5 Habits that make you appear unprofessional

We all have our own personal habits don’t we? Whether it’s clicking pens, curling a lock of hair, or biting our nails, to name just a few. But while these little habits are mostly harmless, in the majority of cases they can make you appear unprofessional in the workplace.

The habits you have are probably carried out without thinking about them and with no ill intent meant but if you don’t want your work to suffer you may want to take a little time to review your personal habits. So let’s take a look at five common habits that can make you look unprofessional

Watch Your Language

This is one that should be obvious but it’s surprisingly easy to slip up and start cursing when you don’t really mean to. If you feel relaxed and are talking with friends, the odd swear word can just slip out. But this can easily cause offence and will make you look really unprofessional. While swearing is the main one to look out for, things like text talk or slang terms should also be avoided.

Body Language

We all have our own little body language quirks but remember while you’re working you should make sure you don’t revert to any casual habits. So that means no slouching and one thing to always remember is your eyes. It’s easy to let your eyes wander or just zone out, but if you want to look professional, you should always keep your eyes level and if you’re talking to someone make sure you maintain eye contact.

Tardiness

Unless you’re really lucky, it’s likely that you’ll have a late day during your working life at least once. One day, in the majority of cases, is fine, after all everyone is human. The issue with this problem is if you make a habit of it, repeated late arrival is going to become a big a problem and will look very unprofessional. You’ll find it hard to building trusting working relationships if you are repeatedly late and other people have to cover your phone or work tasks until you arrive.

Gossiping

Gossiping might be a natural part of the working environment in movies and on television, but in real life you won’t get far if you keeping gossiping and talking with people when you should be working. A little talking every so often isn’t a problem but you’ll want to make sure that you keep it in check. Many people labelled as gossips likely don’t even realise what they’re doing, there’s usually no malice in it but it is a bad habit you’ll need to overcome.

The Smart Phone   

Ah the smart phone; you have caused a lot of issues haven’t you? From checking your social media feeds, texts and much more the smart phone is too great a temptation for many people. You might plan to just check the time but then you can get stuck flicking through apps or games. While many of us do need a smart phone for work or to use as a means of contact, you should make sure it’s turned off when you don’t need it.

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