8 non-obvious mistakes of office workers

Nowadays everyone knows about things that should not be done under any circumstances while at work: do not wear flip-flops, curse, perform insulting antics, and send angry emails. Unfortunately, the office life is replete with a much larger number of "false steps" that could damage the reputation of employees or executives. We present the list of eight insidious mistakes that office workers make daily, often without even realizing it.

Talking about politics during a break can spoil relations in the office, especially if you are a superior. Bosses and managers who openly declare their political allegiances sort of take the side of their employees the same views. However, for employees conducting political debates at work is also not recommended because they can have a devastating impact on relationships with colleagues and suppliers.

You spend a lot of money on gasoline to come to work every morning, so why not use this fact to your advantage? Raising gasoline prices is an excellent opportunity to ask for a raise. Most likely, you will not get it, but it would be a good basis for future negotiations. For example, as an alternative, you can ask to let you work from home one a week.

There are a lot of reasons to show modesty. But when it comes to the written evaluation of your own work, modesty is totally inappropriate. Surely your boss is too busy to constantly monitor your progress and achievements over the years. Writing the assessment of your activities is a great way to remind about all those wonderful projects completed under your leadership, and all the key customers the company has acquired thanks to you. Just be honest with yourself.

It is easy to decide that your job is to be the author of brilliant ideas and great achievements. However, most of the people around you just want to be heard out. Someone who knows how to listen is able to stand out from all office “big noises”. A striking example of the effectiveness of this approach is the story of the leader whose career success often correlated with his ability to listen and to hear his subordinates.

No one doubts that you worry about making some mistake. However, after it is done, it will not go away even if you behave as if nothing happened. This can lead to the fact that your boss will become more concerned not about the mistake itself but about your couldn't-care-less attitude.

Even if you think that you are too busy and taking a vacation is too expensive, take it anyway! You can not impress colleagues if you continually refuse it. On the contrary, it might make it look like you are not able to properly balance your work and personal life. Take the time off to replenish energy reserves, and return to work with renewed vigor.

There is no doubt dreaming too big can result in stupid ideas and unrealistic goals. At the same time, we should remember that unattainable goals are achieved regularly. So there is no need to step on the throat of your own dream. Instead, imagine that the only scenario it can play out by is the story of success. And of course, think through all necessary steps it will take to achieve success. After all, you can always tell critics that this is just your way of developing the creativity.

Most people believe that moving up the career ladder is good. However, many of them then later realize that promotions do not bring any improvement in the workflow. Before agreeing to a higher position ask yourself a few simple questions: How much more will you have to work? By how much will your salary increase? Who will become your subordinates? It would also be good to think through your next steps on the career ladder. You do not want to make the leap only to find out that that was the dead end?