by Maggie Hammond
When you do well at your workplace, your employer will be happy, you will learn more, and you may receive promotions and raises. Additionally, you will avoid issue not only with your boss but with your colleagues as well. This article highlights eight tips that can help you in becoming a better employee.
Use Negative Feedback to Grow
Negative feedback in the workplace is inevitable, even when you are doing your very best. How you handle such feedback can make or break your career. Instead of grumbling or throwing in the towel, use that opportunity to grow your career. For instance, when you get negative feedback from your boss, take note of the issue and highlight the areas you need to work on to avoid such feedback in the future. You can even request your boss to give you suggestions on how to improve. Since negative feedback gives you an opportunity to grow or change for the better, you should be thankful for it and embrace it with a positive attitude.
Stay Productive
Avoid staying idle or doing personal stuff when you should be working. Have a plan for each day and assign timelines to your tasks to ensure you get everything done one time. If you are working as a team, communicate effectively with the other team members and do your part on time to avoid dragging down team projects.
Respect Others and Be Kind
Work on being the employee who says please and thank you, is kind and wishes others well. Also, respect your colleagues’ property and avoid using unkind words even when you have disagreements. Be the employee who maintains peace with others. When someone is lagging behind or struggling with their project, offer a helping hand. When you are kind and respectful, you contribute to a positive work environment. In such an environment, workplace stress and conflicts are minimized.
Get to Work on Time
Consider arriving at work a few minutes earlier than the set time. Going to work late can affect your productivity and thus it should be avoided. When you are a few minutes early, you will have some time to organize yourself before the day starts officially. Your lateness can also affect the productivity of other employees in the office. This is because when you show up late, you cause a distraction. Distracted employees can take a while to refocus on tasks.
Invest in Learning New Things
Continual learning can also be helpful in becoming a better employee. You can learn new skills and knowledge to advance your career, to improve your performance and to have better relationships with your employer, colleagues and customers or clients. Learning can be achieved by reading blog posts, reading a book, attending a conference, taking a short course or taking an advanced degree. Nurses, for instance, can register for Carson-Newman online nurse practitioner programs to enhance their nursing skills.
Go Beyond Your Job Description
Where there is an opportunity to serve your company in an area that is outside your job description, don’t hesitate to take it as long as you have the skill. Volunteer to take extra tasks even before your boss asks you to. When you are a proactive employee, you will grow. However, avoid taking roles assigned to others, as this can cause conflict. Also, for sensitive tasks, you should ask for authorization and instructions from your employer.
Take Care of Your Body
It is hard to become a better employee when you are tired, stressed, or malnourished. Therefore, take good care of your body both while at work and when away from work. At work, take short breaks, sip water throughout the day and eat healthy meals. When away from work, exercise, socialize, get enough sleep and eat healthy. Also, pay attention to any signs of stress in your life and seek the necessary help. Some key signs of stress to watch out for include irritability, headaches, making mistakes, anxiety, overeating, lack of motivation, trouble sleeping, anger and sadness.
Bring New Ideas
Finally, make a point of contributing new ideas in your workplace whenever you can. Bring in new ideas for better productivity or even for employee welfare.
Becoming a better employee takes hard work, but it does pay off in both the long term and the short term. Note that this should be a continuous process. It is a decision that you make every day and follow through with action. There will always be a chance to improve, regardless of the position you hold or your years of experience.
Bio: Maggie Hammond is a retired nurse and freelance writer, exploring and writing in the U.S. in retirement. An advocate for public health and nursing qualifications, she feels passionate about raising awareness of the current strain on public health organisations.