Adopting Acceptable Personal Traits Assist an Employee to Maintain His or Her Job - Research Paper Example

Employees who are interested in maintaining their current jobs must clearly know and observe what is required by their employers. It is important to be aware of the values and attributes which an employer wants in an individual, especially in the current job market where downsizing is very common. This boosts the chances of one’s job security in case of a lay off. Apart from the necessary skills which are relevant, employers seek more from the employees. These individual strong work ethic traits include willingness to work hard, honesty, keen to details, positive attitudes, time management skills, emotional maturity and result oriented. The best time for individuals to show their own employers that they have proper personal traits which is valued among employees is during internships. Those seeking to maintain their own jobs should be keen to exhibit strong personal and work related skills to their own supervisors during the execution of their duties. This will show that they too have all what is required for them to be successful on the job and that they have proper personal characteristics which are valued in the organization. Employees should be keen to ensure that they are not only working hard but also in a smart way. This requires employees to come up with better ways of completing specific tasks and how to save time when handling daily assignments. It is also important for an individual to remain caring about his or her own job and ensure all projects are completed as required. Individuals should always deliver more than what is expected. An individual should always be in a position to learn certain skills and behaviors required in order to be successful in the workplace. For employees to be successful, they ought to have great personal integrity. Integrity is very important for an individual who is planning to have maximum career advancement (Simerson and McCormick 188). Good employees are trustworthy, ethical, honest and dependable. First, employees should be honest in their dealings. According to Babu (5), honest employees are most valued by their employers. Honesty reinforces trust and helps to develop good relationships. An employer would always want to trust what is said and done by the employees. Being able to gain customers trust and be able to maintain the attitude that the customer is always right helps businesses to become successful. Employees should ensure they keep their own promises on something they said or did earlier. When small or white lies are exposed, they can be disastrous to an individual. An employee should be committed when assigned duties and should avoid blaming others when faced with mishaps. An individual should always be willing to take responsibility for his or her own action when things are not favorable and should not seek for excuses. Honesty also involves maintaining accurate records. Employees should ensure that they do not exaggerate the numbers when giving a report about a business trip. They should also be careful not to convert their own entertainments into company’s entertainment. Employees should not try to round numbers in order to benefit from extra reimbursement. Therefore, they should ensure that they indicate the exact figures on the time card or an expense sheet. They should account carefully all job related personal or company expenses. There are incidences of employees who have attempted cheating their own employers and unfortunately, they are caught. Most employees who are involved in the fraudulent practices normally overlook the colleagues who are committed to following the high moral path. It is unwholesome and unhealthy to live a double life while on the job. Stress builds up among individuals as they try to take unfair advantage of an employer and keep it a secret for several years. Secondly, an employee should be accountable to a colleague. This is important especially for those having the responsibility to manage an account of a big company or individuals who are appointed to control budget of a given department. An employee should ensure they have someone trustworthy who can help in double checking the monthly figures for accuracy. By putting in effort to build trust, both the employee and the company will benefit. An employee should develop close relationship with individuals, who he or she respects. This can be done by getting into the habit of having coffee with them. This way, they will earn a reputation for being like them and be able to learn from the experience they have had for several years and wisdom. Thirdly, an employee should not take advantage of relationships. Cultivating professional friendships with the intention of benefiting from advantages which an individual may give should be avoided by employees (Honthaner 181). When interacting with others and offering various services within the scope of the job, it is important to observe individual sense of moral and ethical behavior. An individual should not look forward to receiving preferential treatment and special favors. Instead, he or she should be committed to following the protocol of the company or organization. In addition, when an employee needs something to be done, he should not opt for bribery, coercion or even flattering others (Osteen 74). Fourthly, time management skills are essential for maintaining ones job. An employee should always strive to go an extra mile, to assure the organization’s management that time is being utilized properly and that company’s valuable time is not wasted on other irrelevant issues. Maintaining time ensures that one remains dependable and responsible. This is because they are always present when they are needed. Employees should ensure that they inform their own supervisors in case of alteration in their own schedule or when they will not manage to report to work as expected because of a specific reason. It also requires an individual to continually update his or her own supervisor on the progress of different projects assigned to. An employee who is dependable and responsible is viewed by an employer to value ones job and that they responsibly keep up with the projects assigned to. It also assures them that an employee will be keen to alert them on what they are supposed to know. Fifthly, an individual should pull his or her own weight. Employees use many forms to steal from an employer. This include, extending the time allocated to be in the break room, and lunch break. An employee should ensure not to call off sick when they are just ill. Complaining, gossiping, arguing, and excessive jokes should be avoided while at the office. All this will help in minimizing time stolen from one’s job duties. Sixth, an employee should be self motivated and have a positive attitude. Employers prefer working with employees who can work in a professional manner and are able to deliver the assigned tasks on time with minimal supervision and direction. By hiring self motivated employees, a supervisor will be doing himself a favor and save on time which could be wasted giving unnecessary directions. Self motivated employees remains focused once they get to know what is required of them. The main responsibility for the employers will be to ensure that the working environment is safe and supportive and offers employees an opportunity to be able to learn and grow. Employees will have increased self esteem and the feeling of accomplishment when the environment they are working on is conducive and are able to work in a self directive manner. Employees who always take the initiative and are motivated to accomplish given tasks within proper time are sought by their employers. Hogarth (3) claimed that having a positive attitude gets the work done as per the requirements and motivates other employees to remain determined and focus to various job challenges. An environment of goodwill is created by an individual who remains enthusiastic. Such an employee becomes positive role models for others in the organization. Both the supervisors and colleagues value a positive attitude, and it makes the workplace more pleasant and interesting to be each day. Seventh, employees should be flexible and adaptable. Employers always look for adaptable employees and those who can maintain flexibility in a continuously changing workplace and are able to complete various tasks. Employees who remain open to change and adjustments can efficiently complete work assigned to them. At the same time, they will be in a position to give extra benefits to the organization, the customers and even the employer. Some employees complain when they encounter changes, to some it does not make sense while to others it brings along various challenges to their daily jobs. Employees who lack flexibility often complain and make the work place unfriendly. Adaptable employees can cope with supervisors and the co- workers personality and work habits. In order to be able to work effectively as a team, employees should be willing to accommodate others by adapting personal behaviors as every individual has different strengths. Change should always be viewed as an opportunity which allows an individual to efficiently complete various assignments; hence, it can be a positive experience to adapt to change. Through new strategies, ideas, priorities and work habits, employees can perceive the management commitment to improve the workplace to become conducive place to work in. Eighth, an employee should have strong self confidence. The difference between a successful person and a failure is self confidence (Peale 124). A self confident person is able to inspire others, and is bold to ask for clarification on topics where they feel the knowledge they have is not sufficient. A self confident person do not try impressing other people with the knowledge they have, instead they remain comfortable and do not insist to know everything. He or she is a risk taker and always does what they feel is right. They also admit their own mistakes, and identify their personal strength and weaknesses which they are willing and ready to work on. In addition, employees who are self confident always believe in themselves and their own abilities. This is reflected in their attitude which is positive and the way they view life. Ninth, an employee should be willing to learn and grow. Employers always want to hire and retain individuals who have the interest to proceed with the new developments and knowledge especially in a workplace which changes continuously. Most employees exit an organization when they do not get an opportunity to develop their own career. An organization is placed on top of its field and employees’ job becomes interesting and exciting through new skills, techniques, methods and theories being learned. To be successful and have job security, employees should be keen to keep up with the latest changes in the field. Tenth, an employee should be professional. For employees to be valued by their employers, they should always display professional behavior. This includes taking time to get to know every aspect of a job and putting in ones best ability. Professionals are careful on how they dress, look and speak to maintain their own good image. They work on their projects at the required time and do not pile them up (Guffey 60). The work of professionals is of high quality and detailed. They are also role model of others in a positive way. They remain enthusiastic at work and are always optimistic concerning the future of an organization. For an employee to become like a professional, he or she should first have a feeling of a professional. Finally is loyalty. Employees who are loyal can be trusted and are most valued by employers. In the workforce, loyalty has changed greatly; employees no longer start and retire while in the same company. Companies who gain the sense of loyalty from their employees are those offering growth and opportunity. Employees who are looking out for a sense of satisfaction will do a good job only if an employer is fair and wants them succeed. However, an employee can be loyal to the company and give a great contribution during the short time he or she will be there. Today, most companies encourage their employees to give their own opinion and to lead in their area of expertise. Empowerment motivates employees to deliver their best at work because companies trust in them and believe that they will be able to give the best to the organization. Sources Babu, Dinesh. Professional Ethics and Human Values. New Delhi: Firewall Media, 2007 Guffey, Mary. Business communication: process & product. 6th ed. USA: Cengage Learning, 2008. Hogarth, Heather. Your first job: getting it, keeping it, and going further. South Melbourne: Palgrave, Macmillan Australia, 1995. Honthaner, Eve. The Complete Film Production Handbook. 4th ed. Oxford: Focal Press, 2010. Osteen, Mark. The question of the gift: essays across disciplines. London: Routledge, 2002. Peale, Norman. The Power of Positive Thinking: 10 Traits for Maximum Results. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2003. Simerson, Byron & Michael McCormick. Fired, laid off, out of a job: a manual for understanding, coping, surviving. London: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003. Read More