Everyone has slip-ups at work, but there are some things you should just never do at the office.
These may not be firing offenses, but it’s important to have common courtesy. Remember: You were hired to do a job well—so do it. Leave the bad behavior at the door. Here are five bad habits to avoid in the workplace.
1. Surf social media.
Ever been busted by your boss for browsing Facebook in a mid-afternoon attempt to stay awake and make it to close? I’m sure you felt embarrassed. Unless using social media is actually part of your job (shout-out to the social media marketers and journalists of the world), you’re not getting paid to get “likes” on a photo or retweets to something witty you posted. If you need the help, try tracking the time you’ve wasted on your social media addiction with a few handy apps, such as RescueTime or Slife. If you keep finding yourself drifting to Pinterest, consider this: This job may not be stimulating enough for you.
2. Apply to other jobs while on the job.
You may be already checked out, but 9-to-5 isn’t the time to scroll through job listings and pen perfect cover letters. While you may be preoccupied with finding a better environment for you to thrive in, don’t slip up and burn bridges. Not only would getting caught tip off your employer before you have a job secured, but you also could ruin your relationship, and that reference.
3. Order smelly food for one.
No one likes smelling your food from across the room. It’s not only distracting, but for some it may be irritating. While working through your lunch is admirable, take a few minutes and eat the food in the cafeteria. Or, order in as a group—you’re less likely to irritate your coworker with pungent-smelling food if they’re eating it, too.
4. Create a “mean girls” club.
It’s great to create office friendships—you need someone to vent to on the hard days and take you to happy hour to celebrate the wins. But when office gossip swirls, don’t alienate your coworkers by discussing the rumors with your clique. It’s not only immature and rude, but you also don’t want to be known as the office gossip. The takeaway? Keep your relationships professional.
5. Keep your space a mess.
Keep your desk neat. Just because you may be able to work on a messy desk doesn’t mean your neighbor will. In fact, it may drive them crazy. What you see as cluttered chaos may be squalor to them. While you may think it’s your space and you get to decide how you take care of it, remember that work is increasingly more collaborative, and more and more offices are adopting an open plan. What is in your direct line of vision isn’t far from theirs either—and it will start reflecting badly on your work ethic. So keep the papers, Post-its, and books to a minimum. And throw the chips out.
