How to NOT get fired – 7 habits of a bad employee

Everyone wishes to be the best version of themselves. More so when you’re working to provide value to an organization.

But let us ask you this – How good of an employee do you consider yourself to be? What qualities do you think make a good employee?
Well, we will leave those questions for your reflection and focus on the other side of the coin. Habits of a bad employee that make you a workplace pariah!

Have you ever noticed a colleague and felt something not quite right with their attitude towards work? Or are you the one constantly reprimanded by your boss? The fact is, most bosses have a bad rap for a reason. They are the ones responsible for creating a productive environment at the workplace. So, it’s natural for them to lash out if they find a bad employee hurting the organization. This is one of the Habits of a bad employee which you should avoid.

What is to be understood here is that bad employee behavior affects not just the work environment. They diminish productivity and lower morale of their team, alienate dedicated employees causing attrition, and the obvious monetary loss. Not only that, bad apples of the bunch waste one day per week of their managers.

Therefore, we present to you some workplace Habits of a bad employee and behaviours you need to keep in check to avoid getting fired. Look for these qualities in your office colleagues as well to stay away from bad employee.

List the Habits of a bad employee which you should avoid.

Time transgressions

Always late to the office, delayed entry to meetings, and jumping deadlines regularly are characteristic features of some employees. This is one of the Habits of a bad employee which you should avoid.

Not respecting the clock makes you look unprofessional. And repeated time mismanagement may even get you fired. If you can’t take your eyes off the clock in evenings like it’s your first love, you are in trouble. Your complacency and casual attitude towards your job disrespect your punctual colleagues as well as your boss.

Sickness abuse

A study has found 38% of employees who took sick leaves were not actually ill. And the reasons they provided were annoyingly laughable. This is one of the Habits of a bad employee which you should avoid.

If such a huge fraction of the workforce is preferring comfort of their homes instead of toiling to make their organization great, the future surely looks dull. Try taking an intervention for yourself if you’ve become habitual of calling in sick.
It’s better you do the resolving than your boss, which might not be so amicable.

Excuse me!

Some employees have dedicated their lives to master the art of giving excuses. To hide their incompetence, they come up with BS reasons at the drop of a hat. Which really does nothing but depreciate their integrity.

Because bosses are not fools, they know your dirty schemes. They’d rather it reflected on your paycheck than give you a lengthy, futile speech. Trust us, you don’t want that.

Instead of masking your shortcomings, take responsibility for your work. Own your mistakes and improve upon them. Ask for advice where needed and make sure you finish your job. This is one of the Habits of a bad employee which you should avoid.

High-maintenance

The days of humility are over. Now, employees make sure bosses acknowledge their work just so they have an upper hand during future negotiations. This is one of the Habits of a bad employee which you should avoid.

Of course it is admirable to accomplish the task and a good policy to let the boss know. But just practising it for your demand’s sake is not ethical to say the least. Stop continually demanding for a raise or some office benefits without providing any value to the enterprise.

Be reasonable when negotiating for salary, benefits, working hours etc. to avoid leaving a bad reputation at your company. Make sure your efforts are worth your demands.

Call me maybe?

“I have an employee who is always on call. I know it’s her job to handle our clients but all day on call is a bit excessive. What can I do?”
Too many managers have read this question on various forums to ignore it. People causing this nuisance are addicted to their cells. They like juggling their work-calls and personal ones. This is one of the Habits of a bad employee which you should avoid.

We fear that they are not even aware of a little service called voicemail.

Personal calls during work disrupt your work flow while distracting your colleagues. We suggest you minimize your call appetite and try building a framework to automate call-taking decisions for you. Leave personal calls for emergencies only.

Gossip peddlers

They are people who know everything about everyone in the office. It’s their mission to not rest until they’ve procured and delivered every bit of useless information from one end of the office to other. Stay away from them. And if you are one, stop!
Your presence in office has a reason – your work. This is one of the Habits of a bad employee which you should avoid.

Against the common norm, blabbing about petty, annoying stuff makes you look stupid. It hurts your reputation as an intelligent, focused worker. In addition, your boss might not take it kindly if you’re disturbing other employees.

7. Minimalism at work

If your job description is your Bible at work, don’t worry, you’re going to do really well. But never great!
Great employees don’t know the bounds of a job specification. Their zeal to learn something new every day shoves them towards greatness. They go one step ahead of what’s required of them.

If you’re just scraping through your work and barely passing the deadline, you need to change. If you feel exasperated every time something fresh and challenging comes along, you need to change. Doing the bare minimum might get you to the finish line, but we promise you you won’t be the first to reach there. This is one of the Habits of a bad employee which you should avoid.

Mould your work ethic into an elastic which stretches with every new challenge and helps you grow. Go beyond what’s required and turn problems into opportunities.