10 Mistakes to Avoid at Work
#8: Having a Bad Attitude
Aside from making you a miserable person, a bad attitude is going to make you very unpopular with your co-workers. You may not be trying to win a popularity contest, but getting along with co-workers is crucial to your success. Colleagues can help give your ideas and initiatives momentum. They can pick you up on a rough day. If you don’t want to alienate your colleagues, it is vital to have a positive attitude at work.
#9: Gossiping
Too much focus on what others are doing means less time to focus on your own job performance. What others do is not your primary concern. Focus on you and your job. Don’t gossip. Listen if you have to, but don’t repeat anything.
#10: Not Understanding Generational Differences
Today there are four generations working side by side in most companies: Matures, Baby Boomers, Gen X, and Gen Y. And each of these groups has very different ideas about the most effective way to work. It is these generational differences, in addition to misunderstandings about them, that often leads otherwise intelligent people to engage in petty office politics instead of focusing on how to work together to move company initiatives forward. Anytime you are seen as part of the problem instead of the solution you lose credibility. Get off to a smart start early in your career and seek to work with people from all generations in an effective and respectful way.
If during your career you manage to avoid all of these mistakes, congratulations! I think I've made every single one. It's more likely that at some point you will make one of these 10 mistakes and here's what to do when that happens.
1. Acknowledge the mistake
2. Take responsibility and offer to fix the problem if it's one you can fix
3. Move on
4. Going forward do the best possible work you can
5. Don't let the mistake shake your confidence so much that you lose your ability to do the work
Remember, everyone makes mistakes at one time or another. Don't hide behind your mistakes, but don't hide under your desk either. Show your boss it was a fluke and that will never happen again.