Do your colleagues or boss express remarks of secretly hating you? Often have the feeling that others at work are not always happy with your behavior or your actions, even if you think you’re not doing anything wrong?
You may not notice but some of your ‘everyday’ habits are seriously off putting your co-workers. Engaging in workplace habits that make you look unprofessional can easily lead to forming unfavorable perceptions about you.
None of us is perfect! And more than often we are prone to verbal foul-ups that make us look totally unprofessional. These negative behaviours don’t necessarily make you a terrible person, but as an employee, they can reflect poorly on you.
Here’s what you could be doing all wrong that makes you look unprofessional:
- Cracking Too Many Jokes
More often than not we encounter a few office cornballs, who cannot, but joke all the time. While some limit to anecdotes and verbal humor others can go rather obstinate and even play tricks on their co-workers. Surely, humor is important in our life and a good joke now and then can be great for a positive work environment, but becoming an office clown doesn’t seem very well thought of. - Showing Up Late
The most professional thing to do is arrive at work on time or a few minutes earlier, ready to do what is expected. Being late displays an attitude of complacency and carelessness. Show up when you say you will, and you send a message that you’re professional enough to care. Similarly, showing up late to meetings suggests that you neither respect your co-workers, who showed up on time not the organiser of the meeting. - Poor Hygiene
While touching up your make-up and brushing your hair at your desk is a strict no-no, wearing sloppy clothes and informal shoes gravely depict your ‘I don’t care’ attitude. It may make your boss wonder if you would show up the same way for client meetings or while representing the company at conferences- now that’s a career limiting move! - Using Foul Language
Using questionable language or cuss words during meetings or even casual coffee chats a bad habit. In fact, in most places of business, it’s still considered unprofessional and can even land you in the HR department for a small ‘pep’ chat. - Interrupting Too Often
If someone’s speaking, especially a supervisor, the polite course of action is to wait until they are finished to offer your own opinion. Interrupting people before they are done shows arrogance, even if you really are just eager to speak. Next time you’re talking with someone in the office, keep a close eye on when you decide to let out your words. - Untimely E-Mail Communication
Something that is often ignored and not considered a pet peeve many times is untimely email communication and can be rather disconcerting at work. Co-workers might perceive you as abrupt or rude if you can’t conduct yourself appropriately over emails. Moreover, taking too long to check or respond to e-mails, may lead to missing important meetings or deadlines, causing delays or confusion. - Don’t Be A Slob
A coffee station with a sink full of dirty cups or the microwave with left over food- sights like these is rather annoying at work. Remember that you share your workplace and cleaning up after using common articles must be your duty. Never fall into the trap of thinking you’re too busy or that it’s someone else’s job. If you like things messy, keep that as a personal décor choice for your home, not for the office.
