How to be unpopular in the office

Some people succeed in their career, some people don’t. All things being equal, the person with a better attitude is the same person who is liked and this person WILL get the promotions. You cannot succeed alone. You need to earn the respect of your co-workers and you need to earn the admiration of your bosses. Now this brings us to a very interesting question. So what does it take to become unpopular? How do I get people to dislike me?

Cultivate these unhealthy work habits and you will seal your death certificate as far as your career growth is concerned.

1. You Have Adhd

ADHD is Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and this is a neurobehavioral developmental disorder in children and you are acting like a little child. In other words, you are answering cell phone calls, you are responding to emails, you are reading newspapers and you are hammering away on your laptop during meetings or trainings. You are restless and you cannot fix your attention to what is going on. This sends a message that the people around you are less important than the caller. This is because of the second point:

2. You Have Forgotten Copernicus

Copernicus was a Polish astronomer who proved that the earth is not the center of the universe and so are YOU! The universe does not revolve around you.

Everything you do or everything you allow to happen has got to have a personal agenda about making you better, earning more or looking better at the expense of others. You make others ugly so that you may appear beautiful because for you, it’s a zero sum game. Survival of the fittest, the work place is a concrete jungle and only the wise survive.

You will be dead in your career soon if you continue to harbor this motive in your heart.

3. You Are Behaving Like City Hall

Popular business guru Tom Peter says that the primary work of many middle level managers is to delay putting their puny little signature on the document in order to prolong the process so that they may be reassured that they are still important in the organization. Act like a bureaucrat and create obstacles for others to do their work. In an age when everything happens at real time and you make things unreal by creating mountains out of molehills will certainly make you so popular everybody wants to have your head on a platter so that some work may take place.

4. Talk Like A Rapper

“Ya know”…… “Yo!”…..”Whazz up bro?”……. “OMG” “oh my gosh!)……and then you lace your email and your text with abbreviations like “LOL” (laugh out loud)…. “CUL8R” (see you later)….F2F (Face to face)….EOD (end of discussion)……and you add those cute little things like smiley’s on your notes and letters, emoticons on your emails and all these show just how silly, amateurish and unprofessional you are. Let’s add and spice up your conversation with some four letter swear words and you will surely be off the shortlist for promotions that will keep you wondering why you have been ignored.

5. You do your “home work” in the office. 

You are fixing your bills, doing your grocery list; maybe you are planning your wedding or a surprise birthday party for your boyfriend. You are ordering for a gift online in other words, you are doing non-official work stuff in the official work place and you certainly turn people off. They don’t see you as efficient; they see you as abusive and will abhor you for using company resources for your personal use or gain. 

6. You Are A Chronic Complainer 

People are so inspired with your non-stop complaining. They love to hear you talk about the abuse you receive from your mother-in-law, they eagerly wait to hear your latest quarrel with your boyfriend and they are so inspired with how victimized you are because of the unfair treatment you are receiving from your boss. You need to know that you brighten up a room by leaving it. So stop complaining and start smiling and infect others with your disposition.

7. You Act Unethically

You backbite, backstab, you spread rumors and you verbally attack people behind their backs. You are an expert in corporate intrigues. As a matter of fact you can easily run a “Corporate Intrigue Department” if they ask you to.

You do shortcuts. You cross boundaries. You ignore company policies. You “borrow” money from company funds without permission since you are going to return it anyway. School year is about to start and you bring home office stationeries for your kids. You bring your girlfriend out for dinner and you put the tab on your office account and charge it under “Representations.”

Everybody loves a cheater don’t they? And the person you are cheating is yourself.

Do things right and do the right things. And make yourself likeable by liking others too.

Be efficient and be excellent and be prepared to see your career soar! –Francis J. Kong, Philippine Star

(Francis Kong will be the lead trainer for the Dr. John Maxwell’s “Developing the Leader Within You” leadership program this May 28-29 at Dusit Hotel. For further inquiries contact Inspire Leadership Consultancy Inc. 632-6872614 OR 09178511115)