Unit Two- Career Choices

2. Lesson Two: Workplace Attitude

• having a positive attitude will help you get and keep a job
• looking and acting like a responsible worker will help you become one
• being cooperative and friendly will make your job more productive

Employees need good skills and attitudes to be successful in the workplace. Employers value employees who work hard, stay organized, and cooperate with others and who have pleasant and positive attitudes. The learning activities below will give you ideas about how to be successful on the job.

Your positive attitude in the workplace determines how far you can go in your career. Have you thought about what are some of your positive attitudes in the workplace? Spend some time thinking about your work attitude if you are a newbie seeking career success.

Throughout my career I have had the privilege to work under some of the best people in my industry. Coupled with the numerous self-improvement books I read, one day I found myself asking, “How would I define my attitude in the workplace that will propel my career success?” Specifically, what would be my positive attitudes at work?

I nailed them down into 3 words that would be my positive attitudes in the workplace. These were Pride, Passion, and Belief.

However, as the years went by I realized that they are only part of the equation. To balance these attitudes there were another side. I was still a newbie seeking career success when I held these to be my guiding principles.

The other side of the equation was Skills/Knowledge, Direction and Action. These together with Pride, Passion and Belief became what I practiced as my positive attitude in the workplace. I believe these to be relevant for newbie seeking career success now, too. It is relevant to be used as anyone’s work attitude for positive results.

1. Pride and Skills/Knowledge
Pride in my personal definition as a positive attitude in the workplace is taken to mean self-dignity. It means the realization that everything you do has your personal signature on it. When you realize this, you give everything assigned to you your best shot.

However, there is a danger here. That danger is excessive pride without the necessary skills and knowledge is arrogance.

So, Pride – Skills/Knowledge = Arrogance

This equation of positive attitude in the workplace has to go hand in hand. It has to be in good balance. What about doing your work with just skills and knowledge and with no pride? Well, you end up with mediocre work. You get it right but it wouldn’t be the best. Is this your attitude in the workplace?

Hence, Skills/Knowledge – Pride = Mediocre Work

When you add this set of positive attitudes in the workplace together, pride and skills/knowledge – what do you get?

Pride + Skills/Knowledge = The Best Work Each Time

2. Passion and Direction
Passion as a positive attitude in the workplace is the burning desire and love for the work that you do, which will pull you through the tough times. It is an intense enthusiasm that all things worth doing are worth doing well.

However, like the previous set of positive attitudes in the workplace it needs to be balanced by another factor - Direction. Your enthusiasm and burning desire must be harnessed to focus on the objectives at hand for it to show positive results. Passion without direction would just mean wasted energy.

Passion – Direction = Wasted Energy

What about Direction without Passion? Well, what if you know where you want to go but do not have the fuel for it? It just means success takes longer to achieve, if ever.

Direction – Passion = Success Takes Far Longer, If Ever

When you add direction and passion as positive attitude in the workplace you get goals galore!

Passion + Direction = Goals Galore

3. Belief and Action
My last equation of positive attitude in the workplace involves belief and action. The more your personal belief is aligned to the organization you are attached to the better your chances for career success. A deep believe in yourself will create the vigor and force that fuels your journey of seeking career success.

This belief must be balanced with action. Action means making your plans work. It means doing. Working. A believe that is not backed by a plan of action is just fantasies.

Belief – Action = Fantasies

What if you work your plans without a belief? Anyone without believe in themselves and their dreams but continue to work their plans is a fool at work.

Action – Belief = Fool at Work

When you are able to synergize believe and action into one, your dreams come true!

Belief + Action = Dreams Come True

Positive Attitude in the Workplace
When you are able to harness the equation these 3 sets of positive attitude in the workplace into one – reaching for the star becomes a reality. In fact, as a newbie seeking career success – when you internalize this positive attitude in the workplace into your work attitude YOU ARE A STAR!

Taken from:

http://www.career-success-for-newbies.com/positive-attitude-in-the-workplace.html

By Dawn Rosenberg McKay, About.com

It is important that you make a good impression at work. If you make a good impression on your boss, he or she is more likely to give you more responsibility which can lead to promotions and raises. Here are nine ways to make a good impression at work.

1. Use Proper Office Etiquette

Using good manners will help you make a good impression with your boss and also your co-workers. Office etiquette includes everything from the proper way to use email to knowing when, where, and how to use your cell phone while at work.

2. Face Up to Your Mistakes

When you make a mistake at work, which everyone inevitably does at some point, face up to it. Don't ignore your error or place the blame on others. Take responsibility and come up with a solution to fix your mistake. Your boss may not be too happy about it, but she will at least be impressed with your response.

3. Know When to Call in Sick to Work

Do you think coming to work when you are sick instead of staying at home will impress your boss? Reasonable bosses know that a sick employee not only isn't productive, he or she can spread an illness around the office rendering everyone else unproductive. Call in sick when you need to.

4. Come Through in a Crisis

When the unexpected happens at work, who will make a better impression on the boss -- the employer who wrings his hands and does nothing or the one who springs into action? Of course it's the employee who deals with the crisis quickly and effectively.

5. Know What Topics to Avoid Discussing

Avoiding inappropriate topics may not help you make a good impression at work but it will keep you from making a bad one. Subjects that do not make for good workplace conversation include politics, religion, and health problems and other personal issues.

6. Manage Your Time Effectively

Your ability to complete projects in a timely manner will help you make a good impression on your boss. You should demonstrate that you know how to manage your time effectively by handing in projects when, or even before, your deadline.

7. Dress Appropriately

Make a good impression at work by wearing the right clothes. You should dress the right way for the "role you are playing." If you aspire to be a leader at work, dress like one.

8. Avoid Offending Your Co-Workers

Make a good impression or avoid making a bad one by not doing things that offend your co-workers. Always show respect towards your co-workers. The last thing a boss wants brought to his attention are the uncivil actions of one of his employees.

9. Represent Your Company Well at Business Meetings

When you represent your employer at a business meeting making a good impression on other attendees will in turn help you make a good impression on your boss. Dress appropriately, network on your employer's behalf, and bring back information.