15 Ways to Keep Your Job
November 14, 2009
I was suppose to be on vacation the last two days from work. However, I ended up working a half-day on both of these days. Consequently, I was a little upset, because I had planned on visiting my nephew in Austin.
Therefore, when a couple of projects were laid on my desk by some of my team members, I quickly reminded them that I was really on vacation, and would look at the them when I returned on Monday.
Although I was a little upset with not being able to visit my nephew, I never let it come across that I was to the members of my team. After all, I chose to come in, and they really had nothing to do with this decision. Moreover, there’s a possibility that if I would have displayed my frustration with having to come in on a vacation day in dealing with my peers, this could have affected the relationships I had with them and made it seem as having a “negative attitude.”
According to an article published by Texas Business Today, Summer 2009, showing a “negative attitude” is just one of the things we want to avoid displaying at work as more and more companies are laying people off.
Here is the complete list of the15 things we should do to help us keep our jobs:
- Be on time, whether it is with showing up for work, returning from breaks, going to meetings, or turning in assignments.
- Call in if you know you will be tardy or absent. Most companies treat absences or tardiness without prior notice much more seriously.
- Try your best; always finish an assignment, no matter how much you would rather be doing something else.
- Anticipate problems and needs of management.
- Show a positive attitude—no one wants to be around someone who is a “downer.”
- Avoid backstapping, office gossip, and spreading rumors.
- Follow the rules. The rules are there to give the greatest number of people the best chance of working together well and getting the job done.
- Look for opportunities to serve customers and help co-workers. Those who would be leaders must learn how to serve.
- Avoid the impulse to criticize your boss or the company.
- Volunteer for training and new assignments.
- Avoid the temptation to criticize your company, co-workers, or customers on the Internet.
- Be a good team member. Constantly focusing on what makes you different from others, instead of how you fit into the company team, makes you look like someone who puts themselves first, instead of the customer, the team, or the company.
- Try to avoid saying “that’s not my job.”
- Show pride in yourself. Never let yourself be heard uttering minority-related slurs or other derogatory terms in reference to yourself or to others.
- Distinguish yourself. Pick out one or more things in your job you do better than anyone else. Become know as the “go-to-person” for such things.
I hope you found this list as helpful as I did. I think all of us are a bit nervous about our jobs given the current state of the economy. Yet, I believe that if you follow this 15 tips, you be one of the last to go.
