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» 10 Things You Should
Never Do at Work
From the
e-mails we “forget” to return to
the voicemails we “never received,” telling
little white lies has become a very real part of our
workplace routine. For the most part, we get away with
it. After all, we tell ourselves, who are we really hurting?
Anything beyond the occasional fib, however, and the
lines get blurred.
To avoid a serious faux pas – and possible career
sabotage – stay clear of the following 10 workplace
sins:
1. Stealing: Whether you think that the company “owes” you
things like Post-its, pens and other office supplies,
or you simply don’t think it’s a big deal,
you should be sure about that in case your boss or co-worker
catches you. Stealing can not only get you fired, it’s
illegal.
2. Blaming someone else for your mistake:
It’s
dishonest, childish and tacky. Very tacky. Sure, having
to admit you made a mistake is embarrassing, but not
nearly as embarrassing as it would be to have to admit
you lied about it or tried to cover it up.
3. Spreading gossip:
Who knows why people get a certain high from hearing
juicy gossip. Many of us are guilty
of passing along at least a few rumors at times, but
the more you can avoid doing so, the better off you will
be. Try to avoid it. In addition, if you hear it, don’t
repeat it.
4. Calling in sick when you are perfectly
healthy…:
If you wake up and just cannot face the idea of going
in to work, there’s no reason (unless this happens
every day) you shouldn’t give yourself a vacation,
personal or mental health day. Nevertheless, calling
in sick is not only irresponsible and insensitive to
the co-workers who have to cover for you; it could also
be grounds for firing if you’re caught.
5. …or showing up when you aren’t:
The admiration your co-workers show you for coming in
to work despite
having the flu will be short-lived: It won’t take
long for those around you to tire of hearing hacking,
sniffling and coughing coming from your desk, nor will
they appreciate being exposed to your germs.
6. Abusing office technology:
This includes (but is not limited to): spending a significant
amount of time
on personal phone calls, e-mails or instant messages;
using office time to type and print out the pieces of
your screenplay; going online to catch up on last night’s
episode of “American Idol”; and using the
office printer to make the invites to your holiday party.
7. Involving co-workers in your personal problems:
If problems at home are distracting you from doing your
job, that’s one thing, which you should take up
with the boss or human resources. But involving your
co-workers in your personal problems is distracting and
unprofessional.
8. Getting too comfortable:
Dressing professionally is just as important as behaving
professionally in the
workplace. No matter how long you’ve been with
the company, how “cool” your boss is, how
much sleep you got the night before, or how cold or hot
it is outside, you should always maintain a clean, workplace-appropriate
appearance. Even if you work in a relatively casual office,
you should still make the effort to wear clean clothes
and have well-groomed hair. A good rule of thumb is to
never dress better than your boss, nor worse.
9. Hitting on your boss:
This one has “Lifetime
movie” written all over it. For every successful
office romance story, there’s a disaster story
to match it. When co-workers hook up, it always makes
for a tricky situation; when one worker is subordinate
to the other, the stakes get even higher. Unless you
are well aware of your employer’s policy regarding
office romances and are prepared for the possibility
of rejection, avoid this one altogether.
10. Hitting on your employee: Consider all of the above,
and add to that a possible sexual harassment suit. |
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