Maintaining a good reputation at work is never easy. You have colleagues, employees, juniors and seniors that are constantly checking up on you. And we understand how hard it is to maintain a decent rep. But if you go by our suggestion, it is definitely not the toughest thing in the world. If you can identify where you are going wrong and correct those mistakes in the future, you can actually save your reputation. And that is exactly where this article is going to help you. In this post you will be learning about habits that are ruining your reputation at work and how you can control them later.
Mistakes that are Ruining Your Reputation at Workplace:
1. Being rude to others:
Do remember that how you behave with others will make or break your reputation. And even though it can get quite difficult to maintain your calm at work, try to be as calm and cordial as you can. Being rude to others will always ruin your reputation.
Remember that even the walls have ears and how you speak to someone will affect others around you. So if you have identified yourself as a rude person at work, make sure to control your temper.
2. Gossiping About Others:
Another quality that often gets you a bad label is gossiping. It is never good to talk behind someone’s back. Because believe it or not, after a point they will get to know about it and you’ll be the one who is going to face the consequences.
So in order to avoid something like that, stop gossiping. If you have heard something negative about a person, keep it to yourself. Don’t go around telling the whole room about it. If you have extracted a piece of information from someone that is unpleasant or could harm someone else’s reputation, don’t tell anyone.
If you tell others, you’ll be the one spreading rumors. So stop!
3. Coming across as a defensive person:
Always remember that criticism and feedback is very important. It happens all the time and is supposed to be taken in a light hearted manner. The reason why you are criticized is so that you can see where you’ve gone wrong and make the necessary changes. So don’t be defensive when someone is telling you where you’ve gone wrong.
Being too defensive could mean that you are an immature person and that you are not willing to admit that you’re imperfect. Your first response should be to keep your ears open and listen to the comment, accept it and then see if you are going to agree or not. If you are upset and mad with what has been said, then be calm.
Don’t fire back with some rude response. It will damage your reputation.
4. Constantly complaining:
It is also a horrible thing to complain at work. Do remember that professional criticism is something that will always be liked and appreciated at work. In case there is someone who is not submitting their projects on time, please don’t be afraid to be vocal. But when the criticism is crossing its limit, then your co workers will begin to detest you.
Negativity is never fun, please know that. It is dangerous and can seriously create a bad impression. When you are whining about circumstances without even trying to make a change it will put everyone around you in a bad mood. And before you realize, they will begin to see you as someone who is negative and bad company.
5. Taking credits for someone else’s hard work:
Taking away someone else’s credits is the worst thing you can ever do in an office. This is something that could happen suddenly without you even realizing. If you have done something similar, please stop! We can use an example to explain this. When you and your partner have worked for a project and are ready to present your boss, you end up showing what you have done more than him.
Constantly mentioning your abilities and ideas will give your friend the idea that you aren’t even acknowledging what they have done. So don’t take a risk like this. Mention what both of you have done and let the other person take the credit as well.
6. Embarrassing someone/employees:
There are very few employees who will ever go out of their way in order to embarrass one of their team members. They usually do this when they secretly have a grudge against someone or dislike someone strongly.
If you are one of them, then keep them outside the professional boundaries. Talk to the person in private and work things out with them but don’t insult them blatantly. Not only would the person feel embarrassed but also speak about you to others which will spoil your rep.
7. Rash decision making:
Rash decision making is never appreciated in the work place. It could break hearts and turn a whole bunch of people against you. If you are the boss or a team leader, then surely you must be getting the opportunity to make final decisions.
We would advise you to think carefully before you make one. Don’t be too rash or indecisive. If you are not too sure about something, take some time off to think before you decide. Otherwise others will begin to think you are biased and careless. And nobody wants that.
8. Being a clumsy or unstable person:
If you are a clumsy and disorganized person, don’t expect people to like you at work. Nobody likes to have someone who is not submitting their work on time, whose desk is forever on time, who doesn’t take care of themselves etc.
So if you have been this person, then change things! Start working on your projects the day you receive it, be more honest and cordial with people around you, make sure your desk is always clean. Always remove the mess before leaving work. And make sure that all your projects and presentations are ready before the deadline.
9. Not showing the willingness to learn:
Another thing that will put people off at work is not showing the willingness to work. You are supposed to be eager and show that you are interested. There are times when we think we are perfectly okay with the way we are and that things are going around just fine.
But we might not be aware that the slightest bit of hesitation shown while trying to learn something new will be an absolute spoiler.
10. Lying once/always:
Lying is just horrible! You should never lie at work. Because once you get caught, there is no going back. Plus there is no way to fix this. You will have to wait for time to change this. The sad thing about lying is that people are never going to trust you again.
Even if you are being honest for the next three years, people will not want to know because they already have an impression of you made. You will always be remembered as the person who lied. So if you don’t want to lose your credibility at work, don’t lie at all!
11. Not wanting to change yourself:
Always remember that change is natural and can happen in any office. Even though you might not always have to agree with people around you are saying, keeping yourself locked will make you look like a selfish and self centered person.
What you should do is look at every new door as an opportunity. Yes you should express your opinions if you are feeling comfortable but be open to changing yourself. Don’t keep yourself too conservative for long. The faster you allow the change, the better it is for you!
12. Not promoting yourself enough:
Some of you might be great employees and your work might be great but if you haven’t been promoting your works and achievements, chances are people are not even going to know what you have done so far.
Make sure to speak to your manager about your accomplishments. Also tell your friends and other employees about it without coming off as a show off. That would actually change your impression and help you protect and save yourself from coming across as someone who doesn’t do anything!
Conclusion:
If you want to survive in a professional world like this, you have to more be alert and confident. Always remember to assess yourself and analyze all your mistakes. Plus you should examine your productivity skills. Keep a track of your relations with other and make sure to have maintained good ties with everybody.
Remember that people in your office are going to determine your success and failure. And if you are able to pull that off, no one can stop you from having a good rep at work. If you have enjoyed reading our post and have some ideas to give away, feel free to write a comment below. We would love to hear.
