10 Things To Avoid In Order To Earn More Respect At Your Work Place

If you want to earn more respect at work, here are 10 behaviors you need to stop. Right. Now.

Interrupting others while they’re speaking. This is the ultimate sign of disrespect. So stop doing it. Immediately. Bite your tongue and spend your time listening to understand, not to reply.

Arriving late to meetings. How do you feel when someone shows up late to a meeting you scheduled? So why are you doing this to others?

Starting meetings late. Think you’re making a grand entrance when you leave a conference room full of people waiting for you? Next time, check out the seething looks of anger on their faces because you are wasting their time.

Holding meetings with no agenda or defined objectives. If your goal is to purposely drive your co-workers (or boss) crazy, then go ahead. Hold meetings with no agenda or defined purpose. How to break this habit? Estimate the cost of each meeting you hold (multiply the number of attendees by the average hourly pay times the length of meeting). You’ll be shocked at the amount of money you’re wasting.

Talking too much during meetings. No one likes a blabbermouth who just wants to hear himself or herself talk. So bite your tongue (again). Then, help make sure everyone’s voice gets heard during meetings by encouraging round-the-table opinion-sharing before closing out on each topic.

Multitasking during meetings. Multitasking isn’t efficient and has even been shown to reduce productivity by as much as 40 percent. It’s also incredibly disrespectful because it shows the meeting isn’t as important to you as, say, checking your emails.

Leaving your dirty dishes in the break room. Your mother doesn’t work here. You’re an adult now and mature adults clean up their own mess. That includes washing your dirty coffee mug and dishes.

Yelling at coworkers. Yelling at work is never acceptable at work. If you can’t hold a rational discussion, give yourself a timeout until you can.

Holding loud meetings in your cubicle. Don’t be a pest to your cubicle neighbors. Hold meetings in conference rooms or other areas designated for groups.

Missing deadlines. This is especially bad when others are depending on your work, because it can cause a domino effect of missed deadlines. It can also get your boss in trouble with senior management. A huge no-no.

These are only 10 actions of what could be a long list of behaviors that are sabotaging your chances of earning respect at work. Remember, to earn respect you must act respectful to others. So take the time to adjust any behaviors that could be holding you back in your career.

(Forbes)