Forget wrath, sloth, and greed — the workplace has its own deadly sins, according to career experts at The Sydney Morning Herald. Their list of unforgivable office transgressions is food for thought for any working person.
(Photo Credit: Praziquantel/Flickr)
Here are a few of the most deadly (although the whole list is worth a read):
1. Arrogance
Not quite the same thing as pride, arrogance is partly a sin of omission; in this case, forgetting to listen to the point of view of your co-workers, and assuming you always know best in every situation.
2. Selfishness
There’s no “I” in “team,” but you wouldn’t prove it by the selfish worker, who is never around when it’s time to plan the holiday party or volunteer to work late.
3. Incompetence
Faking it until you make it will only go so far, and if you’re in the habit of talking a bigger game than you can deliver, break it now. Spend time boning up on the skills you need to succeed in your job, and leave the bragging for people who are already guilty of No. 1.
4. Resistance to Change
This sin is liable to show up on every performance review you ever have, until you get over it. Sure, sometimes companies like to change for change’s sake, and that’s a pain. But if you want to be taken seriously when an “innovation” is a truly bad idea, you can’t afford to get a reputation for pooh-poohing every change.
5. Drunkenness
Repeat after us: “The holiday party is a work event. The holiday party is a work event.”
Enough said.
Tell Us What You Think
What do you think are the most deadly sins at work? We want to hear from you! Leave a comment or join the discussion on Twitter.
I agree with Tristan. I think the article is missing a couple of points. Heading is 7 and article is 5. Never bother reading anything more.
‘Here are a few of the most deadly (although the whole list is worth a read):’
Click on ‘whole list’ to see the rest.
Do not, and I mean NOT EVER, express your feelings about someone at work, especially if it’s your supervisor. It’s a one-way ticket out of the organisation. Even if what you have felt was valid as in hurt feelings for having done work in your own time, unpaid, and then find the work wasn’t used as you designed it, SHUT UP!!! Remember that in team work, it’s exactly that, TEAM effort, not just yours alone. You supply your bit, and… Read more »
This list consists of everything surly bosses do daily. If you wanna be a boss, do these things. If you wanna be a peon, don’t!
Seems as if there might be another: abuse of subservience. I offer to help my supervisor in every aspect of the job that I could possibly perform. I have higher knowledge in many areas, I define the needs and refine the new methods. I have greater computer skills, and am industry verified in my skills where she is not as endowed. After I get her to understand the methods, the discovered goals and my intentions, say after a few weeks,… Read more »
That was terrible.not worth the time to read
The first four points pretty much describe most of the third/fourth tier executives I’ve been exposed to at my company. Speaking to some older coworkers it’s clear that item 5 used to be common amongst executives before all that DUI became unpopular, and alcohol was outright banned in the workplace.
I guess most of you didn’t read the part that says “Here are a few of the most deadly (although the whole list is worth a read):”
6. Not finishing the article
7. Approving it to be read by many.
LMAO yup only five listed. But here are two more: Considering your work colleagues your mates – never assume they are, surely you have a life outside of work? Being or feeding the office gossip – very destructive behaviour. If they are gossiping about some one else, they are probably at some point gossiping about you too.
This article was so bad that I’m unsubscribing.
Don’t know why I bother reading PayScale articles, this one could have been written by a kid from primary school. No insight, no research and above all, no idea how to write an article.
What do I think of your 7 deadly sins article? I think you only listed 5, that’s what I think.