Toxic behaviors and habits such as lying, negativity, disorganization, procrastination, blaming, and bullying are the most prominent accelerators of our progress in the workplace. These habits keep us from our goals and make the work environment destructive and stressful for all members. This article introduces 16 examples of these behaviors and provides solutions to each.
1. Working non-stop
Perseverance and responsibility are two essential characteristics of successful people in the workplace, but not at the cost of selflessness! This does not mean being professional in the workplace at all. Sometimes, we get so busy with various tasks that we lose time; we forget lunchtime and think we don’t have time to rest and eat. While there is always time, we decide how to use it.
Even if you are the most responsible person, stop the world and all its activities for 15 minutes, take yourself to the open air, breathe, and walk a little. These 15 minutes will restore your lost energy.
2. Too many interruptions
Please do not fall from the other side of the canvas! Short but consecutive breaks destroy the feeling of work, reduce productivity, and have no result other than delaying work. If you are immediately distracted from work and involved in other activities, you can limit the number of breaks in a working day. For example, 2 or 3 10-minute breaks a day are enough for having lunch, snacks, checking your mobile phone, eating outside, etc. It’s hard initially, but you’ll get through it with motivation and determination!
3. procrastination
One of the toxic habits of the workplace that may cost people their jobs is procrastination or “doing today and tomorrow.” Have you heard the famous saying that “everything takes as much time as it takes”? If you are not good at time management, you often fall into this trap for long-term projects. Don’t wait for a miracle to start working! Break the tasks into small parts and specify a time frame so everything is not left for 90 minutes.
4. not asking for help
You encounter dozens of problems and challenges every day in the work environment. If you find a way to face each one alone, there is no time left to do daily tasks! If teamwork has one advantage, it is the readiness of all group members to cooperate and solve every challenge. Don’t be shy about asking questions and asking for help! To maintain this chain, you also answer the questions of others and be their helper when they need help.
5. negativity
All people have good and bad days, and no one is perfect, so take off the glasses of cynicism and negativity and give yourself the right not to be able to enter the work environment with all your strength, considering all the things happening in the world. Have a constructive perspective in difficult situations. Your negative attitude negatively affects your colleagues’ morale and leads to premature burnout. Sit down and find the root of this problem. Discuss it with the collection supervisor and see if things can be changed if it’s work-related.
6. disorder
The human mind needs order to focus. Irregularity in any form and cause is problematic for the individual and his colleagues in the workplace, Whether it’s a messy desk or office, crowded inbox, late arrivals and early departures, or unexcused absences. Start organizing from your desk and try always to keep it tidy.
7. pretending to be good
Avoid the idea that a good employee is always ready to work. When you are not in good mental or physical condition, no one expects you to give your best and do your duties in the best way. By the way, you are expected to discuss this issue with the supervisor or manager of the collection so that he can think of a solution to compensate for your vacancy in the collection before this discomfort leads to weakness and falling behind in your daily tasks. Give yourself a break.
8. Not communicating
You don’t necessarily need to be outgoing and energetic to work in large groups. Still, you must leave your quiet and reclusive side at home every morning and enter the workplace armed with communication skills and the motivation to cooperate and socialize with your colleagues. Know the healthy boundaries of intimacy in the workplace and look for new ways to connect daily with your colleagues.
9. Being one-dimensional
Have you heard that “there are as many ways to success as there are people”? In team projects with a specific goal, each member imagines a path to reach the goal they all might achieve! In such a situation, if you can’t be flexible, accept the crowd, and move with the team, you will be in trouble, and one leg of the team (you) will limp. Do you think that if we always do all the tasks in a fixed and specific way, there will be an opportunity for improvement and evolution?
10. to blame
You will never achieve the desired result by blaming others. Suppose you are a colleague constantly pointing his finger at others and opening his mouth to blame them. In that case, you lose yourself in the eyes of your colleagues and disturb the concentration of the group’s group members to perform their tasks. If you are the manager or head of the company, the situation becomes even more awkward! This unpleasant habit drives self-respecting employees to resign in desperation, leaving the company on a downward spiral.
11. lying
People lie because they fear angering those around them, to hide their incompetence, or for personal gain, to save themselves from danger somehow. Even though it is reasonable, a lie always and everywhere harms us and those around us. In the workplace, how much team members trust us depends only on how honest we’ve been with them to date or how many times we’ve broken their trust. This unpleasant behavior quickly destroys our professional reputation among colleagues and may even provoke them to retaliate.
12. Reluctance to learn
Break this toxic habit for the sake of the work environment and progress in your personal life. Get to know the current trends related to your job, be eager to participate in various workshops, and connect with the coaches in your field. In a word, always look for a way to challenge yourself because the world is moving towards progress and development at an incredible speed, Towards new solutions, new technologies, and advanced solutions. Always be the first to have the freshest answer for your company’s day-to-day needs.
13. Violence
Violence drives people away. It keeps them away so much that even if you ask for help, no one will reach out to you. Violence does not mean only physical conflict with colleagues; Any humiliation, threat, harassment, or insult that conveys a lousy feeling to others is a manifestation of violence. To gradually suppress the desire for this behavior, ask for an explanation before any reaction and try to understand the reason for the behavior of your colleagues. Then, take responsibility for your anger and verbal violence and be ready to apologize.
14. Bullying and bullying
Insults ver,bal attacks, and requests outside the scope of duties in the workplace are among the toxic habits you should consider leaving as soon as possible because if they continue, it will turn the workplace into a hostile environment. Don’t forget that in a healthy work environment, respect comes first. A successful manager determines the duties of the employees without abusing their authority and assigns them to them. Successful employees also accept their responsibilities without forcing or under pressure from their colleagues.
15. multitasking
Multitasking is a bad habit that usually comes from people’s good intentions. In teamwork, you should be able to do the most work possible in the shortest possible time. However, doing several projects simultaneously significantly reduces productivity and increases the possibility of mistakes. Focus all your attention on one project simultaneously and move on to the next when finished well.
16. Captivity in the safe zone
There will be no progress until you step out of your comfort zone and conservatively accept the current situation. This toxic work habit cuts to the root of your career and keeps you stuck for years. Enter job positions purposefully, be ready to solve small and significant challenges, pack your bags, and welcome new opportunities with open arms as soon as you feel it’s time to leave.
final word
Although it is difficult to change bad habits, and you can’t say goodbye to them in one day, with continuous and purposeful effort, you will reach the goal you have in mind. Remember that leaving toxic work habits is not a favor to your colleagues, and you will first benefit from leaving them.
Which of these toxic habits do you see in yourself? If you have any experience with leaving these harmful habits, be sure to write about them in the comments section for us and our companions.
