Do you ever feel like your boss doesn’t notice you at work? Well, your employer probably notices more about you than you think.
Labor is one of the largest expenses of any employer, so a smart employer will notice more than you realize.
And it’s not necessarily just the quality of your work that employers notice.
They notice your behavior while on and off the clock, how you accomplish your work goals, and your relationships with other coworkers, to name a few. Here are 8 other things your employer notices about you at work.
1) Your Attitude
Bad attitudes bring everyone down and make everyone’s job harder than it needs to be. Most bosses can easily sense even a hint of a bad attitude, so use caution.
Everyone goes through a stressful or challenging time at work, but try to avoid letting it affect your attitude. Take a break, go for a walk, or talk to a coworker about the situation to try to clear your mind and move forward.
On the other hand, employers also notice good attitudes. Just like how bad attitudes can bring everyone else down, a good attitude can help lift a team up.
2) How You Spend Your Breaks
Even though your breaks are your own time, they may not go unnoticed by your boss.
How you spend your breaks can tell your boss a lot about you and how you to clear your mind from work. Are you practicing healthy habits?
As a general rule of thumb, use your breaks to take a healthy step away from work. Go for a walk, call a friend, or grab coffee with a coworker. Avoid spending breaks browsing the internet, playing games, or doing other counterproductive habits.
3) How You Speak Your Thoughts at Meetings
How do you communicate in meetings? Everyone has a different way of verbally communicating their thoughts and ideas, but some ways are more effective than others.
For instance, some people tend to think out loud and share all of their thoughts in a meeting before they’ve really considered the idea in its entirety. Other people process only internally and barely speak their ideas.
Work to improve how you communicate your thoughts to others. If you tend to be long-winded, work to be brief and vice versa if your natural tendency is to be more reserved. Keep in mind, everyone in the meeting has other work could be doing. To continue to be respectful of everyone’s time, try to keep your speaking time concise.
4) When You Arrive and Leave
Even in a flexible workplace, your absence is noted. If you’re always the last one in and the first one to leave, or if you’re popping out of the office often, someone is bound to notice.
To be fair to your coworkers and honest with your boss, make sure to spend at least the equivalent of a work day in the office or on site.
5) How You Dress
How you dress and present yourself at work is always more important than people realize. Your clothing is one of the first things clients and employers notice about you, so be sure to always look presentable, even in a casual work environment.
6) How Well You Prioritize
Are you constantly bogged down and behind on projects? Do you tend to tackle the easy tasks before the more complicated or urgent ones?
Many times, bosses load work onto their employees and expect all of it to be completed within a timely manner. It’s up to you to figure out how to prioritize your workload.
Always practice prioritizing your important tasks before your less urgent tasks. If you have a heavy load or you’re uncertain about what constitutes priority, ask your boss to gain a better understanding.
7) Your Response Time
How long does it take you to respond to a phone call or email? Unfortunately, not responding in a timely matter can hold a lot of people up, even if you didn’t deliberately mean to ignore anyone.
Establish an understanding with your boss and who you work with. Let them know that they can typically expect a response within an hour unless it’s after hours or you’re out of the office.
Even if you don’t have time to address their issue or point, you can respond to let them know that you received their message.
8) How You Interact With Others
An environment where everyone gets along is easier for both employees and bosses. Are you kind in your interactions with others, or are you causing conflict for your managers?
Your employer notices how you interact with your work team. Qualities of a good employee, such as strong listening skills, friendliness, and a considerate demeanor are all noticeable, especially during stressful periods.
Everyone gets impatient, stressed, or overworked, but it’s important to keep in mind that how you respond to others can make or break your career.
Related:
What do you think your employer notices about you at work? How could improving these qualities impact your career and personal life?
Smile If You Dare says
Yes! Very good points!
It’s important to understand that employers notice a lot MORE than employees think. Certainly when I was young and new, I thought I was mostly invisible, but that was not the case.
However, it is not a good idea to get paranoid about it. It is important to realize that is in our best interests to be professional on the job: it is not high school and similarly it is not college.
In my view, it is also important to separate what my boss might think of me as a person vs. what my boss thinks of my work. Those are two very different things. More in the link.
Josh says
As a supervisor for 7 years, I looked at all these things. We know who to go to when we needed help and who was the “squeaky wheel” that needed some grease periodically.
The quickest way to change your boss’s opinion of you and to get a pay raise or promotion can be by following these tips. Take a minute and look at yourself through the eyes of your supervisor; it’s worth it.
Rachel says
I love the advice of looking at yourself through the eyes of your supervisor. It’s easy to get caught up in the value you think you’re providing to an employer without really thinking about what is important to them.
giulia says
interesting, also if my borther is my boss I tend that is always good to o good impression to client but is true a lot of people notice what you do during your work time!!!
JoeHx says
My biggest problem in meetings is I tend to be quiet. I need to speak up more! But often, I simply do not know what to say.
Rachel says
I tend to be quiet in meetings, too but have learned that it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I just like to take in everyone’s thoughts and really think about the situation at hand before I offer feedback or suggestions. I do encourage myself to speak up when I have something important to say.