, you get paid for the hours you are in the office.

How to fix

Everyone understands perfectly well that the opening hours of many government agencies coincide with yours. Without asking for time off, you simply cannot get there. But you shouldn't abuse the kindness of your employer. Personal problems are worth solving in your free time.

And if you still need to leave the office, offer the boss an equivalent replacement. For example, you will be late for an hour tomorrow or work without lunch to complete tasks that are stuck due to your absence.

6. You are not trusted with responsible tasks

In your work there is no place for even the slightest stress, challenges, and tasks are given to you only simple and understandable.

Why is that bad

Important projects are entrusted to competent and responsible employees who will definitely not let you down at a critical moment. If difficult tasks float past you, then you are not among the best and most valuable personnel.

How to fix

Take the initiative and challenge yourself when it comes to a new project. But it will need to be realized on the highest score, otherwise only strengthen the opinion of the authorities about yourself as a person who cannot be rely on.

7. You are required to report on each small task

The bosses want to receive from you not only project reports, but also a to-do list for the day and week, information on how long each task took you.

Why is that bad

If this is not an attempt to implement a new management system that applies to all employees, but a personal approach to you, then the management has a suspicion that you are practically doing nothing. And now the boss is trying to understand whether this is really so.

How to fix

Mobilize all your strength and restore confidence in yourself to the leadership. To do this, of course, you have to become an extremely effective employee.

8. You are the organizer of "undercurrents"

You perceive the office as a battlefield: building coalitions, playing off employees against each other, setting colleagues against the boss, and generally generating a stressful destructive atmosphere.

Why is that bad

Perhaps you imagined yourself as a fighter for justice who will now put things in order here. But they go to the holy war with an open visor. If you have suggestions that can improve the atmosphere in the office and make your work more efficient, say them out loud without hiding behind other people's backs. Those who weave intrigues are disliked equally by opponents and henchmen.

How to fix

Either discuss problems openly, or be content with what you have, or look for a team in which everything will suit you.

9. Colleagues avoid you

You are not asked for help, you are not invited to the bar on Fridays, and the laughter ceases when you enter the office.

Why is that bad

You came to the office not to be friends, but to work. However, it is much easier to work in a relaxed atmosphere. It would be nice to have friendly relations with colleagues. After all, sometimes you need someone's help too.

How to fix

Dislike rarely occurs out of nowhere. You are probably doing something wrong. For example, you look down on your colleagues, try too hard to get into the trust of your superiors, gossip, brag. Or you may really not like anyone, but then you might want to consider changing jobs. Otherwise, at least try to be friendlier.

10. You are often wrong

You know for sure: if you are summoned to the management, they will be reprimanded.

Why is that bad

Errors in work are sometimes worse than tasks not completed at all. A report with incorrect data can get to the client and deprive the client's company. Incorrect calculations will lead to disruption of plans or non-payment of salaries to all employees.

How to fix

Provide additional verification activities in the work. For example, set aside a finished report for an hour to re-read it with a fresh eye. If you can resort to any automatic verification tools, use them, but do not be limited to them.

11. You're prioritizing wrong

You can spend an entire day on secondary tasks and suddenly find out that one of the projects that you put off until later is “on fire”.

Why is that bad

It's hard for you to see the big picture and understand what the company needs in the long run. This is important if you want to be considered a good employee.

How to fix

Try to go beyond your responsibilities and ask what your colleagues are doing, what are your company's global goals, what indicators are used to track its success. This should correct your picture of the world and help you prioritize correctly.

12. You don't want to tell your friends about your work

You avoid talking about work in every possible way for various reasons. Your loved ones know so little about her that they suspect you of collaborating with secret services.

Why is that bad

If you do not cooperate with secret special services and the work is interesting for you, the desire to share this with loved ones is natural. On the contrary, you do not want to discuss what you do not like, makes you bored, what you cannot be proud of. And an unloved business is difficult to do with enthusiasm.

What to do

Change jobs. It would be cruel to spend a third of your life sadly going to the cooler for water and performing uninteresting errands.