Majority of the people wake up every day going to a place of
work, they trade their hours for a salary or wage. People spend most of their
time awake at some place of work; over time I realized workplaces can become a
source of frustration and stress. Most people never strive to be great
employees or they just swim with the tide, wherever it may lead. However what
the crowd endorse as true or the norm in most instances; is the wrong thing
altogether. Here are tips on how you can elevate yourself to be the greatest
employee:
Never Complain About Your
Salary
This
is the easiest trap people find themselves & one most people will enjoy
staying in. I have worked in many organizations and the first thing you hear is
people murmuring about their salaries. As a new person most times you are
content with what you bargained for but it will not take time to join the murmurs
or the crowd. In most instances people feel the need to belong & find
acceptance, what better way to gain this than joining them. But murmuring about
salary increase de-motivates and saps energy, after all most increases which
would be fair cannot change anyone’s life substantially, just enough to cater
for the inflation rate. Instead of worrying and agonizing about money rather
work to add skills to yourself; learn new things, apply for study assistance
because the cost of studying is many times more than salary increases for many
years.
Avoid Workplace Gossip
In
most work environments people indulge in gossiping, it can range from who got
dumped, who is dating the COO et al. The evil of gossip is that it is like a
wild fire, it does not know how or where to stop. At some point along the chain
it will be passed to the person being gossiped about, let it not be you who did
the last passing of juicy talk, it can blow in your face and cause many
conflicts and confrontations. Your reputation also takes a tumble and you
become the fall guy. When at work you need to stay in your own lane and mind
your own business.
Don’t Be A Bootlicker, Carve
Own Success
In
the workplaces there are people who engage in bootlicking, they rely on shining
the boss’ shoes, buying the boss lunch and doing other niceties. It is not bad
to buy lunch for the bosses but when it becomes a bargaining tool for favours
it is shameful. Unfortunately there are many lazy people who cannot fathom
improving their own skills and overall value as a way to climb the ladder. The
downside of being a bootlicker is that you soon forget your worth; you begin to
see bread crumbs as huge cakes & remain in the same place for a long time.
For the organization, bootlickers serve to drive away the exceptional talent by
creating a hostile environment. Top performers don’t have time to climb the
ladder using unscrupulous means & they don’t compete to bootlick. They
simply seek to grow themselves elsewhere leaving the company with mediocre
staff.
When You Are Boss, Show
Impartiality
The
easiest way to stymie your career as a Manager is by being choosy. Power can
corrupt and abused power can land you in the dustbin of failed management. When
people become managers it’s easy to become comfortable & feel will be there
forever. The less favoured employees will simply work harder & seek
promotion elsewhere. Before long they climb higher than their former manager
and can sit with top management and highlight the detrimental effects of a
partisan system, worse they will use the partial boss as an example with
evidence. The fall from grace will be sudden and long lasting. Sadly people who
thrive on partisanship rarely learn, when they are found wanting they simply
blame the person doing the right thing for snitching. Even though managers who
show partiality try to do it discreetly, employees can read signs easily.
Motivate the Downcast, Do Good
to Others
In
the workplace people are going through situations, many just need a shoulder to
lean on, an ear to listen and give advice without having to gossip it
obviously. Sometimes I thought I was giving simple advice only to realize I
totally transformed someone’s life. Such people become loyal friends and will
stand by you in your own downcast moments. There is a famous saying, “be good
on your way up the ladder because you can meet them on your way down”. However
being good to others can mean open doors at some moment in future. I have met
people who had so much to say about how my father helped them when they worked
together. Some of these
