22 million Brits have lost holiday daysWe have all had our moments where we worry whether we are being taken seriously by our colleagues, and even more so, by our bosses.
Gossiping or Badmouthing
Nobody likes a tell tale – Lauren’s crazy weekend or Jim using the last of the copy paper isn’t really your news to be broadcasting. The only person that is going to come off badly here is you. Inspire trust in the people around you at work by only speaking up when necessary. Keep comments positive: ‘I’m sure Jim meant to replace the paper’ or simply just offer a solution to the situation: ‘I’ll go and grab some paper from the stationery cupboard’.
Primping
Refrain from fixing your hair or reapplying your make up at your desk. If you are beauty conscious, go to the bathroom for that lipstick top up. Unless it’s your job to be beautiful at work, how you look isn’t going to affect your working day.
Sitting on your foot on the office chair
This is what school children do, not grown ups in workplace environments. The same goes for slouching. Look professional, alert and able to tackle anything, by sitting up straight.
A good posture will save your back too.
Mixing personal and professional
Work time is for work, not for keeping up to date with your Whatsapp group and where you and your friends are all going to eat that night. Be conservative about personal conversations at your desk, and perhaps take a call in the hallway or on your lunch break.
With regards workplace relationships, these are very often a bad idea, from the outset. Think long and hard before entering a relationship with a colleague – can you really trust the other person to not kiss and tell?
You never know how something you have said will be interpreted or re told, so hold back on giving over too much information about yourself and your life – you may not like to gossip, but other people do.
Crying
Crying is not a form of weakness, but it can appear unprofessional and be awkward for those around you. If you’ve had a really big telling off, your phone bill has just come through by email or you are simply an emotional wreck due to some event in your personal life, go to the restrooms and have a good cry. No one needs to know, and to everyone else, you are still the same old reliable you.
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