Dependable, trustworthy, proactive, hard-working, team player, organized and professional!

As we discussed in our previous article in the series, these are the traits of a “good employee”. It is possible that you may have some/most of these traits and yet not be considered a “Good Employee” by your employer. Perhaps, you are doing something that is offsetting these good traits in you!

Often, people get so comfortable at work that they start taking things a little lightly. While there’s nothing wrong in being comfortable at work, your work itself should never be taken lightly. Last week, USA witnessed the worst train accident ever. Around 70 people lost their lives in this accident. Later on it was found that the train driver had been taking calls, receiving and sending SMS’es while being in charge of the train. Typing an SMS while being in charge of hundreds of lives? This is the reason why he missed a red signal and the accident occurred! The US government has now decided to ban cell phones for drivers on trains.

So, are you doing something that might jeopardize your own or your company’s work/future? Read on to find out the “Don’ts of Good Employee Behavior”…

Misuse Of Office Property

Neither should you be using the office phone for personal calls, nor should you be taking home feed for the printer! If your child needs any item of stationery, it is not OK to just carry it home from work. A good employee always tries to cut costs at work, not increase them!

Wasting Time

Arriving 5 minutes late, leaving 5 minutes early for lunch break, taking too many coffee breaks etc are a big drain on the company’s man hours. Another time wasting activity very common these days is attending personal calls on your cell phone. The phone may be yours, but you are still wasting the time that you get paid for!

Too Much Time Off

Are you always trying to combine a “chutti” with a weekend so you can take a leisure trip? Well, it’s OK once in a while, but asking for a day off every now and then is a little too much. Asking for leave on one pretext of other is a bad sign if you do it every month.

What Are You Using The PC For?

Are you playing games on your computer? Are you accessing porn on the internet? Are you chatting with friends? Or are you simply wasting time on social networking sites like orkut? All these time wasting activities are a big NO-NO for a good employee. If you get caught doing any of these things, you might even get fired!

Lack Of Good Manners

Using foul language at work is really bad. Similarly, being unkempt, displaying bad table manners, poor hygiene and generally a lack of manners can brandish you as “bad employee”. If you want to be considered “a good employee” you must learn and display good manners!

Behavior With Clients

The way you behave with the clients at your work is very important in evaluating your worthiness as an employee. If you really care for clients/customers and are patient, cordial and helpful to them, half of your job is done!

Salary Discussion

It is not advisable to discuss your salary/commission/incentive/bonus etc with your co-workers. Such a discussion is known to ignite unrest amongst the workers of a company. Comparisons are bound to be made and feathers are bound to be ruffled. So keep this information to yourself.