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Be Punctual

Always be prompt for meetings and show up on time for work.  If you’re going to be out of the office sick or out due to a family crisis, then call or leave a message for your boss as soon as you can.  Don’t wait and call up minutes before your expected start time, but if you can, call up an hour or two before you’re supposed to report for work.  This will give your employer more time to reshift your duties to others in the office or to locate outside assistance from a temp agency if needed.  Leave a voicemail message if your job has a voice messaging system in place, explain what your situation is, how long you expect to be out and leave a phone number where you can be reached during the day. 

Get Organized

Set up your desk or work area so that you can locate items easily; consider reorganizing your files so that you can retrieve things quicker.  Move non-essential files farther back in your filing cabinet and files that you refer to frequently move up closer.  Make it so that everything in your workplace is easily accessible.

Avoid Gossip

Always avoid office gossip.  In just about any office setting you can almost always find an overly chatty coworker right nearby, always eagerly waiting to talk your ear off.  This chatty coworker is always more than willing to bring you, the newest employee in the department, up to speed concerning any budding office romances, any unsettled employee squabbles, embarrassing demotions, nasty firings or anything else that might harmlessly rouse your curiosity.  As tempting as it may be to sit and listen to this person for ten or even five short minutes, don’t do it.  Avoid this person at all costs.  Bosses frown on employees that regularly waste valuable company time, especially those that spend their time chitchatting and spreading office rumors. 

Avoid Complainers

Often times workers stay at jobs their extremely unhappy at simply because they are scared of adapting to new unfamiliar environments, scared to take on jobs that they believe require more training or advanced skills or because they’re afraid they’ll end up making less money with a sudden job change.  Because of this fear, these employees usually spend their valuable time moping and complaining about their current bosses or other coworkers or badmouthing the company itself.  These gripers never know when to keep quiet.  They regularly spread this gloomy babble to others.  Make sure to stay away from them. They can definitely lower your morale over time and zap whatever positive spirit you may’ve had first walking in the door. 

Keep An Optimistic Spirit

Don't speak ill of others when they're not around.  Always try to find something positive to say about your boss, coworkers and the company that you work for.  If you can't find anything good to say then you're better off saying nothing at all.  Work hard to be a morale booster to others.  Always encourage your coworkers to put forth their best efforts when tackling projects.  You should work aggressively to be the kind of coworker that others look up to, someone whom they'll come to for answers and whom they'll immediately seek out to serve with them on teams.  Your positive spirit can definitely help aid them in achieving their goals and can also help increase harmony in your department or particular workplace.

Always Take Notes

To avoid having to ask your boss to repeat instructions to you, you should always take notes.  Always keep a pen and note pad handy to record items of importance or to write down involved tasks that you’ll need to perform later in the week or over an extended period of time, and as you complete a task, always draw a line through it to show that it’s been successfully completed.

Don’t Be Scared To Ask Again

If you made the mistake of not taking notes and you’re not sure how to carry out a particular assignment, then make sure to ask questions.  Even if you asked questions once already and forgot your boss’ instructions, then ask again.  The worst thing in the world you can do is attempting to carry out an assignment without being sure how to do it.  Remember, there’s no shame in asking a second time.  Just make sure that when you do ask for instructions again you don’t say anything like, “I forgot what you said.  Can you tell it to me again?”  Instead, say something smart like, “I know you already went over this assignment with me, but I really want to make sure that I do this job right and I would really appreciate you outlining the duties required of this task once again.”

Make Yourself Indispensable

Don’t just be satisfied with knowing how to perform your job, but learn about the duties required of the person sitting next to you.  Find out what he does, why he does it and how he does it.  You don’t have to know the ins and outs of his job a 100%, 80% or even 70%, but you should at least be somewhat familiar with his duties so that if he’s ever out of the office unexpectedly you can step in and comfortably perform his job.  Also, there may be instances where your coworker is bogged down with numerous tasks and just doesn’t have the required time to respond to a long line of customers waiting right nearby.  With you already more than familiar with his job, you can safely step in and assist him.  Not only will you come across as an earnest team player to your boss but you’ll also make yourself appear a lot more indispensable.  When or if the company ever considers implementing a layoff, you’ll definitely be one of the last employees your boss considers putting on this dreadful termination list.  Naturally, with you knowing the duties required of two jobs, it wouldn’t make much sense to let you go.  Besides, if one job ever needed to be phased out and the two eventually merged, your boss already knows he has an ideal candidate close by to effortlessly fill the position.

Steer Clear of Idleness

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This article is © 2003-2004 by Tracy Miller and may not be reposted without written permission from the author and may not be reprinted for profit.