6 things you need to stop doing at work starting today

Maintaining harmonious working relationships with your coworkers, managers, and stakeholders is essential at work. When working with a team, you need to become aware of certain things you do that can irritate and annoy the people around you. Continuing to display irksome traits that the others in your workplace dislike will get you nowhere.

Here are 6 things you need to stop doing at work to build strong and peaceful working relationships in the office:

1. Taking extra-long breaks during work

Do you love to go out of the building and do a bit of café-hopping during the lunch break? While it may be a giddying experience for you, the coworker who has to cover your role may not feel as happy about it. Taking a little bit longer on your lunch break when you have an urgent errand is fine. But don’t make a habit out of it.

2. Reporting every little detail to your boss

Are you one of those employees who go running to their employer when the slightest problem arises? While reporting matters of great consequence to your boss is not wrong, things may become difficult for you in the workplace if you go reporting trivial workplace drama. While the incident might be small, your boss may not see it as such. In the end, you could end up landing a coworker in a disciplinary nightmare.

3. Requesting time off regularly

Getting time off to handle your personal responsibilities is not a crime. However, if you keep requesting time off every week, the coworker who has to cover your shift will not be happy about it. When you request time off, you need to be aware that the person pulling your weight has their own work and personal responsibilities to attend to. Try to schedule your personal errands during your free time and at the weekends to avoid this.

4. Giving advice to others when they don’t ask for it

Giving unsolicited advice is the worst habit you could pick up. People in general do not like being advised when they don’t ask for it. If you give unsolicited advice as a habit, your coworkers will slowly begin to resent you. It is often seen as being pushy or too nosy. Help someone when they ask you for it, not when you think they want help.

5. Not doing your part

Nobody likes a freeloader, especially when they are getting paid to do nothing. If you have a certain set of responsibilities as a member of your team, you shouldn’t pile those up on your coworkers every single time. Before you know it, your colleagues will notice that you are not pulling your weight and will start resenting you.

6. Gossiping

Discussing who’s dating who is normal when done among your friends in a casual setting. But spreading negative information about your coworkers in the workplace is not professional. Whenever you and your coworkers are having a chat, try and stay on topics that will not tarnish the reputation of other colleagues. Gossiping is a huge factor that leads to a toxic workplace culture.